Takashi Shimura is impressive in this slightly squalid tale of a dipsomaniac doctor ("Sanada") charged with caring for a population housed in a bombed out part of the city. A large stagnant pond amidst their community is as likely to prove a source of toxicity as the pervading Yakuza activities. Those centre around "Matsunaga" (Toshirô Mifune) who turns up at the surgery with an injured hand. The doctor treats the wound but also suggest that the man might want to get treated for what he suspects is a case of tuberculosis. The two men fight - verbally and physically - and things continue to wors...