"No Blood Relation" is a silent 1932 melodrama from Japanese director Mikio Naruse (sound didn't come in in Japanese cinema till the mid-30's). Though the plot is a pretty standard adoptive mother/biological mother custody drama there are some surprising touches. The somber, mostly solo piano score does not give a 30's feel at all and undercuts the soap opera tendencies, and there are interesting bits of cinematography and editing that feel quite modern (even if they do get a bit overdone at times). The film also gains a tougher edge than most period soap operas by having the father going through bankruptcy and in touches like making the grandmother grasping and unsympathetic. The ending, where a Hollywood director might have wallowed in goopy sentiment, is terse and melancholy. The cast was generally quite good, but I especially liked Joji Oka, who played the supporting role of Kusakabe, a family friend. I don't know how big a star he was in Japan, but he definitely has movie-star charisma here and looks a bit like a Japanese Gregory Peck.