Woman of Tokyo

Although Ozu was still resisting sound, this early melodrama, unlike many of his jaunty comedies of the time, contains definite hints of his later style, with its distinctive camera placement and concentrated use of interior space. Adapted from a story by 'Ernst Schwartz' (an Ozu pen name), it has ambitious student Egawa thrust into despair when he realises his dutiful sister Okada had been putting him through college thanks to an illicit income outside her office job. Although the story's not fully developed, there's a characteristic warmth and understanding towards the characters, and it features Charles Laughton's only appearance in an Ozu film - seen in a clip from If I Had a Million when Okada visits the cinema with girlfriend Tanaka.