In 1943 he welcomed Tsumasaburo BANDO as his new star, and Inagaki's 'Muhomatsu no issei' (Life of Muhomatsu), whose screenplay was written by Itami from his sickbed, is hailed as a pre-1945 masterpiece of Japanese film, but the scene where Muhomatsu the rickshaw driver confesses his love to a soldier's widow was considered unacceptable given the wartime situation and was cut by the censors.
18年には阪東妻三郎を主演に迎え、病床の伊丹が脚本を担当した「無法松の一生」は戦前の日本映画を代表する名作といわれるが、人力車夫・無法松が軍人の未亡人に愛の告白をするという場面が時局に合わないとして、検閲でカットされた。