Japan Synopsis
錆びたナイフ
Udaka is a new, post-war city where corruption has already taken hold. A persistent district attorney wants to arrest and convict Katsumata, a laughing, self-confident thug. The D.A. gets an anonymous letter about the suicide five years' before of a city council member. Evidence about the case leads the D.A. to Tachibana, struggling to go straight after involvement with the mob and a prison sentence for killing the man responsible for the rape and suicide of his fiancée. One of Tachibana's friends is Keiko, the daughter of the dead councilman and the ward of another powerful official. How do these stories connect?
The 1957–1959 Japan Window
32 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Rusty Knife sits at position #27.
#1The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
★ 8.2 · 1959
#2The Hidden Fortress
★ 8.0 · 1958
#3The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
★ 8.0 · 1959
#4Throne of Blood
★ 7.9 · 1957
#5Hiroshima Mon Amour
★ 7.8 · 1959
#6Good Morning
★ 7.7 · 1959
#7Fires on the Plain
★ 7.6 · 1959
#8The Ballad of Narayama
★ 7.5 · 1958
Other Titles From Nikkatsu Corporation
The 1950s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1950s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Rusty Knife premiered. 76 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #3,542 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (23rd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.6 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Thriller productions specifically: #192 of 324 (top 59%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Spoken Languages | French, Japanese |
| Production Companies | Nikkatsu Corporation |
| Runtime | 1h 30m |
| Release Date | March 11, 1958 |
| IMDb | tt0360946 |