The Heart Of The Matter: Frankenstein Vs Baragon(1965)

When many fans of giant monster movies here the word "Toho" they immediately think of Godzilla, or Mothra, or even King Ghidorah, all three monsters major participants in many of this Japanese motion picture company's films. Toho has also produced some great giant monster movies featuring other leviathans as well, and one of my absolute favorites is a film that originally aired in Japanese theaters in 1965: Frankenstein Vs Baragon. This movie has also been released in theaters abroad under the title of "Frankenstein Conquers The World", which is also it's American title, the movie airing in American theaters in 1966.
This movie is, I think, something of a different "take" on Toho's previous kaiju films, which had featured reptilian(or reptilian like) monsters e.g.Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah and Varan. The "star" of the film is not a reptile but rather a boy, who eventually grows very, very large. This 1965 film also prominently featured an American actor, Nick Adams.

The film's story: German authorities, realizing their country is on the brink of destruction during the latter part of World War II, arrange to have Frankenstein's heart transported to their wartime ally, Japan, by submarine. The heart winds up in a Hiroshima hospital for research and study, however, the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city by a U.S. bomber prevents the planned work by Japanese scientists from happening. Fast forward to Hiroshima in 1960, fifteen years later. Dr.'s Bowen(Nick Adams), Kawaji(Tadao Takashima), and Togami(Kumi Mizuno) are all studying the effects of residual radioactivity and radiation poisoning on the local populace. Interrupting their grim but necessary work: the discovery of a young, feral like boy prowling local suburbia, stealing and eating neighborhood pets. Cornered in a beachfront hillside cave by the authorities, the boy is compelled out of hiding, and his animalistic existence, by the kindness of Dr. Togami. The boy becomes an immediate study by the scientists, but his sanctuary with them is complicated by the fact he continues to grow, presumably from effects of radiation. Angered by photographers lights one night the boy, now over twenty feet tall, breaks out of his captivity and flees into the wooded countryside. While the military and trio of scientists search for the boy giant, now recognized as the Frankenstein monster borne out of the heart from 1945, another monster appears, a subterranean, burrowing reptilian creature called "Baragon". Baragon crashes a party(literally), demolishing a large villa and consuming some local farm animals during his countryside forays. Eventually, and not surprisingly, the Franken-boy giant, now fifty feet tall, and Baragon, encounter each other in the Japan countryside and battle it out. (no other spoilers)

Observations: I remember as a kid seeing this movie listed in TV Guide, then watching it with my dad during the overnight hours. I have always considered this film to be somewhat "off the beaten path" as a kaiju film, which I wholeheartedly welcome. Seeing it for the first time it was not what I expected, but I was anything but disappointed. The score was very good, as were the makeup effects used to render actor Koji Furuhata, who played the larger Franken-boy giant in this film. I especially liked the exaggerated brow and misshapen teeth, the boy giant's choppers sufficiently misshapen to give any self respecting dentist nightmares. The various grunts, almost pig like snorts and periodic groans and truncated goofy laughter of the boy giant(while eating) add to his menace, though I don't think, as his actions in the film would suggest, he was malevolent.

Frankenstein Vs Baragon was recently released to Region 1 DVD by Tokyo Shock, a subsidiary of Mediablasters, and the DVD is outstanding, presenting the movie in it's original aspect ratio of 2:35.1 widescreen and in Japanese language(w/English subtitles) and also affording those who buy the DVD the opportunity to watch this movie in English dubbed audio as well.

The original Japanese trailer for Frankenstein Vs Baragon:

The Heat Is On: The Day The Earth Caught Fire(1961)

I have always been a great fan of disaster movies and I have a great many of them on DVD. A few years ago I picked up one on disc I had not seen since I was a kid. I'm referring to The Day The Earth Caught Fire, theatrically released in 1961 by British Lions Films-Pax Films and directed by Val Guest.

