Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) is a rookie Tokyo detective who loses his gun to a thief on a crowded trolley. Believing this to be a very premature end to a fresh career, he wanders the grimy underbelly of post war Tokyo he picks up on the illicit black market arms trade. Murakami is paired with Sato (Takeshi Shimura) a veteran detective who quickly becomes a mentor and friend to the young man as the pair begin to make leads. The film is very much a precursor to the buddy cop genre in the style of an American film noir. Giving us a glimpse at the destitution of immediate post war Japan, the movie also gives us an inspiring mentorship between a rookie and a veteran. Although Kurosawa didn't think too highly of the film himself I enjoyed it greately and hold it as one of his more underrated movies.
