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Dedications
Dedicated in loving memory of my wonderful parents:-
Konstantinos (Dino) Christopoulos who took me to see my very first science fiction film in the early 1960s, The Man With The X-Ray Eyes (1963)
Rosemary Christopoulos who sat with me after school as I watched on TV episodes the first two doctors of the Doctor Who series and insisted on asking me interminable questions about who was who and what was going on!
Thanks mum and dad!
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The SCI-FI FILM FIESTA ebook series is intended as a salute to the pioneering work of science fiction film makers. May future generations have the privilege of enjoying your work and never stop wondering....What if?
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Dedicated also to you, the reader who appreciates these classic gems from the golden age of sci-fi film-making. It is you who help to keep such films alive for future generations to enjoy
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Sci-Fi Film Fiesta
VOLUME 1:
“HERE BE MONSTERS”
By Chris Christopoulos 2022
CONTENTS
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955)
The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)
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Introduction
Not long ago I was watching a couple of science fiction films from the 1950's. One was called ‘Kronos’ and the other was ‘The Monolith Monsters,’ both made around the time I was born. I had first seen these films almost 60 years ago and I can clearly recall that they scared the heck out of me. Although these days I can have a bit of chuckle at the special effects and other aspects of the films, I can say that time has not diminished my enjoyment of them.
Sure, these days we are spoiled with computer generated effects and sophisticated productions; carried along by galloping scientific and technological advancements, as well as facing massive social and cultural changes. However, I don't believe that this devalues the worth of such vintage sci-fi films as those mentioned above. After all, they are refreshing if you look at them with "new eyes" and are informative if you realize that they occurred in a particular social and historical context. You'll also probably see how little these days is truly new. How many times have we seen plot lines and issues in films these days which we have come across in vintage sci-fi (and other genre) films.
What brings me back to the classic sci-fi films is their entertainment value (even if they are sometimes funny without intending to be!), their simplicity by virtue of coming from a somewhat less complicated era (not to mention budget restraints!) and the fact that they can be so easily appreciated if we see them as doing what we have all done from time to time: imagining what if.....?
There is no intention on my part to pick any film to pieces and thereby spoil anyone's viewing pleasure. Sure there are many faults and inaccuracies, many of which are glaring if we view these films with hindsight or through 21st century lenses. The films featured in this ebook series are products of their time and should be accepted for what they are and not used as vehicles to show how “enlightened,” “advanced” and “clever” we may imagine ourselves to be!
And so, dear reader, I’d now like to share with you my own enjoyment of many individual classic films from the golden age of science fiction with these various volumes of the Sci-Fi Film Fiesta series. Let’s begin with Volume 1, Here Be Monsters: Movies featuring classic monsters including of course, monsters of our own making.
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The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Not a masterpiece, but a classic of its genre that stands the test of time.
Director: Eugène Lourié
Producer: Jack Dietz; Hal E. Chester
Writer: Ray Bradbury (story)
Screenplay: Fred Freiberger; Eugène Lourié; Louis Morheim; Robert Smith
Inspired by: The Fog Horn 1951
Music: David Buttolph
Cinematography: Jack Russell
Visual effects: Ray Harryhausen.
Editing: Bernard W. Burton
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Running time: 80 minutes
Budget: $210,000
Box office: $5,000,000
Cast
Paul Christian: (Professor Tom Nesbitt)
Paula Raymond: (Lee Hunter)
Cecil Kellaway: (Dr. Thurgood Elson)
Kenneth Tobey: (Colonel Jack Evans)
Donald Woods: (Captain Phil Jackson)
Ross Elliott: (George Ritchie)
Steve Brodie: (Sgt. Loomis)
Jack Pennick: (Jacob Bowman)
Michael Fox: (ER Doctor)
Lee Van Cleef: (Corporal Jason Stone)
Frank Ferguson: (Dr. Morton)
King Donovan: (Dr. Ingersoll)
James Best: (Charlie, Radar Man)
1953: Taste Of The Times:
The year `1953 saw a few significant “firsts,” included among them;
Jackie Cochran, the first woman to break the sound barrier in an F-86 Sabrejet at an average speed of 652.337 miles-per-hour.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
The Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket, piloted by Scott Crossfield, becoming the first manned aircraft to reach Mach 2.
An experimental atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle!
A hibernating dinosaur unfrozen and unleashed upon the world!
Death and destruction in New York City!
Will ancient wrath re-awaken to wreak havoc and spell doom for our world?
Synopsis
(Warning: Spoilers lurk beyond this point,as does……..
The Beast From 20.000 Fathoms!!
The film, “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms,” starts off north of the Arctic Circle during a nuclear bomb test called, ‘Operation Experiment.’ The tension is almost palpable as the narrator informs us that “there can be no margin for error” while the countdown proceeds inexorably from ‘H’ minus 56 seconds, 52 seconds and so on. Almost in answer to physicist Thomas Nesbitt’s reflections about "what the cumulative effects of all these atomic explosions and tests will be, only time will tell", the nuclear explosion thaws out and unleashes a 10-metre tall, 30-metre long hibernating carnivorous creature called a Rhedosaurus. The creature had been locked in the ice for 100 million years. The observation that “this test will add to our knowledge” is called into question by what follows.
Tom Nesbitt witnessed The Beast’s awakening, but he is dismissed as being delirious and is put through a “psychiatric interrogation” where it is determined that his mind has “lost contact with reality.”
The Beast, meanwhile, travels down the east coast of North America and having gotten out of the wrong side of the bed after 100 million years, proceeds to sink fishing vessels, demolishes a lighthouse and vents his spleen on various buildings in Massachusetts. Despite The Beast doing all it can to advertise its existence, the reports of its presence is treated in a frivolous manner by the media with such headlines as “Sea Serpent Reported off Grand Banks,” as well as by the public as voiced by Nesbitt’s nurse who believes such reports belong on the “comics page.”
One of the fishermen who survived becoming an hors d'oeuvre for The Beast, identifies the same creature as Nesbitt saw from a collection of drawings. This fisherman had also been traumatised by the encounter with The Beast and was called crazy. Nesbitt finally gains the support of palaeontologist Thurgood Elson and his assistant, Lee Hunter.