The film's story: Simultaneous detonations of powerful nuclear bombs by both the United States and the Soviet Union result in gradual, and bizarre, weather changes all over the globe. Eventually the dreadful reason for these weather effects is revealed: the detonations have knocked the Earth off it's axis, and to make matters even worse, have caused the Earth to begin moving, in a collision course, with the sun. Across the planet the heat intensifies, resulting in massive blazes, withering heatwaves, and the accompanying widespread panic, chaos, and sense of humanity's impending doom. The world's leading scientists devise a plan: one final, enormous detonation, that may save humanity by re-setting the Earth's axis... or hasten the world's destruction. (no other spoilers)

Observations: I have always been impressed by this film, both the suspense and feeling of dread that it effectively evokes, the story told through the eyes of a reporter employed by the London Daily Express. The ending is, like the movie itself, thought-provoking...and kind of enigmatic at the same time. The DVD of this movie, distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment, is stellar. The film is presented in widescreen(2:35.1), includes an audio commentary with director Val Guest(The Quatermass Xperiment-1956). a theatrical trailer, TV spot, still gallery, and director biography. This movie won for "Best Screenplay"(British Academy Award) in 1961.

The Day The Earth Caught Fire is a science fiction classic and one of the best "end-of-the-world" films ever made.

The trailer for the film:

Objects In Motion: Gorath(1962)

Though Godzilla takes center stage among Toho kaiju and sci-fi fans alike I also think that the Toho Motion Picture "space operas" were also very good. By this I mean films in which the story centers on invading aliens and/or other adventures in outer space, e.g. The Mysterians(1957) and Battle In Outer Space(1959). My favorite Toho science fiction "space opera" is Gorath(1962) (Yosei Gorasu), released to theaters in 1962 by Toho.

The film's story: a mysterious collapsed star with a mass over 6000 times the Earth's is discovered by the crew of a rocket ship. That rocket ship is captured by the celestial body's immense gravitational pull and consequently destroyed, but not before sending back critical information on the approaching red star, which is subsequently dubbed "Gorath". The information is analyzed and the result isn't good: Gorath is on a collision course with Earth, prompting the world's top scientists to forum in an effort to devise a plan to save the planet from imminent destruction. Their plan is a bold one: construct massive, subterranean thermonuclear rockets at the South Pole, fire them off and use them to "thrust" the Earth out of Gorath's projected course. There are the expected logistical headaches that come with such a colossal undertaking, not to mention the appearance of Magma, a giant, disagreeable walrus that obviously does not like all the commotion going on around him at the South Pole. (no other spoilers).

Observations: a fun film and a great spectacle to watch. The music is superlative, the cast a veritable "Who's who" of Toho actors, and the miniatures are, I think the absolute best I have ever seen in any Toho kaiju/sci-fi film.

Gorath was theatrically released in the United States in 1964, a couple of years after it's release in Japan, by Brenco Pictures. In the Americanized version of the film the sequences with the monster walrus "Magma" are removed. I have seen a copy(or two) of the Columbia release of the movie on VHS in discount video stores, though not recently. The film is available on Region 2 at Yesasia.com(though without English subtitles).

The trailer for Gorath(1962):

Bad Hair Day: Beast Of The Yellow Night(1971)

During the late 1960's and early 1970's actor John Ashley teamed with director Eddie Romero to produce some very cool horror films, all filmed on location in the Phillipines, these movies all serving up generous amounts of violence, mayhem, nudity and gore. One of my favorites is Beast Of The Yellow Night, an R-Rated horror feature released to cinema in 1971.

