Yoru no Onnatachi (Women of the Night) was one of three Kenji Mizoguchi films entered into competition at the 1957 Venice Film Festival. Like the other two Mizoguchi efforts (
Uwasa no Onna, Mushashino Ujin), the film was several years old; in this case, it was completed in 1948. Like many of the director's best films, Yoru no Onnatachi is a pro-feminist tract, set principally in a Japanese "bagnio", or legalized brothel. The story centers around two sisters who are forced into prostitution to survive. The film's climax takes place in a "kangaroo court" presided over by whores, wherein the two women are accused of being traitors to their class. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide