The first feature-length theatrical film shot in Konicolor, The Green Music Box is based on the eponymous novel by Makoto Hojo. A musical action film for children, the movie typifies Umetsugu Inoue’s creative use of color. It marks the debut of fourteen-year-old Ruriko Asaoka, whose character becomes entangled with a spy trying to steal her father’s secrets. The cast also includes the talented comedian Frankie Sakai. Asaoka would sustain a career in Nikkatsu action and melodrama pictures through the following decades, while Sakai brought his inimitable sly humor to a number of Yuzo Kawashima’s vibrant dark comedies. The restored 35mm Konicolor print is from the Collection of the National Film Archive of Japan, Tokyo. - Adapted from Il Cinema Ritrovato.

Also screening as part of the Saturday Matinee series.