Elson, now a convert to the idea of The Beast’s existence (“What makes you sure there are no flying saucers?”), firmly believes the Beast is returning to the Hudson River area where fossils of Rhedosaurus were first found. The plucky professor insists on venturing into the undersea Hudson River Canyon in a diving bell in search of The Beast. Elson seems to be completely oblivious to the danger he is about to face. He is only interested in the benefits to science. After all, according to him, “we’re scientists, it’s our job.” Unfortunately, the long delayed holiday plans of Professor Elson are permanently curtailed when he is killed by The Beast which promptly swallows Elson, the bathysphere’s operator and the bathysphere itself! Well, I suppose 100 million years of hibernation would make anyone ravenous! You have to admire the professor as he continues to give a rundown of the creature’s features (”the dorsal spine is singular, not bi-lateral as we thought”) moments before disappearing down its gullet, “But the most amazing thing is…” Gulp!
In a foul mood, (probably due to a bout of constipation after swallowing the bathysphere) The Beast comes ashore in Manhattan and the extent of his bad temper is proclaimed in a newspaper report of "180 known dead, 1500 injured, damage estimates $300 million". This rampage thoroughly annoys everyone, especially the military who, led by Col. Jack Evans, proceed to zap The Beast with an electrified defensive fence, blast an extra orifice into the beast with a bazooka, pepper it with bullets and drive it back into the sea, thereby making it clear he is definitely not welcome.
During the creature’s running amok through New York City, we witness people almost trampling over each other to get away. People run headlong past kids with little thought to their safety and even a blind man is knocked to the ground and left to fend for himself. Sometimes The Beast we need to worry most about is the one that resides in each of us which sometimes rears its ugly head under certain circumstances. And so, we are left with New York appearing “like a city besieged” where the heart of the city, Times Square “has stopped beating.” An unwelcome reminder for modern audiences considering recent history!
It turns out that the uninvited guest had the bad manners to bleed all over the place, unleashing a "horrible, virulent" prehistoric germ, contaminating the soldiers who went after it, as well as the general population. Unable to blow The Beast to Kingdom Come or barbecue it, in case such measures spread the contagion, it is decided to kill The Beast by shooting a radioactive isotope into its neck wound in order to burn it up from the inside.
The Beast next has his sights set on Coney Island amusement park. It is now up to military sharpshooter Corporal Stone (a young Lee Van Cleef) to stop The Beast armed with only a rifle grenade loaded with the radioactive isotope and a ton of pressure weighing him down, since the isotope is the only one of its kind outside of Oak Ridge. He has to take the crucial shot by riding a roller coaster to the top of the tracks so that he is eye-level with The Beast. Stone fires the isotope into The Beast's neck wound resulting in The Beast dramatically meeting his maker amidst the wrecked and blazing ruins of the park. We can only hope that Corporal Stone won a prize at Coney Island Amusement park for scoring a bullseye!
Points of Interest
The scene depicting The Beast destroying a lighthouse had its origins in “The Fog Horn” short story of 1951. Notice too how The Beast seems to look far more impressive or dramatic when shown in silhouette or in a darker setting in the film.
“The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms” had a production budget of $210,000 and ultimately grossed over $5 million. This was a pretty good return on the investment and a testament to the film’s popularity at the time. The film was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Science Fiction Films list.
You will have noticed the scene where Professor Nesbitt attempts to identify the Rhedosaurus by examining the dinosaur drawings of Charles R. Knight. In the section of this ebook, ‘ A Tribute To Ray Harryhausen,’ a reference is made to Charles R. Knight who inspired Harryhausen and who died in 1953, the same year “The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms” was released.
The climactic roller coaster scenes were a product of special effects genius, Ray Harryhausen who combined the live action of the actors and coaster background footage from The Pike parking lot in Long Beach California with the stop-motion action of The Beast destroying a model of the roller coaster.
Ray Harryhausen made effective use of “plate photography” of actual locations such as footage of New York streets projected behind a tabletop miniature where Harryhausen animated the armature puppet of the Beast, one frame at a time. The effect is of a quite realistic-looking huge monster moving through the streets. The scale of the Beast is emphasized by the low angle shots of it as it strides forward. Compare the movements of this creature with similar examples from other films such “Unknown island” 1948, and you’ll see what a leap in such technology was made by Harryhausen.
“The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” ushered in the era of films featuring grumpy giant monsters being rudely awakened by inconsiderate human beings detonating atomic bombs and who then proceed to exact revenge on humanity by levelling its cities. It’s a bit like being woken up early on a Sunday morning by some fool mowing their lawn. So, if you enjoy giant monster films (whether it’s “Godzilla” from 1954 or Cloverfield from 2008), then take some time out and give some thought to the legacy of “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.”
The film, with its use of H-Bomb testing, reflects or stands as a metaphor for the fears of the time when people had genuine concerns about the Bomb’s potential for the first time in human history to bring about the end of human civilisation. Every era has its own set of fears and concerns and only a small leap has to be made to having similar films reflecting our own current fears and preoccupation with threats to our way of life from terrorism. The perceived monsters may vary, but the themes remain strikingly similar.
The characters in the film are largely forgettable, despite their adequate performances. For me only two characters stand out. The first is Dr. Thurgood Elson, played by Cecil Kellaway. Kellaway seemed to be made for such academic / professor type roles that call for a kindly, absent-minded but brilliant character. You just can’t help liking him. The second is The Beast itself which manages to capture our attention with its personality and even though it appears to be destructive and frightening, it does nevertheless evoke our sympathy, especially at the end of the film when it collapses and dies. After all, it didn't ask to be placed in this situation. It was merely driven by its primitive instincts impelling it to head for its ancient breeding grounds which happen to be occupied by New York City!
(End of The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms)
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Godzilla (1954)
The best giant monster film
A powerful masterpiece
Dark and apocalyptic
An absolute must-see
Director: Ishirō Honda
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay: Ishirō Honda, Takeo Murata
Story: Shigeru Kayama
Music: Akira Ifukube
Cinematography: Masao Tamai
Editing: Kazuji Taira
Studio: Toho
Distributed by: Toho
Running time: 95 minutes
Budget: $1 million
Cast
Akira Takarada ...Hideto Ogata
Momoko Kôchi ...Emiko Yamane
Akihiko Hirata ...Daisuke Serizawa-hakase
Takashi Shimura ...Kyohei Yamane-hakase
Fuyuki Murakami ...Professor Tanabe
Sachio Sakai...Newspaper Reporter Hagiwara
Toranosuke Ogawa...Nankai Shipping Company Manager
Ren Yamamoto ...Masaji Sieji
Hiroshi Hayashi ...Chairman of Diet Committee
Takeo Oikawa ...Chief of Emergency Headquarters
Seijirô Onda ...Parliamentarian Oyama
Tsuruko Mano ...Mrs. Sieji
Toyoaki Suzuki ...Shinkichi Sieji
Kokuten Kôdô ...The Old Fisherman
Kin Sugai...Ozawa-san
1954: A Taste Of The Times
1954 (and much of the decade) was a time of prosperity indicated by such things as car ownership. Of course more highways were built to cater for the increase in car ownership.
