After Toho gained the rights to Willis O'Brien's script "King Kong vs Frankenstein", the studio decided to replace Frankenstein's monster with their own homegrown villain, Godzilla, thus giving rise to "King Kong vs Godzilla" (see Wrath of Godzilla, Part 4). Not being ones to let a good monster go to waste, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka (the man behind the kaiju), decided that Toho's next picture would center around ol' flat-top himself, and thus. . .
Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
. . .was born. Or reborn, I suppose.
Also known as "Frankenstein vs Baragon", the action begins during the final years of World War II. Nazi soldiers barge into the German laboratory of a madly overacting scientist and swipe the still-beating heart of Frankenstein's monster from its petrie dish cradle. See, this movie is sort of a sequel to the classic "Frankenstein" films produced by Universal studios in the 30's and 40's. Toho was never shy about wearing their influences on their sleeve ("King Kong", "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms"), and this was definitely no exception. Those movies were largely set in Germany, and after getting killed multiple times by torch-wielding peasants and returning from the dead alive and kicking an equal number of times, it seems logical to assume that those dang Nazis would show an interest in Dr. Frankenstein's creation. See, they want to create an army of undead soldiers, so they ship Frank's heart off to scientists in Japan to begin work. Unfortunately, these scientists live and work in Hiroshima. Whoops. Kaboom.
Cut to 15 years later, which would mean that this movie is set in the year 1960. A trio of scientists, led by American actor Nick Adams as Dr. Bowen (Adams starred in "Invasion of the Astro Monsters", also released in 1965), are in Hiroshima studying the aftereffects of the atomic bomb drop. They soon encounter a mysterious homeless kid who's been running around the city eating dogs and rabbits (there were many such orphan "waifs" roaming the city after the bombing). They corner him in some caves and, after realizing that he'd survived all these years after facing the direct force of the bomb, decide to take him back to the lab for study. The characters point out that he's Caucasian, even though he's clearly played (rather well) by a Japanese actor. He also has a weird flat-top head and can speak only in grunts.
Meanwhile, in another movie, a giant prehistoric subterranean beast named Baragon decides to pop up and destroy an oil field. He can tunnel through the earth at lightning speed, shoot a red energy beam, sports a glowing unicorn horn, and has big ears. Back in the original movie, Frankenstein grows at an incredible rate, develops a crush on scientist Dr. Togami (played by Kumi Mizuno, who was also in "Invasion of the Astro Monsters", playing the alien gf of Nick Adams), and throws a T.V. out of a window because he doesn't the show (hippie teens dancing to hippie music).
Alright, about this whole name thing. . .
Technically, it's not Frankenstein, it's Frankenstein's Monster. He's the creation of Dr. Henry (Victor, in the original Mary Shelley novel) Frankenstein. However, over the years, the monster himself has erroneously become labeled "Frankenstein". I will help perpetuate this mistake, mostly because that's how this movie refers to him. Also, in the rival "Gamera" films produced by Daiei Studios, there is a monster called Barugon (this one has a "u" instead of an "a"). Frankly, Daiei's Barugon is cooler than Toho's Baragon, but I'm not talking about those giant turtle movies right now - this is all about the Godzillaverse, baby!
So a Japanese scientist who was present during the exchange of Frankenstein's heart with the Nazis comes forward and identifies the homeless waif as The Monster. He reveals that The Monster can regenerate by ingesting lots of protein (i.e. meat) and that he will grow to huge proportions if he continues to eat as much as he is. Soon he outgrows the lab and needs to live in a zoo cage. Reporters arrive and snap some photos - the flashbulbs cause him to go Frankshit, so he tears his hand off to get out of his shackle and runs off into the wild. While the scientists study the still-living severed hand (it eventually dies because it gets no protein), Frankenstein eats cows, throws trees at birds, and lays pit traps for wild boars. In that other movie, Baragon interrupts hippie dance parties, stomps through a town, and chows down on some hard working miners.
Eventually the scientists find Frank in some local caves (actually, old ammo depots from WWII), and accidentally stir up Baragon instead. However, when Baragon threatens to crush his crush, Dr. Togami, Frankenstein leaps to the rescue and the battle begins! It's a rather exciting, energetic fight, primarily because the actor playing Frankenstein isn't wearing a heavy rubber suit and can leap around like an acrobat. The tussle moves to Mt. Fuji, where the beasts battle against the backdrop of a huge forest fire. In an interesting reversal, Frankenstein grabs a couple of burning trees, and, like the torches that angry peasants used to pester him with, uses them to fight off Baragon. Frank wins the fight by breaking Baragon's neck, and then a giant octopus crawls out of a nearby lake and drags Frankenstein underwater, wrapping up the story perfectly.
The End.
Um, wait. . .
Giant octopus? What did I miss here?
The American co-producers of this movie insisted that Toho insert a giant octopus into the ending of the movie. Why, you ask? Because the giant octopus that the big ape battled near the beginning of "King Kong vs Godzilla" got such a huge positive reaction from the American audience that the producers naturally assumed that octopi = box office gold, so. . . more octopi! In the original Japanese version, there's an earthquake and Frankenstein gets sucked underground. Both endings are copouts, but I prefer the octopus ending, just because it's random and weird and fits perfectly in a movie about a giant Frankenstein's Monster fighting a giant lizard/dog/unicorn.
