I like to call these next two movies "Godzilla's Island Adventures". There's no overarching plot about saving the Earth or anything, it's just Godzilla having quaint monster-fighting excursions on a couple of South Seas islands, featuring a small number of human cast members and rather prominently drug-induced atmospheres.
There's some new creative blood in the mix, this time. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka and screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa both return, but it's new director Jun Fukuda and composer Mararu Sato who bring a modern (60's) sensibility to the table. In other words, there's enough psychedelic loopiness and John Barry guitar riffs to make Jerry Garcia proud. Special effects master Eiji Tsuburya acts as a supervisor for these two films, but it's Sadamasa Arikawa who's really pulling the strings this time.
Godzilla vs the Sea Monster (1966)
A young man, egged on by the encouraging words of an optimistic mystic, decides to go searching for his brother, who was on a ship that was lost at sea. He tries to enter a local teen dance-off (the grand prize is a boat) but arrives too late. A couple of dance-off washouts take his depressed ass down to the docks to take a gander at the sweet ships moored in the harbor. They sneak aboard a sailboat and encounter the "owner" within, who graciously allows them to sleep onboard for the night. When they awaken in the morning, they discover that the missing sailor's brother has hijacked the boat in the middle of the night and they're already halfway across the ocean.
Oh, and the "owner" is actually a bank robber in hiding. With the authorities on the lookout for the missing boat, they decide to help the kid look for his missing bro.
Alas, during a nasty storm the boat is capsized by a giant lobster claw, and the four goofballs wash ashore onto the friendly beaches of Devil's Island. After climbing a cliff, finding a machete and eating some bananas (not all at the same time), they encounter a cute native island girl named Dayo. It seems she's escaped from the local military base of the Red Bamboo, a terrorist organization bent on making nuclear bombs. They also have a hell of a security system - Ebirah, a giant, ill-tempered lobster (who, I'm guessing, is a local). The Red Bamboo ward off Ebirah through the use of a yellow chemical called X-13, which they make on the island. If you try to cross the waters without using X-13, you're mincemeat.
The five stooges sneak into the Red Bamboo base and discover that the terrorists are using slave labor to make X-13. The slaves in question (Dayo, too) are actually natives from Infant Island, Mothra's hometown. The good guys barely escape, in fact two of them don't. One is thrown into the slave pits with the Infant Islanders, whilst the other one accidentally flies off hanging onto a weather balloon. Coincidentally, the balloon lands on Infant Island, where he finds the kid's missing-at-sea brother. A fully grown Mothra is asleep on the island (despite being assailed by a music number), and the twin beauties, now played by a different pair of actresses, inform them that the other Mothra died, leaving just this one (last we saw, there were two larvae in "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster"). The twins are told of the enslaved natives on Devil's Island, so they send the kid's Bro and Balloon Guy back there to prepare for Mothra's coming.
Back on DI, the Good Guys head into some caves to evade Red Bamboo patrols. Inside the caves, they discover the sleeping form of Godzilla (why he's here, we'll never know - I think he's "sleeping it off" from his last appearance, where he went into space). They very wisely decide to wake him up by using the machete to harness lightning from a passing storm, zapping him up. G busts out of the ground pissed off and gets into a boulder-tossing match with Ebirah, driving him off. Meanwhile, the guy who was captured (we'll call him Captured Guy) rallies the slaves and encourages them to make a bad batch of X-13.
Godzilla, stomping around aimlessly, sees little Dayo and becomes fascinated by her. A giant bird (who was apparently never cool enough to get onto the Toho Monster Roster, or even be named) attacks the both of them - Godzilla fries him without flinching. The Red Bamboo sends out some fighter jets to take on G, but he fries those guys, too. He retaliates by stepping on their base.
The Red Bamboo honchos begin the base's self destruct countdown and try to flee the island. Unfortunately, they use the bad batch of X-13 made by Captured Guy and friends. Ebirah kills them until they die from it. Then Godzilla, finished with the Red Bamboo base, shows up to fight, lizard versus lobster. While this is going on, Balloon Guy and Bro rally the freed Infant Island natives (and the other Good Guys) to make a giant net.
Godzilla tears the claws off of Ebirah, victorious. Mothra arrives and has to fend off Godzilla while the Good Guys and the islanders get into the net (apparently G can't discern friend from foe at this point - maybe his blood's up). Mothra flies off with the people while Godzilla jumps into the ocean like an action hero just as Devil's Island erupts into a mushroom cloud. Mothra flies back to Infant Island, Bro reunited with Kid - The End.
Check out this trailer - watch for the moment when some characters are trying to sneak by Godzilla, who's sitting on a rock in the background. It looks like he's taking a dump.
