A traveling troupe of actors arrive in a provincial town where the leader of the group (Takeshi Sakamoto) has an ex-mistress (Chouko Iida) who has raised their son (Koji Mitsui), now grown, without the son ever knowing who his father is. Matters become complicated when his current mistress (Rieko Yagumo) finds out and in a fit of spite urges another actress (Yoshiko Tsubouchi) from the troupe to seduce the son. Director Yasujiro Ozu edges his film dangerously close to soap opera but the sharp and careful attention to character prevents the film from sliding into bathos. Its characters aren't particularly likable but there's a genuine sweetness in the film's peek into the camaraderie of an acting troupe. Twenty five years later, Ozu remade the film in color and sound (this is a silent film) but with a somewhat lighter tone and dropped the "Story Of" from the title.
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