The film's story: somewhere in the South Pacific in 1946, US Army deserter Joseph Langdon, in order to avoid starving to death, makes a deal with the Devil. Twenty-four years later Langdon's soul, permanent property of Old Scratch, inhabits the body of a man named Philip Rogers, who lies in a hospital bed, his face mangled(in an industrial accident) and just pronounced dead by the doctors. Imagine the shock to both the physicians, and Roger's wife Julia, when Rogers sits up in bed, quite alive, though, as we will see shortly, most definitely not himself. Shortly after Rogers(Langdon) leaves the hospital he begins transforming into a hideous, werewolf-like beast with a penchant for aggression and hostility towards anyone nearby. The local police struggle to figure out who is behind the killings and even after they do, trying to apprehend Rogers afters he transforms is easier said than done, the monster impervious to bullets, and going slap off on scores of the police personnel who try to stop it. The key to ending Roger's "beastly" rampage seems to lie with an old blind man befriended by Rogers, earlier in the film. (no other spoilers)

Observations: as someone who has always found "man who would be monster" storylines appealing this film definitely endears itself to me very well. The Devil is played by portly Vic Diaz, and John Ashley is good as the man who would be beast and what he looks like after transforming is definitely tha last thing you'd ever want over for Sunday brunch: fanged, hostile and possessing a werewolf-like appearance overall, the monster gets plenty of exercise killing locals and engaging the local cops. Mary Wilcox is easy on the eyes, and the makeup effects are decent. The acting is generally muted, but I think the action and gore keep things interesting. As a horror fan this one is a keeper. The Retromedia DVD of this film is very good, the film presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, and includes a trailer and an interview with John Ashley's wife, Jan. (Mr. Ashley is deceased). If you haven't seen this horror film, rent it from Netflix, or pick it up from Retromedia(www.retromedia.org).

The trailer for Beast Of The Yellow Night(1971):



Here's the Retromedia DVD of this film for sale at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Beast-Yellow-Night-John-Ashley/dp/B000AYYV7O

The Air Up There: The Abominable Snowman(1957)

It was during the early and mid-1950's that the subject of yeti came to the forefront in newspapers in the Western world. Part of the publicity was due in part to the successful ascent of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth(at over 29,000 feet in height) by Sir Edmund Hillary and his expedition, in 1953. Members of the expedition, including Hillary himself, have been quoted as saying they heard strange noises that sounded semi-human.

Hammer Studios decided to make a film about the mysterious creature, based on the 1955 BBC teleplay The Creature. The result: The Abominable Snowman, released two years later, in 1957.

The film's story:: Botanist Dr. John Rolason(played by Peter Cushing), despite an ominous warning from the local Buddhist temple priest, reluctantly decides to join an expedition to search for the yeti, aka "the abominable snowman". The expedition, led by Tom Friend(played by Forrest Tucker of F-Troop fame), begins it's ascent into the steep, rugged higher elevations of the Himalayas. After establishing a small base camp the group is indeed visited by the mysterious creatures. One is shot and killed by expedition member and trapper Ed Shelley(played by Robert Brown). The dead creature is ignominiously used as bait, to lure other members of it's kind to the expedition members. This action proves disastrous, the team discovering that the yeti have a mysterious "telepathic" ability, it's effects on the surviving team members unpredictable and dangerous. (no spoilers).

Observations: this film is one of my top five favorite Hammer horror films. It is a grim and moody feature, with great visuals of the rugged and awesome mountains of Nepal. The theme music is, like the movie, at times somber, other times creepy. Like every Hammer horror film I have seen the music compliments the film very well. Peter Cushing is great as the intellectual botanist, whose curiosity drives him to join in the expedition, despite the protestations of his wife and the mysterious, often menacing musings of the locals. Tom Friend is an amusing opposite to Dr. Rolason, the showman's desire to capture the creature driven by the almighty dollar. The skirmishes between these two men during the hike are inevitable, at one point the two nearly coming to blows after Rolason accuses Friend of being a "cheap fairground trickster" . The movie is available on Region 1 DVD as either a stand alone film, or as part of a double-feature, paired with the 1970's martial arts crime drama Shatter!

