Yuko Kagawa

With one of the busiest film industries in the world, Japan was able to submit several films into competition at the 1957 Berlin Film Festival. One of the best of these was Arashi, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki of Rickshaw Man fame. Anticipating Hollywood's Table for Five by nearly a quarter of a century, the film concerns the efforts by a recently widowed high-school teacher to raise his four children alone. Chihu Ryu is terrific as the central character, while Izumi Yukimura is even better as Ryu's eldest daughter. For reasons unknown, Arashi is often omitted from "official" lists of Inagaki's films.

美空ひばりが音痴なバスガイドのヒロインと自分自身の二役を務めた青春映画。「ひばりのチャチャチャ」「リンゴ追分」などを披露する。共演は『マタンゴ』の久保明。 野溝トミコは、東京の真中を走るバスの見習車掌。大スターの美空ひばりに瓜ふたつだが、鼻の横にホクロがあるので“びばりちゃん”と呼ばれる人気者。トミコの悩みは、父親が家出してしまったことと、美空ひばりとは似ても似つかぬ大音痴なこと。だが、そんなトミコに、ある日、本物の美空ひばりに会うチャンスが巡ってくる。