Detective Duel
                       
Director:  Sasaki Yasushi
Year: 1958
Rating: 7.0
I have to admit that there is a part of me that wants to give a rating of ten to everything Hibari Misora is in, but that would be silly. It is just that I get immense pleasure out of her films that have a little comedy, a pinch of romance, drama. action and of course songs. She ruled Japan entertainment for about 20 years. Her films are at best light entertainment - never very heavy and almost always a happy ending. Which is just fine by me. Sometimes that is all you are looking for. She played all sorts of characters from geishas to warriors, from women to men. She played a detective a few times. This begins with a montage of Hibari in various fashionable outfits - but she works for a detective agency and along with her assistant are trailing a man and a woman to a secretive hotel for some afternoon loving. She snaps a photo and her job is done. The man is Kita, a Yakuza. She says to her boss, I guess this will put an end to another relationship she is having.




But her next assignment is tougher. A Japanese businessman from Brazil has returned to Japan looking for his daughter after 20-years away. The war and all that. She gets on the trail which takes her to an out of the way town where children went during the bombing of Tokyo. On the way she collides with another detective looking for Kyoko. I admit I didn't recognize him and only know because of the credits - but he is a very young looking Ken Takakura. He had been in the film business for about two years at this point. They are both looking for the same girl and a rivalry builds up between them. The Yakuza are also looking for the girl and try to kill Hibari though a karate chop gets her free and Takakura fights off the rest. He does most of the action in this one.



Back home, Hibari's mother is nagging her to get married. "The neighbors will look down on you for not being married at your age". And Takakura is being nagged by his mother for not being married. Hmmm. I have an idea. Nagging mothers know best. All sorts of shenanigans are going on to cheat the father but our two heroes sort it out and beat up a few bad guys. And sing a few songs- four from Hibari and one from Takakura (though whether that is really him I can't say.  Cute film.