The era of the modern shopping mall had arrived together with the demise of the small town as these new highways tended to by-pass such towns.
Television programmes included "Father Knows Best” and two of the most popular movies, “On The Waterfront" and "The Wild One" were screened.
Rock ‘n Roll blasted on to the scene with the song “Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets which featured in the Movie “Blackboard Jungle" And of course, Elvis Presley cut his first commercial record.
At this time the first mass vaccination of children against polio began.
Segregation in US Public Schools was ruled to be unconstitutional.
And of course, we had our first on-screen introduction to…...
Gojira!!!
Height: 50 meters
Mass: 20,000 tons
Huge amphibious bipedal dinosaur that lives in caverns under the sea, feeding off smaller sea animals.
Feared as a "god" on Odo Island with many young virgin women sacrificed to him to appease his hunger.
Hydrogen bomb tests affected his habitat, giving him unbelievable atomic radioactive ray & super regenerative power & strength
(Spoilers follow below…..)
American nuclear weapons testing has resulted in the creation of an almost invincible, prehistoric-looking beast that makes T-Rex seem like a cute little kitten by comparison. Japan is often faced with an onslaught of natural and man-made destructive forces that seem beyond its control to stop: earth quakes, tsunamis, atomic weapons devastation, nuclear power plant radiation. Now it is the turn of…
GOJIRA!
Right from the outset we are confronted with a threat from something overpowering and evil; not physically before us, but instead by implication and association. We soon hear the incessant thumping sounds that herald the approach of the monster. That sound almost riggers some kind of primordial reaction within us. For modern audiences, it might force us to recall “Jurassic Park” and how the prehistoric beast’s approach was indicated.
With the loss of the boats, the Eiko Maru and the Bingo Maru, we learn that “contact was lost for unknown reasons.” We are still in the dark as to the source of this destruction, when one of the three survivors from the lost boats declares that “the ocean just blew up,” and newspaper headlines speculate about the cause of the maritime tragedy as possibly being a “drifting sea mine” or “underwater volcano.”
Gradually the nature of the danger is brought ever so closer to the viewer when another shipwrecked survivor, Massagi declares, “He did it! A monster!” According the natives of Ohto Island this agent of destruction is indeed an ancient mythical monster “from the past” who has “come from the ocean to feed on human kind.”
Still the monster remains an unseen force. It’s presence can only be gauged by the effect of its destructive power as we witness the all too realistic interior shot of an Ohto Island family’s dwelling as it succumbs to the creature’s onslaught. Added to this is their terror stricken facial expressions and horror upon witnessing the cause of the danger, as well as the horror contained in the boy’s scream, “Run, Brother! Run!”
From ancient myths, we move into the realm of modern science and reason in the form of Palaeontologist, Professor Kyohei Yamane in order to put flesh on the bones of this cause of so much mayhem. According to him, this destructive threat is from the “abysmal regions.” While the professor explains his theory, he feels the need to place his neck-tie properly inside his jacket. It is almost as if he feels that his explanations must sound fantastic and eccentric to his audience and that appearances count if he is to stand any chance of being taken seriously.
Finally, we are brought face-to-face with this “creature from the Jurassic period” as it is “coming out of Mount Hachiba.” However, we along with the inhabitants of Ohto Island find ourselves being impelled toward the danger. Human beings do have the instinct to flee from danger, but there is something within us that impels us to behold that danger even at the risk to our own survival. But what we behold at this point is only half of the creature’s form as it looms over the landscape, as well as the tracks it makes in the sand after it disappears into the ocean.
Forming many of the pieces that fit together to make this “monster” of a classic sci-fi movie, there are the many tensions that are set up between characters, within individual characters and between opposing ideas.
Firstly there is the tension between the notions of the public’s right to know about matters that affect them versus the perceived need for security on the part of those in authority. This is an extremely topical issue in our modern world, recently highlighted by the revelations from whistle-blowers who have paid a high price for revealing uncomfortable truths. Consider the angry conflict during the meeting at which Professor Yamane spoke between the ladies who believed that the public had a right to be aware of the report concerning Godzilla and those who believed that the government, the economy and the fragile state of international relations would be plunged into chaos if the report’s findings were made known to the public.
Secondly, there is the tension experienced within individuals when faced with upholding personal convictions in the face of pressure from societal imperatives. At one point in the film, Emiko enters Yamane’s study to find him sitting despondently in the dark and she switches on the light. Being confronted with the possibility of a creature such as Godzilla, the professor would prefer to rely on the light of reason whereby instead of killing the creature in an act of violence, “we should focus on why he is still alive.” Knowing the intent of those in authority, the professor tells Emiko to switch off the light symbolising the darkness that has come over his soul and the light of reason and understanding being extinguished in the face of violence being the only perceived solution to the problem posed to civilisation by Godzilla.
Thirdly, individuals can experience internal tensions and conflicts when being confronted with a moral and ethical dilemma. In the case of Dr Serizawa, we have an individual who as a research scientist has devoted his life to the pursuit of scientific truth. His endeavors have led him to the discovery of his oxygen destroyer which he knows is a weapon of horrible destruction and that eventually politicians will want to use it. He therefore knows that it should never be made known and used by human beings. But what if the weapon he has created is only means by which the creature, Godzilla can be destroyed?
How much must this parallel the development and eventual use of the atomic bomb on Japan! From an equation E=MC2, to the splitting of the atom through to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And this unthinkable means of destruction was considered to have been the only means of ending the war with Japan sooner and preventing the loss of millions of more lives. And what might have haunted the dreams of Oppenheimer and those who contributed to the A-Bomb’s creation and gave the go-ahead to unleash mankind’s potential to annihilate itself?
What Serizawa witnesses of the scenes of destruction on the TV report and the song he hears sung by the youth choir (the future generations) reaches into his soul and wrenches the kind of decision from him that will resolve the moral dilemma. As can often be the case when grappling with moral dilemmas, Serizawa’s decision will be at great personal cost to himself and it will take enormous courage on his part.
