(Madamu to nyobo) Like Ernst Lubitsch, whom he studied, Gosho was an early experimenter in the narrative uses of sound (and silence). In 1931 Shochiku handed him the challenge of making Japan's first "all talkie." Gosho's oldest extant (though by no means his first) film, this charming comedy lends itself to a natural use of sound. A playwright is distracted from his work by the din of a jazz band practicing next door. He goes over to complain but is totally disarmed by the lady of the house. The whole film plays on the presence of sound, from blaring horns, crying children and other intrusions on domestic harmony, to the duets our hero engages in with the neighbor's wife to the dismay of his own spouse. It was the first Japanese film to make integral use of the new sound-on-film technology that previously had been exploited merely as a gimmick. As Kyoko Hirano writes, "Because every sound had to be synchronized, Gosho explored many technical devices, and also used multiple cameras, different lenses, and frequent cuts to produce a truly 'filmic' result." The Neighbor's Wife and Mine also is a fascinating demonstration of the growing importance of Western influences and values to the Japanese. American jazz, speed, modern French painting, and Western dress are treated positively, if comically. But nothing quite prepares one for the closing duet of husband and wife singing "My Blue Heaven" on their Sunday outing with the children.