Watching Kurosawa’s 野良犬 Nora Inu (Stray Dog) (1949), it’s often hard to believe that the earnest, clean-shaven rookie detective is Mifune! Conversely and even harder to swallow, the subhuman hooligan of the title will become the idealistic young samurai in 七人の侍 Shichinin five years later.
This is the earliest work I’ve seen by either Kurosawa or Mifune. Well worth the two hours.