Finally, another aspect of tension faced by an individual can involve present actions, conduct and perceptions being shaped and impacted by past personal experiences. In the case of Dr Serizawa, such a tension becomes a metaphor for that kind of tension as experienced by his native country, Japan. As Ogata observes, “If it wasn’t for the war, he wouldn’t have received his terrible scar.” Not only Serizawa’s scar, but Japan’s own scar received with the unleashing of atomic weapons upon its soil which as Ogata again observes, “still haunts us to this day.”
The unleashing of Godzilla opens up scars revealing wounds not yet healed for its population such as when a train commuter comments upon hearing about reports of Godzilla, “The shelters again? That stinks!” When Godzilla attacks Tokyo, we hear the wail of sirens and the incessant booming sound heralding the creature’s approach. What citizen (on screen and, at the time, as part of the audience) wouldn’t feel a pang in his / her heart as wartime memories (perhaps supressed) come flooding back?
As Godzilla devastates Tokyo, we may wish to debate how technically realistic the sequences are by making references to rubber suits and miniature models and budget constraints. Notwithstanding all of this, the carnage depicted on the screen is harrowing and it conjures up the kind of devastation experienced by Japan’s citizens at the end of World War II with the conflagration unleashed by incendiary bombing and by the only ever recorded war time use of atomic bombs against another country.
The emotional impact of the visual scenes is undeniable as we witness a mother huddling with and protecting her child amidst the destruction. All she can offer her child are the words, “We’ll be joining your father in just a minute.” The scenes depicting the aftermath of Godzilla’s attack on Tokyo instantly recall for us the horribly obscene aftermath of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. We are witnesses to a desolate urban landscape, a procession of horribly injured civilians and innocent children being checked for the effects of radiation.
There can be no other mood but one of sad melancholy. The mood is reinforced by the sombre music score together with the soul-wrenching song of lament by the youth choir (I have since discovered that the song is in fact a hymn to peace) leading toward the film’s end with the underwater self-sacrifice of Serizawa and Godzilla’s demise signalled by the final roar of this product of mankind’s destructive impulses. This is not a time for high-fives, jingoistic flag waving and tidy Hollywood packaged endings complete with ribbons tied by heroes vanquishing evil villains. After all, the villains reside in each of us and as feared by Professor Yamane, could, like Godzilla, rise to the surface again at any time if we are not vigilant.
What If………????
The story of Godzilla is here presented in the style of a “What if? scenario. It is based on the original Japanese version (subtitled). There is also an inferior alternative edited US version, Godzilla, “King of the Monsters,” with Raymond Burr.
The island is here named as being “Odo” but other forms of the name have included “Ohto”, “Ooto” and so on.
Join us now as we follow this monster after its awakening as it embarks on its mad rampage of destruction toward Tokyo crushing ships, flattening villages, and demolishing buildings in its wake. Can this menace be stopped before it destroys not only Japan but the rest of the world as well…...
(Excerpt: Newspaper Report 1)
…..An investigation into the sinking of the boat, Eiko Maru is presently being conducted. The cause of the sinking is still a mystery, though an explosion is suspected. A rescue vessel, "Bingo Maru" that was sent to the location of the sinking appears to have suffered the same fate as the “ Eiko Maru.”
The Coast Guard has assured the frantic families of the crews of the two ships that everything is being done, including committing more ships and helicopters to the search………
Reporter I. Hagiwara
(Excerpt: Newspaper Report 2)
……three survivors have been located in the water; however, there have been reports of the sinking of another fishing boat bringing the total number of lost ships so far to three.
The inhabitants of Odo Island spotted a raft containing a Mr Masaji Sieji who lives on the island. According to the islanders who pulled the raft in, Masajis before he passed out declared that "A monster did it!"
Reporter I. Hagiwara
(Excerpt: Newspaper Report 3)
…….During an interview before a group of journalists and military personnel, rescued survivor, Masajis Sieji claimed that a monster was responsible for the sinking of the boats. The inhabitants of Odo island have a belief in the legend of “Godzilla.” The legend apparently makes reference to sacrifices the islanders used to make in order to keep the creature, Godzilla happy. These days, however, they stick to performing a religious ceremony.
Reporter I. Hagiwara
(Excerpt: Japanese TV News Report)
Ladies & gentlemen, we apologise for this interruption to scheduled programming, but incredible events at Odo Island seem to confirm recent reports concerning the sinking of several vessels and the likely cause of their sinking and disappearance.
What you see now is vision of a huge reptilian creature…. Wait! It appears to be rearing up and is roaring at the villagers….. We are now following its progress as it continues on, enters and eventually disappears into the ocean… We now have a shot of what appears to be a series of tracks left by the creature along the beach.
We now go to our reporter Ishirō Tamai who is on hand at Odo Island.
Ishirō Tamai: Thank you, Kazuji. During a previous night as a typhoon struck the island, this creature had apparently destroyed 12 houses and was responsible for the deaths of 9 people. Discussions between the mayor and eyewitnesses suggested that the destruction of the houses was unusual, and was not caused by the storm.
Paleontologist, Professor Kyohei Yamane had organised a scientific task force to go to Odo Island to investigate the situation. On the island the team managed to detect radiation around the ruined buildings and in the water wells. A series of huge shallow depressions were detected and measured and it was concluded that the depressions were in fact giant foot prints. A trilobite - a creature extinct for millions of years-was also found in one of the depressions. We can only conclude from this……..
(Excerpt: New York Times Report)
Recent reports have claimed that up to 17 ships have been lost in Japanese waters because of a giant creature which has been given the name of, “Godzilla.” Judging by all reports, this creature is far more formidable than the “Rhedosaurus” we not long ago had to contend with.
A meeting was convened to discuss the findings of an expedition to the Japanese island of Odo organized by paleontologist, Professor Yamane. At the meeting, Professor Yamane surmised that Godzilla is a relic from the age of the dinosaurs and that it has been disturbed by recent US hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific. He displayed a trilobite apparently located in the creature’s footprint and radioactive sand found on the island as proof of his argument.
A special agency has been set up to look into ways to counter the creature before all international trade has to be stopped with Japan. The Japanese navy has now gone into action depth charging any areas that the creature, Godzilla was last seen.
(Excerpt: Radio Interview with Professor Yamane)
Interviewer: Considering all that has happened, isn’t it imperative for our safety and national security to use all means at our disposal to destroy this threat?
Yamane: ….Yes, I understand that Godzilla needs to be destroyed but I also feel that the creature deserves to live.
