Fascinating in its observations of economic and social class distinctions, Street Without End centers on the loves and marriages of a beautiful tea-salon waitress, Sugiko, who wants only to wed her working-class boyfriend although she is eyed by movie talent scouts and adored by an upper-class gentleman, Yamanouchi. She marries Yamanouchi, but the mutual contempt between her and his snobbish family eventually drives Sugiko back to the loyalty and security of her working-class cronies. Rich in melodramatic content--including two car accidents and a look at the machinations of a big movie studio--the story was based on a newspaper serial purchased by Shochiku Studios. According to Audie Bock, Naruse was displeased with the contrived social determinism of Street Without End and made it his last film for Shochiku. But John Gillett notes the director's brilliant treatment of the material at hand: “Apart from its sustained stream of visual invention, it makes a substantial break from Western conventions in its freedom of editing, superb camera flow and realistic use of locations... The great tracking (shot) in the climactic hospital scene perfectly encapsulates the story's feminist concerns.”