March 26, 1953 –
One of Martin Scorsese’s favorite films, Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu (the original title, Ugetsu Monogatari,) starring Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo and Kinuyo Tanaka, opened in Japan on this date.
The stories of Akinari Ueda were not the only literary sources that the movie’s scriptwriters drew upon. They also was inspired by the comic story How He Got the Legion of Honor by Guy de Maupassant for the subplot involving Tôbee’s fanatical desire to become a samurai.
The Haus of Dcaligari 