Interviewer: Why?
Yamane: Well, it was we, after all, who disturbed and created the creature with our atomic testing. I just want to understand what caused everything to turn out the
way it did…….
(Excerpt from Serizawa’s diary)
Emiko has been pressing me for more information concerning a device I have developed that could destroy Godzilla. Up until now I have denied such a weapon exists, and have even refused to disclose what I have really been working on. I relented and showed Emiko what I was doing, and swore her to secrecy. In my lab she was understandably shocked when I showed her the process whereby a tank full of fish is turned to skeletons in mere seconds. My device sucks all oxygen from water causing any living creature caught by the process to liquefy instantly.
To reveal the weapon to the world would unleash a force greater than even the atomic bomb. The only difference between the two is that the oxygen destroyer could ultimately kill all mankind.
I know that once I use the weapon the genie will be out of the bottle and I do not know if I or anyone else can get it back in. I cannot see any way to resolve the dilemma…….
(Excerpt: Radio Report Tokyo)
…..You can now hear the wail of sirens. The unearthly thundering steps and malevolent roar of the creature can also be heard in the distance. As Godzilla nears the shore the army is opening fire with all the heavy weapons they can muster…… Ignoring this firepower, Godzilla has now come ashore ……..He has destroyed a train like it was a toy! The people…. He is now heading toward the downtown area………. the army is valiantly (static)…The monster has destroyed the (inaudible) bridge…. (inaudible) now heading back to sea…..
(Part of General Murata’s Briefing On Dealing With The Threat From Godzilla)
With help from scientists from all over the world, we have formulated a plan to defeat the creature. The plan consists of the following;
Evacuation of the coastal areas around Tokyo Bay.
Construction of an electrified barrier comprising of a defense matrix of power lines around the heart of the city in anticipation of the creature's return. It is hoped that by repeated electrocution Godzilla will be turned away and forced back to sea- permanently.
Initiate code 129 should the above plan fail. This means rather than fight Godzilla, we will only concentrate on getting civilians out of harm’s way.
(Excerpt: Mobile Radio Reporting Unit)
It is now nightfall and Godzilla again heads for the shoreline. The newly installed electrical barrier has been charged and the army has taken up position with heavy artillery and tanks….Wait a minute! Godzilla has paused at the barrier and the army is seizing the opportunity to attack…..(sound of gunfire and artillery drowns out reporter’s voice) ….fires erupting all across the city …..fiery mist blasting from its mouth, its…………(static and silence).
(Excerpt: Mobile TV Reporting Unit)
Code 129 has been initiated. I repeat, Code 129 has been initiated! Overhead, we can see a wing of fighter aircraft attempting to distract the creature…..You can probably hear the roar of their engines as you witness the scene of absolute destruction and carnage around us….. The attack appears to be working! What you are seeing now is Godzilla retreating back to the waters of Tokyo Bay…..
(Excerpt: Mobile TV Reporting Unit Outside A Tokyo Hospital)
Rescue efforts have now switched to high gear, but the sheer numbers of wounded people, many of whom are suffering radiation sickness is completely overwhelming hospitals like the one I am presently speaking from. Despite all the best efforts, it has been acknowledged by some government sources that there can be little hope for the survivors. All people here and all over the country can do now is pray that Godzilla will not return……
(Excerpt from Serizawa’s diary after viewing the TV report)
I now realize that I must act and deploy the weapon. Before I do so I must destroy my data, equipment, lab notes and when the time comes……..
(Short wave reports aboard ship at sea)
Thanks to the installed Geiger counters our ship has managed to locate Godzilla. Salvage expert Orgata is preparing to make the dive to deploy the new weapon that will hopefully destroy Godzilla. Scientist Dr. Daisuke Serizawa appears to be insisting that he accompanies Orgata on his dive. They will only have one chance and one weapon with which to accomplish the task, so it has to be done properly…………
After what seems like an eternity, Orgata has resurfaced-alone! He is removing his face mask and he appears to have a look of bewilderment on his face. Where is Serizawa?…………
Great news! Dr. Serizawa has managed to detonate his Oxygen Destroyer in the ocean. Godzilla was caught and has been eliminated by the weapon. Unfortunately, the brave doctor Serizawa was also killed. We can’t begin to describe the debt that Japan and indeed the entire world owes him.………..
Professor Yamane would like to say a few words before we cease transmission:
“Thank you. We were successful yes, but we were lucky this time. I say ‘this time’ because I believe that there must be more Godzillas out in the depths of the ocean. If we continue our experiments with atomic weapons, and proceed down paths that threaten our existence, chances are extremely high another Godzilla of our own making will rise again to plague Japan and once again threaten our civilization. Godzilla was for us a god of destiny and we humans deserved this hell of our own making. We must never again re-awaken the evil and destructive primordial forces that reside deep within us, for it will only turn back upon us and consume us utterly.”
Points Of Interest
Ishiro Honda's “Godzilla” has cemented itself well and truly in film history. It is generally considered to be an allegory for the destruction and devastation unleashed on Japan by the atomic bomb, with the 400-foot-tall mutant dinosaur Gojira, serving as the visual metaphor. One can only imagine the impact this must've had on Japanese audiences almost 70 years ago with memories of what took place only a few years previously still fresh in their minds. Godzilla's attack recalls the same kind of horrors the Japanese experienced near the end of World War II, with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The compelling love triangle between Ogata, Emiko and a Serizawa together with the dramatic sacrifice made at the end of the film adds to the film’s emotional impact.
Despite the low-tech special effects, the clever use of camera angles and city building miniatures, as well as Akira Ifukube’s destructive, thumping and pounding theme music for Godzilla, combine to create the impression that Godzilla is an impressive and implacable force of nature or destructive demon.
“Godzilla” appears to have been inspired by the success of the 1953 hit, “The Beast From 20.000 Fathoms” with its own awakened monster, the Rhedosaurus which is featured elsewjere in this ebook.
What about the name, “Gojira?” As a result of a competition held at the time, it seems to have been derived from a combination of the Japanese words Gorilla (gorira) and Whale (kujira).
The Godzilla suit was decided on due to the stop-motion animation method being far too costly and time-consuming. The poor stuntman wearing the suit would suffer numerous bouts of heat exhaustion and dehydration. The suit had to have a valve to drain the sweat from it and in order to avoid suffocation, it could only be worn for three minutes.
