The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty

1957 1h 13m JA

🙌

8.0

BANGER

★8.0TMDB · 2

HorrorMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The year is 1937, and it has been six months since the Sendai Infantry left for Manchuria. The rotted corpse of a young woman is found at the bottom of a well, but her face and limbs are gone. The military police begin an investigation and search fervently for the person responsible, but they can't even determine the victim's identity, much less find any clues. However, the incident is made public when newspapers give wide coverage to the story, so Staff Sergeant Kosaka is dispatched from Tokyo to solve the case. Eventually, General Tsunekichi is taken into custody by local infantrymen because of the testimony of another unit, but the spirit of the dead woman appears before Staff Sergeant Kosaka, who continues to investigate on his own...

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Shoji Nakayama
Tokusuke Kosaka
Shigeru Amachi
Staff Sergeant Tsuneyoshi
Hiroshi Ayukawa
Tadayoshi Takayama
Masaru Kodaka
MP Corporal Karita
Shuntarō Emi
Yatarô Kimizuka
Toshio Hosokawa
MP Sergeant Major Hagiyama
Junko Ebata
Shino Kashima
Namiji Namiura
Taeko Kamoshita

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kyōtarō Namiki
Writers: Akira Sugimoto
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 73-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

69 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kyōtarō Namiki, shot by Shin Yamanaka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Masao Yoneyama. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Shoji Nakayama and Shigeru Amachi and Hiroshi Ayukawa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0230408 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kyōtarō Namiki directs. Shin Yamanaka behind the camera. Masao Yoneyama scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 73-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
269 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Kyōtarō Namiki, shot by Shin Yamanaka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Masao Yoneyama. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Shoji Nakayama and Shigeru Amachi and Hiroshi Ayukawa carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0230408 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.