Gohiki no shinshi (1966)

Oida ran over and killed a man and his little daughter in a traffic accident. Unable to afford compensation for the widow, he is in prison. His cellmate, Sengoku, makes him a seemingly lucrative offer, on the condition that Oida not ask what it involves: the next day, the day he is released, he is to go to Sengoku’s girlfriend, Utako, with a sign by which she can recognize him. Aware of the difficulties he would face readjusting to social and economic life, Oida accepts. After leaving prison, Oida meets Utako, who gives him an advance in cash and the names and addresses of three men: Motoki, Umegaya, and Fuyujima. Oida asks her whether he is supposed to go and call on them. Utako tells him that his task is to kill them, after which he will receive a large sum of money. Oida tracks down Motoki, his first intended victim, but cannot bring himself to kill him. Two mysterious men do it instead, and Motoki reveals Umegaya’s name to them. Oida goes to an address where Motoki, before dying, had asked him to go, entrusting him with a package. There he meets little Tomoe, the victim’s daughter, who is now destined for an orphanage, and gives her the gift from her father. Tomoe slips past the neighbors who are watching over her and starts following Oida. The same pattern repeats with Umegaya: Oida, accompanied by little Tomoe, finds him at a nightclub, where he also encounters the widow of the man he ran over. She is unyielding and refuses to forgive him. The two mysterious men reappear and kill Umegaya as well. Oida begins to wonder what is really going on, while retrieving Tomoe, who is waiting for him, chilled in the harsh weather, being cared for by the widow, who has taken pity on the little girl. Oida discovers that the killers are drug traffickers, from whom the gang led by Sengoku—which included the three designated victims—had stolen its illicit proceeds. Sengoku intended to eliminate his accomplices with the help of the unwitting Oida, so he could take the entire haul for himself. In a confrontation, Fuyujima and one of the two traffickers are killed, while the other kidnaps Tomoe. Sengoku is released from prison and, convinced that Oida committed the three murders, takes him to a power plant where he had hidden the money, making him believe he intends to hand over the agreed share. In reality, he pulls out a gun and tries to kill him. A struggle ensues, after which Sengoku is electrocuted to death and Oida is seriously injured. Oida leaves with the money, intending to offer it to the surviving trafficker as ransom for Tomoe’s release. Just before they reach the rendezvous to exchange the hostage, the trafficker is stopped by the police over a passport-related matter, allowing Oida to send the reluctant Tomoe by taxi, with the money from the haul, to the widow. This way, he will be able to compensate her financially and, in a sense, give her a daughter back. Oida is near death in the city streets.