Also known as "Godzilla vs Ebirah", and "Ebirah, Horror from the Deep", the original Japanese title translates as "Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas". Originally, this movie was supposed to star King Kong, but they changed it to Godzilla at the last minute, hence some of the weird touches. For instance, Godzilla's infatuation with little Dayo - definitely more of a Kong behavior. Some may also remember this as a popular episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000".
All-in-all, a fun movie. The new creative team brings a fresh flavor to the series, and the smaller scale plotline is also a nice change from all of the world-shattering monster drama. While the special effects are mostly campy, there are some striking shots here and there, like when Ebirah's claw rises from the ocean in front of some hapless boaters. The music, while it lacks the familiar Ifukube themes, is pure '60's pop - a weirdly welcome sound, very much like John Barry's "James Bond" themes.
Ebirah would return nearly 40 years later in "Godzilla: Final Wars".
Son of Godzilla (1967)
After a low-flying plane nearly socks Godzilla in the kisser (thanks to some instrument-blocking interference), we cut to a lone parachutist, who sails down onto remote Sollgel Island because he's a reporter and he senses a "big story". Turns out he's right - some world-government-sponsored scientists are using the island as a giant experiment. They plan to test a weather control system on the island and lower the temperature to subzero limits. The reporter (Goro) entrenches himself with the scientists, where he washes vegetables in used laundry water, dodges giant praying mantises (Kamacuras, native to the island), and sees a cute native girl swimming in the ocean (no one believes him).
The day of the experiment arrives, but something goes wrong - interference interrupts the weather control system, causing massive storms and an unbearable heatwave. The storms have uncovered a giant egg, which the Kamacuras (there are three of them) feel they have to assault. Out of the egg hatches Minilla (sometimes known as Minya), the son of Godzilla. Then daddy arrives and kills two of the Kamacuras, driving off the third. He then stomps away while Minilla makes pathetic little donkey/whiny noises). The native girl (Saeko) takes pity on the kid and feeds him some melons until daddy returns. Minilla climbs onto his tail (cute), and father and son head off together.
Saeko, now with Goro and the stranded scientists (their radio is out), is discovered to be the daughter of a long-dead archaeologist who was studying the island. When the last remaining Kamacuras attacks them, they all head into the caves where Saeko has been living all of her life, take shelter, and try to fix the radio.
After a too-cute scene where Minilla plays jumprope with dad's tail and has a temper tantrum, we return to the scientists, who are coming down with a nasty illness, so Saeko takes Goro to collect some healing red water from a nearby pool. On the way they pass by the lair of Kumonga, a giant spider, who seems to be stirring. "This really is a monster island," says Goro.
Godzilla, meanwhile, teaches little Minilla how to emit a "roar of challenge" and use his fire breath. Unfortunately, Minilla can only blow smoke rings, unless under duress (like when dad stomps on his tail). In case you can't tell, this is a kid-oriented movie.
Saeko, while out gathering herbs, is attacked by the mantis Kamacuras. Minilla comes to the rescue and fends him off, but the fighting wakes the ill-tempered spider Kumonga, who goes after the humans when the father/son lizards are gone. Kumonga eventually goes after Minilla, subduing him with his sticky web.
The rescue ship arrives for the scientists, but before they go, they decide to run the experiment again and freeze the island, for some reason (the interference was caused by Minilla in the egg, calling for daddy, but now that's gone). While they scramble to start their machines, Kumonga fights Kamacuras, spider versus mantis. The spider wins, killing the big bug with its poison stinger.
Godzilla finally arrives to save his son from the evil spider, and a big battle ensues. In a very weirdly shot sequence, Godzilla gets stung in the eye by Kumonga, but it doesn't faze him. Father and son team up to take on the arachnid and, in the end, they fry him up with simultaneous blasts of flame breath.
As the Good Guys sail away on the rescue ship, the experiment runs and Sollgel Island goes into deep-freeze. Godzilla and Minilla huddle together for warmth, but "don't worry", says the Lead Scientist! The freeze is only temporary, and they'll thaw out just fine. Still, it kind of feels like a sad ending. It's kind of strange.
This was one of my favorite Godzilla movies when I was a kid. Nowadays, not so much. It's fun and full of plenty of monster action, but it wasn't made for old farts like me. Minilla is cloying. Nonetheless, I'm still a bit fond of this one, despite the goofy music and the cartoony word balloons. You may notice that Godzilla's look was changed for this movie. I think he's supposed to look more paternal, I guess, but his head just looks like a frog's head, to me.
Kamacuras (mantis) and Kumonga (spider) would return in "Destroy All Monsters", "All Monsters Attack" and "Godzilla: Final Wars". Minilla also comes back in those three movies, as well as "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II", 'Godzilla vs Space Godzilla" and "Godzilla vs Destroyah".
Also of note - both of these movies were not released in theaters in the United States, they went directly to television. But all of the following movies were released in theaters, so go figure.
Next time, it's the ultimate monster mash of Godzilla, Series 1 - "Destroy All Monsters" is here!