Film 3/5 in the Nikkatsu Noir boxset I'm working through, and I'd rank this behind Rusty Knife (film 2/5),but ahead of I Am Waiting (film 1/5).

I'll give it this: Take Aim at the Police Van has a great title and a great opening- both work well to get you hooked early to the simple premise (prison guard is partially blamed for deaths that weren't his fault, so he goes looking for the real killers himself) that soon balloons out and gets very complicated.

While some of the complexity and mystery is intentional, given the main character doesn't really know what's going on much of the time, I think it may have left the audience in the dark just a little too much. You could say that about a lot of classic noir, though- I think it's The Maltese Falcon where the writer even admitted he didn't really understand 100% of the plot.

(EDIT: legend actually goes that it was The Big Sleep where the screenwriters were confused by what they were writing. Do remember Maltese Falcon also having a confusing plot, for what it's worth)

But in any event, it stays entertaining because of the fast (if almost a little too quick) pace, the stylish direction, and some exciting sequences. Plus the mystery is a pretty decent one.

It all makes for an overall solid watch.

Michitarô Mizushima is a prison guard. He's on a bus moving prisoners when it is ambushed and two people killed. He's suspended for six months, so he decides to investigate the double murder himself, despite the fact the police are working hard on it. He soon outdistances them, into a web of a prostitution ring led by beautiful Misako Watanabe, who falls in love with him.... maybe.

It's another the fast-moving crime movies directed by Seijun Suzuki, with a great start, exciting action sequences shot day-for-night, a jazzy score and a meandering plot that never answers the questions it raises initially. Mizushima is good as the compassionate guard who can not only out-sleuth the police, but outshoot multiple assassins. His first movie was in 1925, although his film career didn't really get moving for another ten years. Dealing with a poorly plotted movie, neither he nor Suzuki can do much except make it move fast.

While the plot of this film is pretty confusing at times and the film is no technical masterpiece, "Take Aim At The Police Van" certainly is entertaining and it was nice to see what Japanese film noir looked like.

The movie begins aboard a bus filled with prisoners headed to prison. At the same time, you see an assassin readying his rifle and scope...and you assume are going to kill the guards and free at least one of the prisoners. However, in a twist, the man simply kills two of the prisoners--and you assume somebody wanted at least one of these guys dead to stop them from talking.

Oddly, the man in charge of this transport was made a scapegoat and given a 6 month suspension from his prison job. Tomon is not angry about this but vows to spend this time off locating the person or persons responsible. His path always seems to lead to a lady named Yume and again and again, she just seemed to be nearby. How she relates to all this and the identity of 'Mr. Big' is something you'll need to see for yourself.

As far as the noir elements go, in some ways this is a lot grittier than traditional noir. A lot of the plot involves prostitution and you see a woman's breasts (something you'd never see in a Hollywood noir film--but nudity like this was a lot more acceptable in Japanese society then and now). However, the film also pulled its punches and didn't become nearly as dark in regard to its central character, Tomon, who was a nice guy! He believed in the goodness within everyone--a concept as alien to noir as you can get! And, at times, Tomon was way, way too lucky and was able to beat huge numbers of hired thugs--again, not exactly a realistic or noir pattern. But, the film did have some nice gritty moments and some cool moments (such as the arm in the piano and the gasoline scenes)--and it never failed to entertain even if the plot seemed a bit too confusing and complicated. Worth seeing--even if technically the film was no masterpiece--such as the badly filmed scene on the train (the angle outside the window was ridiculously off) as well as the scene where Tomon was dragged a 100 or more yards by a car and didn't even have a scratch!!