Sasaki Yasushi may today be best known for the jidai-geki films he made after the war, but before the war he was a director of light-weight comedies at Shochiku. "Junjô nijûsô" (The Pure Duet, 1939) is a musical set in modern Tokyo, which stars Takamine Mieko, whose career was advanced a bunch by the film. The title song, sung by Takamine, became a massive hit, and Shochiku gave the actress more prestigious parts during the early 1940's.
Takamine plays Eiko, a girl who arrives to city in order to finally meet her biological father, an orchestra leader played by Saito Tatsuo. The father however does not recognize her, so Eiko goes wondering around until she meets a young composer, who takes an interest in her. Will she find love? Will the father change his mind?
Though the narrative sounds somewhat dramatic, the film is sunshiny, and has many outdoor scenes. Stylistically, it's in line with Sasaki's earlier efforts, and boasts a heavy western influence. There is even a barber-shop quartet here. The songs were mildly catchy, and of course repeating them does have the effect of making them more familiar. Takamine is good, though the role is very standard. The popular film was remade in 1967 by director Umezu Meijiro. Takamine is featured in a bit part in that version, where as the role of Eiko went to Baisho Chieko, of later Sakura ("Otoko wa tsurai yo") fame. Interestingly, the remake was also the last film of Hayakawa Sessue, Japan's first international movie-star.
