A Quick Look: KING KONG VS GODZILLA (1963 - color)

   KING KONG's effects master Willis O'Brien had been trying to pitch a sequel, evidently since the 1930's. "King Kong vs Frankenstein" would've featured the giant ape confronting the latest monstrous creation of Dr. Frankenstein. It wasn't until the early 60's that he finally sold the idea to producer John Beck, who in turn sold the idea to Japan's Toho studio. Toho chose to replace the Frankenstein monster with their signature giant, and thus was born KING KONG VS GODZILLA. The film remains one of the most popular and successful of Toho's releases. It was the first Godzilla movie many monster kids saw, and it remains sheer enjoyment.

 

   In short, a Japanese pharmaceutical company is eager to capitalize on a legendary giant that feeds on some island berries the company has purchased. Whether it exists or not, some employees of the company are sent to the tropics to find the creature. They do, and soon Kong is headed toward Japan on a raft. Meanwhile, Godzilla has emerged from an iceberg and is heading straight for Japan... The result is one of the most enjoyable giant monster movies ever made. Just fun. At least for those who can take the movie on it's own merits... 

 

   O'Brien passed away before the film was released, and some have put forth that maybe it was best he never saw the final results since it departed so far from his initial idea. Obie's beloved stop-motion magic obviously couldn't be employed, and the man-in-suit Kong is light-years departed from anything as good as the master craftsman could've done. Honestly, it's a pretty shabby costume in general, far outclassed by iconic suits like those worn by George Barrows, etc. Conversely, Godzilla looks great, and the effects work really shines if you can just get around that crummy Kong suit. It's easy enough to do, though, and clearly the original audience didn't have any misgivings. It remains one of the top Godzilla movies of all time. This is the one really responsible for the continuing series of the 60's.

 

   The studio did hang onto the Frankenstein idea, though, and couple years later made FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD (only they would've turned the Frankenstein monster into an ever-growing giant who does battle with a fire-spitting dinosaur...). Toho made another, unrelated Kong movie in 1967, KING KONG ESCAPES, which itself was based on the Saturday morning cartoon series of 1966!

A Quick Look: KING KONG ESCAPES (1968-color)

   After KING KONG VS GODZILLA, Toho tried to get another Kong movie going. Copyright issues delayed this, however. One King Kong adventure was almost put into production when those pesky copyright issues forced a substitution resulting in GODZILLA VERSUS THE SEA MONSTER. Finally, though, KING KONG ESCAPES came along. Based on the Saturday morning King Kong cartoon, this wild, wacky, and downright wonderful adventure confronted the monster monarch with a robot double under the control of Oriental super-villain Dr. Who. Linda Miller, Kong's latest crush, was a perky model living in Japan. Though she didn't have aspirations to be an actress, she was convinced to try it. This was the only film in which she headlined, but she captured a lot of hearts! Star Rhodes Reason, brother of Rex, was the American star. He was joined by Japan's top leading man, Akira Takarada. The aesthetic of this one is heavily influenced by the espionage thrillers all the rage at the time, and the plot goes for international intrigue as much as it does giant monster antics. Just a super fun movie. Delightful every step of the way (though it's human violence has caused some more recent TV airings to remove footage -which amuses me because I remember seeing the uncut version on The Family Channel a decade earlier than the snipped print turned up).

A Quick Look: IT'S HOT IN PARADISE/HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND (1960/64)