The trailer for the film:

The Bear Necessities: Grizzly(1976)

I have always liked this movie. It has some genuinely creepy scenes, not to mention gore(one of the camper's is beheaded by the monster grizzly), and a vulnerable, perpetually "teetering-on-the-edge" heroic "good guy" character in the park ranger, played with the necessary(but not excessive) tension and consumption of cigarettes, by Christopher George(of the 60's series The Rat Patrol). This film lacks the grandeur of "Jaws" but is nonetheless, IMO, worth a look, if you are a fan of "giant rogue animal on the loose" cinema as I am. The movie was filmed in south Georgia. This film is available on all Region DVD and Region 1 DVD at Amazon.com.

Here's one link where the Mediablaster's 2 disc R1 DVD of this film is for sale: http://www.antonline.com/p_611-GP_366009.htm

Long In The Tooth: The Werewolf(1956)

There are a lot of horror movies from the 1950's and 1960's that were made on modest(or less than modest) budgets and have "flown under the radar", so to speak. One of the purposes of this blog is to promote these kinds of movies which, despite their budget limitations, provide a better than average return of entertainment value. One such film I believe does exactly that is The Werewolf, released in 1956, directed by Fred Sears and starring a then unknown actor named Steven Ritch in the title role.

The film's story: a lone man enters a small town's bar, disoriented and clearly traumatized. He seeks solace from a glass of whiskey and the warmth of a nearby fireplace but neither work. After departing the bar he is assaulted by a burly, and greedy bar patron-their scuffle ends up in a dark alley where the bar patron is killed, his throat slashed, the killer fleeing into the woods. Subsequently, another man is attacked in the neighboring woods, which prompts a manhunt for the killer, who has left some strange footprints in the snow. Meanwhile, two men, scientists, enter town looking for the killer as well. The killer is in fact one Duncan Marsh, an average, everyday guy who, we learn, was injured in an auto accident, "rescued" by the two scientists, and injected with a mysterious serum which causes Marsh to transform into a very hostile werewolf. Marsh, now hunted by both the law and the two scientists, seeks refuge in the surrounding countryside and woods outside the town limits. Marsh's wife and son arrive and help the sheriff coax him out from hiding. While in a jail cell the two scientists responsible for Marsh's condition secretly enter his cell(after knocking out the deputy), only to be surprised by the werewolf, not Marsh! The werewolf immediately preys on and kills both scientists, then escapes into the woods once more...(no spoilers).

Observations: This movie is a solid, creepy affair. Marsh is a very sympathetic character, a father and husband who through no fault of his own has had his life altered, irreparably as it turns out, by two nefarious and unethical scientists. The surrounding woods and rugged terrain used for many of this movie's shots adds to the creepy tone of the film, which is shot in black and white. The use of shadows is also expertly done, especially the "alley" skirmish at the beginning of the movie, and the scene where the two scientists sneak into Marsh's cell, thinking(incorrectly) that he is still Marsh. Duncan Marsh himself comes across as a genteel, sensitive fellow when not the beast. Give actor Steven Ritch credit for conveying these things about the character, which adds a tragic element to the man he plays in this movie.

This film used to appear on AMC's Monsterfest, though I have not seen it on this cable channel in recent years. After what seemed like an eternity this film has been officially released to Region 1 DVD as part of the Icons Of Horror Collection-Sam Katzman DVD set. Here's the link to this DVD set for sale at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Icons-Horror-Collection-Creature-Werewolf/dp/B000UAFDR0

For any fans of horror, especially those fans of werewolves, who have not seen this movie I highly recommend this melancholy and creepy classic!

Shell Game: Giant Monster Gamera(1965)

While Godzilla justifiably dominates many discussions of giant monsters on internet message boards there is another monster from the Orient that has also enjoyed quite a big screen career as well: Gamera. This monster made its debut in 1965 in a black and white, letterboxed film released theatrically by Daiei Studios, the movie called Giant Monster Gamera.

