Kid Commotion

Kodakara sodo

Japan

1935

34 Min

Black and White

Silent

Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
1
2
3
4
5

CAST Shigero Ogura, Yaeko Izumo, Shotaro Fujimatsu, Akio Nomura, Jun Yokoyama, Teruko Kojima, Kazuko Kojima, Mutsu Soga, Reiko Tani, Eiko Takamatsu, Reiko Takigawa, Nagamasa Yamada

Synopsis

The Fukudas are poor. Poor with lots of children. They are soon to be blessed with their seventh bundle of joy. However, Mr. Fukuda is out of work and can’t afford to pay the water bill. They’ve got a well, so it doesn’t really matter when the water gets turned off. The gas too, but rice cooks just as well over an open fire. No problems. But then Mrs. Fukuda goes into labor. Now, that’s a problem. Flustered Fukuda rushes off to find a midwife. However, since he’s six kids’ payments behind, there isn’t a midwife in town who’ll come. In fact, all the midwives in town have rushed over to attend to the birth of the rich baron’s pig. “If only my wife had been born a pig…” says Fukuda to himself. He’s just got to get some money. He tries borrowing money from the local geisha house – by using his daughter as collateral. No good. Things are looking pretty glum when the wheel of fortune spins Fukuda’s way. There’s a reward out for the runaway piglet. Charge! And finally…. —Matsuda Film Productions

Director

Torajiro Saito

Saito came into contact with movies through working on a motion picture theater observation team as a member of the promotion department of a pharmaceuticals company. In 1922, he joined Shochiku Kamata Studios and became an assistant director to director Tadasu Okubo. Yasujiro Ozu joined the studio one year after Saito. It is said that the two often worked together to shoot their own material rather than work with Okubo, who was a drinker and a slacker. The first movie officially directed by Saito was Kogoro Katsura and Ikumatsu in 1926. Before long, he developed a special talent for short-length comedy films and soon became a master comedy director. His 1935 Kono Ko Sutezareba was selected as #7 of the Kinejun Top Ten. This was an extraordinary accomplishment for a short-length comedy running a total of only four reels. After moving to Toho Productions in 1937, Saito starting making full-length comedies starring popular comedians, including Enoken no Hokaibo… read more