   In the first half of the 1950's, long-busy character actor Alex D'Arcy was becoming something of a heartthrob and was even getting memorable parts in major pictures like HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE. His brush with true stardom didn't hold, however, and Alex began the next decade by headlining this German horror vehicle about a plane load of beautiful dancers who crash at sea and become stranded on a mysterious island also housing a large spider of unknown origin. Gary (D'Arcy), their manager, wanders off one night and gets bitten by the spider. For some reason this transforms him into a half-human mutant spider beast that stalks the girls whenever one of them manages to break loose of the group. When a pair of studly research assistants come to the island, the monster stuff is all but forgotten until the final reel. In the meantime, it's basically one big party scene as the girls dress up in tropical duds and the two men come to blows over one's less-than-respectful attitude towards the girls. This one is weirdly structured to begin with, but is filled with additional bits of oddities (like the plane flying from LA to New York and then back to the Pacific on the way to Singapore, or the constant reference to a clip pistol as a "revolver"). More peep show than monster movie, it was originally imported to raincoat theaters as IT'S HOT IN PARADISE, making no mention in advertising of the monster! A few years later, it was re-issued as HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND and sold to kiddie matinees! This release of the film got a big publicity campaign that played up the horror aspects of the plot. The kids who came to see the film must've been confused, and even a little bored, by the large middle section which is basically nothing but a parade of scantily clad ladies. Of those ladies, the most notable bit of casting is German pinup girl Barbara Valentin in her first credited role (in fact, she gets second billing in the US version -as Barbara Valentine- and she wasn't overly famous State-side). A glamorous blonde of the Bardot/Diana Dors/Jayne Mansfield variety, Miss Valentin went onto a fairly hefty movie career in Europe. As for HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND, it was never sold to television. A pristine DVD release came via Something Weird Video in the late 90's. About that time, the film also became a subject on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in that show's final season. It was one of their better episodes, actually.
 

Barbara Valentin

A Quick Look: THE GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959)

   THE GIANT BEHEMOTH was essentially England's version of THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS. The films even shared the same director, who would later also do GORGO. Originally, the film was to feature a radioactive blob rising from the sea, but the producers insisted on having a dinosaur for the poster. The result is a really nice display of stop motion monster action. Fairly unique to the genre, the film even has some stop-motion tracking shots. When in the water, a stiff prop head and neck represent the beastie, and it's an ill match to the stop motion puppet. Gene Evans is the American star. I believe the version currently on DVD has a snippet missing toward the climax likely due to sprocket damage. It's nothing big, but it does tie off an issue raised in the first reel. My memories could be off, but I remember different editing of the moment when I saw the film on television as a kid.

A Quick Look: THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (1966/70-color)

   This picture was a quasi-sequel to FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD. The connections are sparse, and practically erased in the American script for THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS. When a flesh-eating giant suddenly appears, research scientists suspect the connection to a baby "gargantua" they had in custody -where it came from is a complete mystery, but it's gentle nature is opposite the cruel manner of this new monster. Soon, it becomes evident that there are two hairy giants on the loose, and more new creatures can be grown from any loose cells the creatures might shed in battle. The titular war breaks out when the kind giant must go to blows against the killer beast. One of Toho's finest 60's monster flicks, but despite being an American co-production for 1966, it wasn't to see US screens until 1970 (when it was paired with the similarly late-in-getting-here co-production MONSTER ZERO -itself shot in '65). The lovely Kumi Mizuno is back, this time paired with former child actor and musical star Russ Tamblyn. Russ was on his way to being one of the major Hollywood stars of his era, but unfortunately came along at a time when musicals were dying off. His being forced to star in a Japanese-made monster movie was quite a come down. He may not've resented the assignment, but his boredom with the project is evident (oh, he's too good an actor to give a lousy performance or anything, but nor does he invest anything more than professionalism to the part). In recent years, Russ was asked about his sleepy approach. He was visibly sorry for his performance, having seen the film since and realizing just how good it was. (No doubt the years following THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS helped shape that opinion, as he was very shortly working in Al Adamson movies....)

A Quick Look: ONE MILLION B.C. (1940), and it's legacy

Prehistoric lovers of ONE MILLION B.C.

   The 1940 Hal Roach film ONE MILLION B.C. was a hit for more reasons than the most obvious one -which was dreamy Carole Landis in a fur skin cocktail dress! Actually, the film has a lot going for it. Ambitious prehistoric epic follows two tribes of cavemen and their eventual meeting when Victor Mature is expelled from his tribe and ends up living with the more civilized tribe Landis belongs to. Though they're more advanced, they lack Mature's rugged nature and he ends up teaching them as much as they do him. When a dinosaur attacks, both tribes are forced to join forces. Aside from a short prolog involving a college professor and his students on a field trip, the entire film is spoken only in the language of the cavemen -which fortunately is large on pantomime and short of speeches. Massive production had some incredible special effects, even if the producers took the cost-cutting direction of photo-enlarged lizards and other animals to represent the dinosaurs. This lizard footage was to turn up in literally countless B dinosaur movies for the next several decades, in films ranging from TWO LOST WORLDS to TEENAGE CAVEMAN to VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS. After a while, the footage became so familiar as to be comforting, always sure to show up like a favorite family member at Christmas time! There had been caveman pictures going back as far as movies go, really, but ONE MILLION B.C. was the first real dramatic attempt to be produced with major expense. Most previous exercises were B comedy shorts. Lon Chaney Jr is leader of Victor's tribe, and the role represents the one film role where Chaney did his own make-up using techniques picked up from Chaney Sr. His subsequent contract with Universal forced him to let studio technicians like Jack Pierce do all his makeup. One can't help but wonder how the careers of these men would've been helped or hurt if this hadn't been the case.