Like any "origin story" film this movie goes about introducing Gamera to those watching the film. The storyline: a mysterious country(presumably the U.S.S.R.) drops an atomic bomb at the Arctic(near the North Pole) which causes a huge fissure to open in the ice. Awakened by the atomic blast a 150 foot tall turtle erupts out of the ice from a long slumber. The giant turtle immediately destroys an icebreaker/research vessel, then flies south, where it stops long enough to befriend a boy with a pet turtle and then engage the local military tasked with stopping it. Scientists discover that Gamera "feeds" on energy, especially fire, which makes attacking the monster with conventional weapons ineffective. To that end scientists and the military forum and come up with the "Z Plan", by which to lure the giant monster into the enormous, and opened, nose of a rocket, then close the rocket's nose and send the giant fire breathing turtle into outer space, never to menace mankind again.

To save budget this movie was shot in black and white. The aspect ratio of the movie is 2:35.1 widescreen. Giant Monster Gamera was directed by (the late) Noriaki Yuasa. Yuasa has done, IMO, a marvelous job of creating an entertaining kaiju film, in light of the time and budget constraints he always worked under while in Daiei's employment. Yuasa was also greatly fond of children and this no doubt factored into the inclusion of a child(the little boy) into the movie's storyline.
Admittedly I found the little boy an annoyance and distraction more than anything but this movie is just serious enough in tone otherwise to keep my attention.

Giant Monster Gamera(1965) was re-released in an "Americanized" version in the U.S. with the title Gammera The Invincible, and with the inclusion of American actors Brian Donlevy and Albert Dekker. Both of these films were released on VHS by Neptune Media back in the late 1990's, these VHS releases stellar, both versions presented uncut, in the original aspect ratio(2:35.1 letterbox), the prints very clean and looking quite good.

There has been no official region 1 DVD release of Giant Monster Gamera(1965) or its Americanized version. There are a lot of cheapie DVDs of the American version(Alpha Video comes to mind) but these do the movie no favor: they're usually grainy looking and have been cropped to a pan and scan format(shaped to fit a standard TV screen). These versions can also be seen on "Mystery Science Theater" re-runs as well.

Giant Monster Gamera(1965) is on Region 2 DVD but this disc is getting harder to find. The entire 60's Gamera films are sold at Amazon Japan as a Region 2 DVD box set which is, not surprisingly, very expensive.

Hopefully this film will be released to quality Region 1 DVD soon.

The original trailer for Giant Monster Gamera(1965):

Second Helpings: Feast 2 - Sloppy Seconds(2008)

Whenever I feel like I'm in a rut or just feeling generally "blah" I always reach for a giant monster movie or Godzilla film on DVD to cheer myself up. When giant monsters don't work I resort to Plan B: horror movies, more specifically gory and violent films that provide a jolt to my visual cortex. One such movie I recently bought on DVD jolted me out of the temporary doldrums just fine, thank you very much. I'm referring to Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds(2008). This film is a direct sequel to 2006's Feast, a movie directed by John Gulager(son of character actor Clu Gulager), which features an isolated and remote diner in the middle of nowhere that is suddenly attacked by marauding and grotesque looking humanoid monsters. In Feast 2, also directed by John Gulager, things pick up right where the first film left off: another group of people hole up in a nearby small town, trying to survive the monster's attacks on them. The group consists of a black used car salesman, a gang of tattooed and well armed female bikers, a pair of Mexican midget wrestlers, and finally "The Bartender"(played by Clu Gulager) and "Honey Pie"(played by Jenny Wade), both survivors from the first film.

