Kurosawa’s Stray Dog plays like a Hollywood detective noir set in gritty post-war Tokyo.

Japanese cinema legend Toshiro Mifune gives a raw and magnetic performance as a young detective who loses his gun and tries to save face by tracking it down before reporting it stolen. His search leads him to the slums and criminal underbelly of the city, where a veteran detective helps him find it before it’s used in a violent crime.

With experimental shots and lingering scenes, this early Kurosawa hints at the master director that was to come.