(End oF Godzilla)
**********
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
A classic movie monster &
a superbly crafted film
1954: A Taste Of The Times:
Drive-in movies were becoming popular but these days have almost become extinct in many places of the world. And how did the young people newly coined as “teenagers” get to the drive-ins? Why, in the new symbol of freedom and coolness: cars, of course.
At this time television was becoming the dominant form of mass media. Teenagers were watching a greater number of hours per week of TV than ever before. An idealized view of life tended to be portrayed by this new medium. There was entertainment to be enjoyed with shows like “The Honeymooners,” “Father Knows Best,” “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” and “I Love Lucy.” The era of the sit-com had arrived. There was also far more information about what was happening in the world with the use of video-taped pictures, coaxial cable, microwave relays and live broadcasts bringing events into people’s living rooms not long after or as soon as they happened.
In 1954, color TV broadcasts began to replace black and white broadcasts. Since people could now get their entertainment and news right there in their own living rooms, traditional print news media and entertainment media suffered a decline in much the same way that the internet and social media of today has been having an impact on the more traditional forms of entertainment and news media. Then, as now it is a case of either adapt to changing circumstances or face the prospect of becoming extinct.
And now it is time for us to turn our attention to the 1954 classic film, “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” It is a real testament to the film’s impact in terms of how far the “Creature” has permeated popular culture and consciousness. It is enough for most people to merely see a model or poster of the “Creature” or hear the title, ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon,’ even if they have not seen the original film, in order for them to grasp the relevant connotations and associations. Let’s see something of what has made this so…..
A previously unknown prehistoric creature from the Devonian age lurks in the waters of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists in search of fossilized remains set out to try and capture the creature and bring it back to civilization for study.
Directed by Jack Arnold
Produced by William Alland
Screenplay by Harry Essex, Arthur A. Ross
Story by Maurice Zimm
Music by Henry Mancini, Hans J. Salter, Herman Stein
Cinematography: William E. Snyder
Editing by Ted J. Kent
Distributed by Universal International
Running time: 79 minutes
Box office: $1,300,000
CAST
Richard Carlson (David Reed)
Julie Adams (Kay Lawrence)
Richard Denning (Mark Williams)
Antonio Moreno (Carl Maia)
Nestor Paiva (Lucas)
Whit Bissell (Dr Edwin Thompson)
Bernie Gozier (Zee)
Henry A. Escalante (Chico)
(Spoilers follow below…..)
The film,” Creature from the Black Lagoon,” begins with a quote from the book of Genesis;
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void...”
Interestingly enough we then move onto a description of the evolution of the Earth and its “infinite variety of life.” We are then told that the “record of life is written in the land.”
A geology expedition in the Amazon led by Dr Carl Maia uncovers a fossilized skeletal hand with webbed fingers, “dating back to the Devonian age”, thereby providing evidence from the Devonian period of a link between land and sea animals. When asked by one of workers if the find is important, Dr Maia states that “yes, I think it is-very important!” He explains to the native workers that he needs to go back to the institute on the coast in order to get help to dig out the rest of the fossil.
The find is indeed important but the potential danger cannot be ignored as we are reminded by the sight of a webbed. and clawed hand emerging from the water with the sense of danger, anticipation and tension enhanced by the music
Dr Maia pays a visit to his friend, former student and guest at his marine biology institute in Brazil, Dr. David Reed. Dr Reed is an ichthyologist who works at an aquarium in California. He is able to persuade his boss, Dr. Mark Williams to fund an expedition to the Amazon to search for the rest of the skeleton.
The expedition makes use of a tramp steamer, the Rita, which is captained by Lucas. The expedition members consist of David Williams, Carl Maia, Mark Reed, Kay Lawrence (Reed's girlfriend and colleague) and scientist, Dr Edwin Thompson.
Captain Lucas has a very realistic and pragmatic view of the place the expedition is venturing into based on his experience. For him it is a place where “everything in this jungle” contains nothing but “killers.” Far from being a place to fear, David sees it through more idealistic eyes as being a place full of potential for scientific research. He can’t stop talking about Devonian animals as they navigate their way along the river.
The expedition arrives at the camp only to discover that Maia's entire research team has been killed-but by what? We had a hint when we saw the creature’s hand emerge through the tent’s opening prior to its attacking Maia’s native team at the camp site. We are not presented with a full view of the creature yet, just tantalizing glimpses to maintain the tension and shock value.
The excavation of the area where Carl Maia discovered the fossilized hand turns up nothing. Mark is for giving up the search since from his materialistic and opportunistic perspective, “we failed” and “that’s all people will understand.” David, on the other hand, theorises that thousands of years ago the section of the embankment containing the rest of the skeleton may have fallen into the water, was washed downriver and broken up by the current. Lucas informs them that the tributary empties into a lagoon which he calls, the "Black Lagoon", a place to which many people have entered over the years, but none have come back. The scientists decide to risk it, and in keeping with Matthew’s narrow and unscrupulous motives, this course of action will enable him to “turn failure into success.”
In life what seems like great personal success and accomplishment can often be dashed if we are blinded to and unaware of what might be lurking just around the corner unseen and ready to lash out and dash our happiness and hopes for the future. We have a similar sense of this as we are made aware of the fact that the amphibious "Gill-man" has been observing these intruders into its realm as it follows the Rita all the way downriver to the Black Lagoon.
When the expedition arrives at the lagoon, David and Mark once again reveal the tension between their opposing points of view and motives for being on the expedition. David is enthralled by the prospect of studying so many species of fish while Mark is only intent on finding the rest of the fossil, thereby enhancing his own prestige. In his defence, Kay states that “he’s produced some important findings.” David responds that “he’s also taken credit for some important findings.” Another layer of tension is added with Kay and David’s relationship and Mark’s obvious jealousy.
After Mark and David return from diving to collect fossils from the lagoon floor, Kay decides to go swimming. We at last gain our first clear view of the creature as it swims just below Kay in what almost appears to be a choreographed graceful underwater ballet. The creature tentatively reaches for Kay’s foot but withdraws just as it is about to make physical contact. Here we are reminded of other “monster” tales such as King Kong, whereby a repulsive and dangerous creature is captivated by female beauty and displays a rather human side to its character.
The Kay-Gill Man underwater scene is given greater significance when contrasted with the enormous power of the creature which becomes briefly caught in one of the ship's draglines. As it tugs on the net, it almost capsizes the Rita and manages to tear a hole in the net in its bid to escape.