Danger from dinosaurs

Lon Chaney leads the tribe

Victor Mature nursed by Carole Landis

Carole Landis and Lon Chaney

Carole Landis, prehistoric dream girl

Prehistoric lovers in ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.

    Rather famously, England's Hammer Films produced a lush, color remake of ONE MILLION B.C. entitled ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. in 1966. The plot was roughly the same as the original. John Richardson is expelled from his rough and tumble tribe and is adopted into a more advanced tribe when Raquel Welch falls for him. Every now and then, a dinosaur pops up to cause trouble. Though the film's dinosaurs, marvels brought to life by Ray Harryhausen's brilliant stop motion effects, were truly spectacular, they were somewhat overshadowed by Miss Welch's iconic appearance as Luana The Fair One. A publicity still of Raquel in her fur bikini became a best-selling poster. As in the original version, the film's limited dialog is spoken in primitive cave-talk. As a tribute to the original, one of the remake's dinosaurs is played by a photo-enlarged lizard! ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. was a huge hit for Hammer, which experimented with other cave girl movies. The most immediate was PREHISTORIC WOMEN, though this wasn't as popular a film. 1970's WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH fared a bit better, but Hammer finally killed the genre with the dinosaur-less CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.

Raquel Welch and John Richardson

WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH, men would step aside

   WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH was a quasi-sequel to Hammer's ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., although there was absolutely no narrative connection between the two. Theoretically, the film could be seen as taking place a generation or two later than the earlier film. Either way, the story concerns a beautiful blonde cavegirl played by Victoria Vetri. Vetri, because of her fair features and golden hair, is marked by her tribe for sacrifice. She flees at the last minute, and ends up finding love in a more advanced tribe operating a fishing community on the beach. But the other tribe still wants to sacrifice Vetri and try to capture her. Her boyfriend fears her dead, but she's been adopted by a motherly dinosaur after it finds her sleeping in the broken shell of one of her eggs! WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH sports some of the best stop motion dinosaur action ever put on film, though again the real star is the bikinied leading lady. Vetri, formerly Angela Dorian, spends the picture prancing around in some of the tiniest coverings ever allowed in a G picture. In fact, she has a nude scene in the European version, which was accidentally released on DVD a few years back. When the mistake was noticed, the disk (a double feature set with MOON ZERO TWO) was pulled from distribution and quickly became a very expensive collector's item.

The scene trimmed for general audiences

Victoria Vetri

Formerly Angela Dorian

Prehistoric snack? CAVEMAN

   CAVEMAN was a lavish parody of old-time caveman movies, a sort of ONE MILLION B.C.-as-if-it-were-directed-by-Hal Needham sort of thing. Juvenile, though funny, humor masks a film that's actually fairly true to it's inspirations. Ringo Starr is the misfit weakling of his tribe, and thus often the foil for Chief John Matuzak(sp?). Ringo wants the Chief's girl, Barbara Bach, but his attempts to take her get him tossed out of the tribe and forced to fend for himself in the wild. He ends up becoming the leader of a tribe of misfits, while discovering such milestones as fire, music, and cooked food, and gaining the attention of cute cavegirl Shelley Long. The dinosaurs in this one are fine technical achievements, often imparting as much comedy as the human cast. The film really works, though. By the time Ringo must face his old Chief in battle, you genuinely feel for the characters. Not bad for what comes across as little more than a series of gags. Film became popular on television and home video. The early 80's was a good time for big comedies.

Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach

Dennis Quaid, Ringo Starr, and Shelley Long

John Metuzak (sp?) is the head man

Lobby card fun