Like the first installment Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds is a meat grinder, perhaps even gorier than its predecessor. There are arguably as many shots of human innards, including brains, intestines and other internal organs in this film as there are in surgical training videos. There is also one particularly nasty scene that is so disgusting, involving a dead monster carcass, that many in the group of survivors upchuck in a group vomit fest. Add to the mix a death by a pair of hammers, one especially gruesome impaling scene and a sequence in which one of the monsters fornicates with a cat . Starting to get the picture here? There is, predictably, a great deal of profanity spoken by the characters in this film, ironically most of it not prompted by their dire predicaments, courtesy of the hostile and bloodthirsty monsters that are after them, but rather because of their own disdain for each other. Humor creeps into this film, to be sure, though I did not find this movie to be nearly as humorous as it's been described in other reviews.

If you're like me, a great fan of violent and gory horror films, then I would definitely recommend this film as a DVD buy. A release of a third "Feast" film is forthcoming in the first quarter of 2009.

The trailer for Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds:

Going Green: Die, Monster, Die!(1965)

I am a great fan of actor Nick Adams. I always have been. I grew quite fond of the actor's steady and solid presence in the Toho films Invasion Of The Astro Monsters(1965) and Frankenstein Vs Baragon(1965), the latter also known as Frankenstein Conquers The World. Sometimes when I watch these two movies it's easy to forget that Mr. Adams also appeared on television. One of his many TV appearances was in a 1964 season one episode of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea entitled "Turn Back The Clock". Adams was actually nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as well(he didn't win) in 1963 and enjoyed success as the character "Johnny Yuma" in the TV series The Rebel.

One of my favorite movies featuring this actor is a horror movie directed by Daniel Haller and released to theaters in 1965 called, Die, Monster, Die!, an 80 minute feature based on the story The Colour Out Of Space, written in 1927 by H.P. Lovecraft.

The film's story: American Stephen Reinhart(Adams) has traveled to England to visit his girlfriend and former college classmate Susan Witley, who resides in the gloomy Witley mansion, along with her father Nahum Witley(played by Boris Karloff), and her ill, bedridden mother, played by Freda Jackson. It doesn't take long for Reinhart to discover that something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark, in this case the town and the local citizenry, who immediately shun Reinhart at the mention of the name "Witley". Reinhart arrives in town to a sullen and close-lipped populace, and finally makes it to the gloomy, fog-shrouded Witley estate on foot. The elder Witley(Karloff) wants Reinhart to leave and Susan and her ill mother want him to stay. Reinhart hangs around, his curiosity and caution about the Witley place understandably aroused by bizarre shrieks in the middle of the night, a mysterious cloaked and veiled figure prowling the grounds, even attacking Reinhart with a knife at one point, and the mysterious death of Merwyn, the elder Witley's personal assistant. As Reinhart and his girlfriend Susan discover, there's something in the greenhouse, and it's definitely not your typical vegetable garden. There's also something in the cellar of the Witley mansion, and it's not a wine collection. Turns out Nahum Witley has been giving sanctuary to a large green and glowing meteorite, which has caused some unusual plant life to flourish in the greenhouse, the space rock also having a decidedly catastrophic influence on various occupants of the Witley mansion, including old man Nahum Witley himself!

Observations: I believe this film is solid. The presence of legendary horror actor Boris Karloff is a big plus, despite his advancing age(he's 78 years old at the time of this film's lensing). The visual effects used to depict the Witley mansion and surrounding estate are basic, with matte paintings, some fog effects and the occasional screech of a crow. Still, they work. Combine these with the cacaphony of shutters slamming, doors creaking and the occasional animal-like shriek and you have the necessary audio effects upon which to play out the character's interaction with each other. The makeup effects are serviceable. There is something of a "cheese" factor in this movie, and I think the "dinner table" scene may have been a bit too long, but this movie has, like a great pair of jeans, aged well, for me anyway, and it has become a steady comfortable fit for me as well, whenever I need to watch an older horror classic, that doesn't take itself too seriously, to cheer me up. The Region 1 DVD of this movie(a MGM Midnite Movies title) is good quality, and offers scene selection, language options, and a theatrical trailer. It is presented in 2.35:1 letterbox format.

The trailer for Die, Monster, Die!