Williams wishes to go back down and hunt whatever is in the lagoon. Reed opposes the course of action, stating that they should attempt to study it and take photos, not just go after “trophies.” While on the dive the two men’s opposing motives stand out starkly as we see David brandishing a spear gun while Mark handles an underwater camera. After the creature is speared but escapes from them, David characteristically declares, “dead or alive, what’s the difference?”
Lucas tells the men when they get back on board that “even I, Lucas have heard of the legend of a man-fish” - an old river legend about a gill man who lived underwater. Soon one of the men on deck is attacked and dragged into the water by the creature.
Lucas comes up with the idea of using a native knock-out potion which makes fish rise to the surface. They decide to use it by spreading it over the lagoon with the result that a huge number of fish float to the surface, but no ”Gill-man.” They then decide to get the knock-out potion deeper down into the lagoon by making some pellets and using them to flush the creature from the bottom. Later, the creature appearing to be unaffected by the potion, attempts to climb into the boat but is frightened by the light of a lantern.
Reed and Willliams follow the creature as it disappears into the water and they come across a cave concealed by the bank. As they track the creature’s footprints through the sand, the “Gill-man” kills one of the crewmen by the boat and attempts to capture Kay. As the effects of the knock-out solution takes hold, the creature collapses onto the ground.
The creature is placed in a makeshift cage and held on board the Rita. However, it later manages to break free and attack Thompson. Thompson, fighting for his life, smashes a lantern over the creature setting it on fire. Unfortunately, Thompson is very badly injured from the attack.
In an interesting turn around, it is now Williams who wants to stay in order to try and recapture the creature. It is also Reed along with the others, who wishes to quit and leave with whatever evidence and data they have obtained. Reed believes that they are “not equipped to fight monsters” and that a “later expedition can do it.” Lucas uses another form of persuasion by pulling a knife on an aggressive Williams and telling him they are leaving immediately. End of argument!
Before long it becomes obvious that the pursued has now become the pursuer as the boat is blocked by a snag as it heads out of the lagoon. Since it was not there before, it is surmised by Mark that the creature placed the obstruction in order to ”keep us from getting out.”
An attempt to clear the snag with a winch fails as the obstruction is too heavy. The enraged creature breaks the links attaching the line to the obstruction putting an end to the attempt to move the barrier.
After it is decided by Reed to make another attempt using the aqualung, he and Williams come to blows resulting in Williams being knocked out.
While working underwater, Reed does not notice the creature. Suddenly Williams appears and after a couple of attempts to shoot the animal with the spear gun, he manages to hit it. The creature, however, manages to get hold of Williams and a dramatic life and death struggle begins between them. With David’s joining the underwater battle, the creature retreats, however Mark has been mauled to death in his attempt to capture the creature single-handedly.
Another attempt to use the knockout solution is made in order to slow the creature down while they try to clear the barrier. Reed armed with the solution in a makeshift spray gun begins work on clearing the obstruction. When the creature approaches within range, Mark fires the solution several times at it.
The plan has worked and the lagoon is finally cleared. While attempting to remove the logs the members don't see the creature climb on board the Rita. The creature then abducts Kay and takes her to his cavern lair. David, Lucas, and Carl give chase and eventually David finds Kay but the creature attacks him. Two of the crew open fire from the beach entrance of the cave hitting the creature multiple times. Reed stops the men from firing any more rounds into the creature. The “Gill-man” then retreats to the lagoon and sinks into its watery depths.
Points Of Interest
Genesis
While at a dinner party during the filming of “Citizen Kane,” Producer William Alland was informed by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa of a myth of a race of half-fish, half-human creatures in the Amazon river. Once a year, it was claimed, this creature emerges and claims a maiden. He then leaves, and the village is then safe for another year. This idea was then developed into story notes entitled "The Sea Monster" together with inspiration from Beauty and the Beast and then a version of the tale was put together called, ‘The Black Lagoon.’ With the success of the 3-D film “House of Wax” in 1953, Jack Arnold was hired to direct the film “Creature From the Black Lagoon" using the same format.
Director: Jack Arnold
Jack Arnold directed the film's sequel, "Revenge of the Creature," as well as "The Incredible Shrinking Man", and "Tarantula", all of which are featured in this book.
What was clever about Arnold’s direction of “Creature From the Black Lagoon" is that he didn’t just rely on full shocking shots of creatures and lashings of blood, guts and violence in order to scare his audience. Instead, he relied on simplicity and suggestion in the form of a shot of the creature's hand and a piercing three-note musical piece played by brass instruments. He left it up to the audiences’ imagination fill in the blanks and join the dots. And not a computer-generated monster in sight; just a guy in a rubber suit (or two guys in two suits!) The film plays well on people’s basic fear of the unknown.
The beautiful and eerie black-and-white underwater sequences, the initial glimpses of the creature's webbed claw, the nerve-shattering theme music set us up for the creature’s impressive appearance: A half-human/half-fish-like creature with gills, covered in scales, and with cold, emotionless eyes.
Evolution Solution
From the film’s outset we are left with the idea that the processes of geological transformation and biological evolution are not six day affairs as the Christian bible would seem to have it, but are instead ongoing processes measured in time scales too large to be comfortably comprehended by the human brain. Even today there still exists a tension between “Creationists” and the proponents of Darwinian evolutionary theory as to what constitutes the “truth” about the origins of our world and the life that inhabits it.
We first see Reed underwater using an aqualung and hovering around the 40 foot depth mark as indicated by a line indicating depth. Before he emerges from the water, he has to pause for pressure changes. This scene quickly establishes the limitations of human beings in an aquatic environment (the “Creature’s” world) and how far evolution has taken us from our original beginnings on this planet.
Odd Bed-Fellows
The tension between Reed and Williams is first set up and then maintained throughout the film. On the one hand, we have Reed who is concerned primarily with scientific research. For him, the fossilized hand and the expedition to find more of the skeleton will “add to our knowledge of life in the world.” On the other hand, Williams is motivated more by profit and publicity. For him, the find and the expedition will have “great financial value.” And so, as often happens in life, two mutually opposed but oddly interdependent concepts are about to sally forth arm-in-arm into the unknown only to leave an inordinate amount of mayhem, misery and destruction in their wake.