Despite the addition of the octopus, the movie didn't catch on with American audiences. It was a huge international hit, however, and a sequel soon followed (keep reading). What can I say, it may be the strangest movie in the entire Godzilla universe. Still, it's fun in its own way. The whole Baragon plotline seems tacked on, but. . . well, the entire movie seems tacked on, really. The special effects are wild and the climactic fight scene kicks ass, so this one is definitely worth a look, even more so for fans of weird cinema. Baragon would return in both "Destroy All Monsters" (1968) and over three decades later in "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack!" (2001). Frankenstein, or, at least, his progeny, would return in. . .
War of the Gargantuas (1966)
This was always my favorite non-Godzilla Toho movie when I was a kid. Until very recently, I never knew that this movie was a sequel, let alone had anything to do with Frankenstein. I guess that would explain the flat-top heads, though. Originally titled "Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs Gaira", the American producers, after the U.S. box office failure of "Frankenstein Conquers the World", wisely decided to omit all references to Frankenstein and instead call the creatures Gargantuas. It worked, and "War of the Gargantuas" became a Stateside hit.
The film opens with a Japanese ship at sea getting attacked by - a giant octopus! I'm assuming that this is the same one from the end of "Frankenstein Conquers the World", maybe even from "King Kong vs Godzilla", which would make this Part 3 of the Octopus Trilogy. Another giant monster, this one hairy and green, arrives to beat the snot out the pesky cephalopod, then trashes the ship himself. A lone surviving crew member makes it to shore and fingers Frankenstein as the culprit. The government turns to the trio of scientists who raised Frankenstein in the first movie, who all have different names now, which is weird. Is this supposed to be a reboot? No, I think maybe they just changed their names to try and distance themselves from the Frankenstein fiasco. Didn't work.
The American scientist, previously played by Nick Adams, is played in this film by Russ Tamblyn ("Easy Rider", Dr. Jacoby from "Twin Peaks"). Adams was much more likable. Tamblyn comes across as a stuck up know-it-all. Kumi Mizuno returns as the female scientist, and the other guy is played by some other guy (Toho regular Kenji Sahara). The trio deny that the green monster in the sea is Frankenstein, especially after the beast trashes a coastal airport and eats a couple of people. This is a grotesque scene, where the monster chows down on a poor lady and then spits out her bloody, mangled clothes. Eww.
There's also been sightings of a giant, hairy gold-colored beast in the mountains. This one avoids humans and leaves giant footprints in the snow (the Abominable Snowman craze was all the rage at the time). The trio seems to think that this monster is more likely to be Frankenstein than the seagoing one.
After attacking a horrible lounge singer on a cruise ship, where it's discovered that he doesn't dig bright lights, the government decides to begin "Operation L" to counter the green guy's attacks. Operation L (for Laser) involves using giant mobile lasers, a.k.a. "Masers", to counterattack the beast. Masers were this movie's greatest contribution to the world of Godzilla. They would be used several times in Toho movies in the upcoming decades, becoming one of the most popular "mecha" creations in the Toho Universe. Operation L is a runaway success, and just as the final killing blow is about to be delivered by their Masers, the gold beast shows up and takes his injured brother to safety.
The scientists confirm that both of the creatures are spawned from the cells of the original Frankenstein. Somehow the cells got some protein and grew into these new monsters. They name the green one Gaira and the gold one Sanda. The friendly one, Sanda, may be easier to control, but destroying Gaira could be a problem. If you blow the creature up, how many more will grow from the Gaira bits?
Sanda proves his good nature by saving the lovely female doctor from falling off of a cliff, breaking his leg as a result. He returns to his brother and finds that he's been snacking on hippie hikers (there's one shot early on where Gaira waits in the fog, stalking the hikers - very creepy and atmospheric), then beats the shit out of him with a tree. Gaira runs off to the ocean, then pops up at Tokyo later on, looking for human shaped protein bars. He threatens Ms. Mizuno, causing Sanda to intervene and try to convince his brother to leave the humans alone. Gaira refuses, and the fight is on! It's another great climactic fight, energetic (because the monster suits are more mobile) and exciting. The battle moves from the city to the ocean, where a giant cyborg Mecha-Octopus, controlled by aliens, shows up and kills both the Frankensteins!
Ha, ha, just kidding. What really happens is far less weird, but remarkably coincidental. An underwater volcano decides to erupt at that exact moment, and Sanda pulls his evil brother Gaira into the eruption, killing them both. The End.
I like this movie far more than "Frankenstein Conquers the World". It's less random, faster paced, there's more monster action, and the special effects are more well done. The actors who play Sanda and Gaira also get to perform in a couple of well-acted scenes, wordlessly conveying depth of character like the best actors of the Silent era. Needless to say, the team of Honda/Tsuburya/Ifubuke is responsible for both these movies, and they do their usual fine jobs, especially with "War of the Gargantuas". The Maser cannons would appear in many Godzilla movies to come, while only the monster Gaira would return, with a cameo appearance in "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." (2003). Like I said earlier, this was my favorite non-Godzilla flick from Toho, and I still think it's one of the best.
Next time, Godzilla returns - and there's a new addition to the family!
No comments:
Post a Comment