Underworld Beauty (1958) Seijun Suzuki

Steadily gaining in popularity in the 1950's were the infamous "yakuza" films. Nikkatsu was an early leader in the genre, and Seijun Suzuki spent the peak of his career working for them. He paralleled his American counterparts trying to put their own stamp on horrendously tacky b-movies and studio enforced assignments. Unlike Edgar G. Ulmer or Samuel Fuller though, Suzuki never really caught on with critics of the time. In fact it would take several more decades before his status would be elevated to where its at today. 

Underworld Beauty was his 7th feature, and his first in widescreen. It is both exemplary and redefining of the "borderless" yakuza film being specialized by Nikkatsu. It has a lone wolf hero, the type with his own code of ethics embodied in the traditional heroes of the Hollywood Western. However the morally corrupt yakuza is also exemplified by the boss Oyane who seems able to stop at nothing to get the precious stones. The stones in question are like any "mcguffin" simply a motivating plot device, and one that sets every character in motion, and frequently against each other.

The title character of the film is played by Mari Shiraki, and true to exploitation standards few opportunities to get her in little clothing are wasted. In one scene where she tells a rather lecherous pursuer that the diamonds are hidden in her breasts, he wastes no time trying to rip her shirt off and get them. The jokes on him however, because she meant the breasts of the manniquin modeled after her, however we the viewers get teh gratuitous groping at no extra charge. Not surprising she winds up in the final shootout with only a robe, and later even less, as she of course has to remove articles of clothing to deal with all the stiffling heat.

The film plays on certain noir conventions, and near the end before the climatic shootout Miyamoto takes the trouble to shoot out all the lights to create rather high key shadows. The lighting doesn't lend itself directly to noir, but the feel is still very much there. Like any good noir this also starts at night, with a seemingly innocent enough manhole cover. The point is clear, there is something going on beneath the surface, and in this case the "underworld" is literally right beneath the surface, a rather obvious touch, but it works. 

Underworld Beauty however never goes much beyond a traditional genre picture, and one that although representative of Suzuki's emerging style and the genre in question, is far from a great picture. Suzuki was evolving and this certainly sets the stage for his later, much more ambitious 60s yakuza films like Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill. However I'll take any Suzuki I can find, and they always wind up being at least somewhat interesting.

Grade C-