Setting
The photography and tropical locales are beautiful even being shot in black and white. Those scenes featuring heavy mists and primeval jungle noises serve to create at times a menacing atmosphere. The Black Lagoon itself with its still mirror-like waters, surrounded by jungle foliage and palm trees, together with the sounds of monkeys, birds and other exotic fauna is a serene place. The sense of serenity is reinforced by the soothing background music. Then there are the tastefully artistic underwater scenes with shafts of sunlight penetrating the watery depths from above; a riot of shimmering air bubbles and the “Gillman’s” abrupt emergence from billowing clouds of sediment stirred up by his movements.
The Creature Featured
The film's central feature would have to be the monster itself. The "Gillman" now stands along-side classic movie monster icons such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. He seems to combine the best qualities of such characters: a savage monster; an intelligent thinking being; appreciative of beauty; injured by thoughtless humans; seeking retribution and worthy of sympathy.
The “Creature” like other monsters from the era such as Godzilla, represents a force of nature awakened by human science that once brought into being cannot be controlled. For the 1950s it was the fear of the power of the atom. Our own 21st century monster is runaway global warming and climate change which many fear is the result of thoughtless human activity heedless as to the consequences of its actions.
The creature was played on land by stuntman Ben Chapman and his suit, designed and crafted by make-up artist Bud Westmore, was coloured with iridescent greens and blues and was mottled with many other marine hues. However, the marine hues chosen for this "dry suit" photographed too dark when filming underwater. A wet-suit version had to be produced for underwater scenes. The Gillman suit made it impossible for Chapman to sit for long hours each day that he had to wear it. It also overheated necessitating him to be frequently hosed down. Since Chapman could not see very well while wearing the suit’s headpiece, he had managed to scrape Julie Adams' head against the plaster wall when he was carrying her in the cavern scenes. In order to make the gills in the suit pulsate, Chapman had a little squeeze bulb that he held in his hand. A tube from the bulb ran up his arm. By squeezing the bulb the gills could move. The creature’s lips were moved by Chapman moving his chin. Chapman, however, had no control over the eyes.
The “wet-suit” for underwater scenes was worn by champion swimmer Ricou Browning who often had to hold his breath for four minutes during long takes because the suit did not allow room for scuba gear. His swimming prowess is certainly evident from such scenes as when the Gill Man swims effortlessly beneath Kay in the eerie underwater “ballet.”
Just A Scary Story Or Freudian Slip?
For many the scene referred to above often lends itself to a Freudian interpretation in the sense that the Creature is a figure that adolescent males can relate to and identify with: Interest in females, awkwardness in trying to form relationships, moodiness, being misunderstood. And so we have the Creature underwater and the young males (all ages!?) in the audience joined together in leering longingly at Julia Adams as she performs her seductively erotic underwater ballet. It certainly must have had an impact on Steven Spielberg, who would pay homage to this scene in his opening for his film “Jaws” 21 years later.
For The Record
The Devonian period (part of the Paleozoic era), also known as the “Age of Fishes, began about 416 million years ago. It was a time of great changes in the Earth’s appearance. The giant single supercontinent of Gondwana was moving northward, away from the South Pole. A second supercontinent began to form around the Equator known as Laurussia formed by the coming together of parts of North America, northern Europe, Russia, and Greenland.
The Devonian period derived its name from red-colored sediments that were created when North America collided with Europe. The rocks from this period were first studied in Devon, England.
The Tiktaalik, a link between fish and the first vertebrates to walk on land, was found in the Canadian Arctic in 2004. This fish from the period had characteristics of terrestrial animals, including ribs, a neck, and nostrils on its snout for breathing air.
The first amphibians breathed through rudimentary lungs and through their skin. They probably could have left the water for short periods in order to escape predators.
(End of the Creature from the Black Lagoon)
**********
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
A representative B Monster movie sequel minus some of the quality of its predecessor, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon"
Directed by Jack Arnold
Produced by William Alland
Written by Story: William Alland
Screenplay: Martin Berkeley
Music by Henry Mancini
Edited by Paul Weatherwax
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Running time: 82 min
Box office: $1.1 million (US)
CAST
John Agar (Prof Clete Ferguson)
Lori Nelson (Helen Dobson)
John Bromfield (Joe Hayes)
Nestor Paiva (Lucas)
Grandon Rhodes (Jackson Foster)
Dave Willock (Lou Gibson)
Robert Williams (George Johnson)
Charles Cane (Police Captain)
Robert F. Hoy (Charlie)
Brett Halsey (Pete)
Ricou Browning (Gillman-Underwater)
Tom Hennesy (Gillman-Land and in water)
1955: A Taste Of The Times
In the ever expanding reach of television, the long-running program “Gunsmoke” debuts on the CBS-TV network in the United States.
“Alfred Hitchcock Presents” debuts on the CBS-TV network and “The Mickey Mouse Club” debuts on the ABC-TV network.
Most Popular TV shows:
1. The $64,000 Question (CBS)
2. I Love Lucy (CBS)
3. The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
4. Disneyland (ABC)
5. The Jack Benny Show (CBS)
6. December Bride (CBS)
7. You Bet Your Life (NBC)
8. Dragnet (NBC)
9. The Millionaire (CBS)
10. I've Got A Secret (CBS)
The Creature from the Black Lagoon is back!
A “Devonian relic” re-discovered and captured by scientists and transported to an aquarium in Florida!
A beast attracted by the beauty of a female scientist!
An escape-bid!
A pursuit of beauty!
How will this mid-20th century tale of Beauty and the Beast end?
(Spoilers Follow)
SPECIAL NEWS REPORT FROM WNTV
(Proudly sponsored by Lucky Lites-
The mild smoke recommended by 91% of doctors!)
Walter: Good evening viewers. This is Walter Swen and tonight we have a special report that seems to confirm without a shadow of a doubt last year’s widely reported story concerning a strange creature dubbed, “The Creature From The Black Lagoon” and “The Gillman.”
Our reporter in Rio de Janeiro who accompanied the expedition into the remote Amazon and which is the subject of tonight’s special news report, has just sent through his cabled report together with telephotos which tell a very strange story indeed.
The events in question began at a tributary of the upper Amazon aboard a small boat, ‘Rita II’ captained by a Captain Lucas who took last year’s expedition of scientists to the same area where The Gillman was apparently encountered. You’ll recall that in that expedition, 5 people lost their lives!
This most recent expedition headed by two employees of Jacksonville, Florida's Ocean Harbor Marine Centre, George Johnson and Joe Hayes, intended to push through to a place called the “Black Lagoon” in an endeavour to capture the creature and take it back to the Ocean Harbour Aquarium to exhibit it for the world to see. Prior to sailing along the Amazon, Johnson and Hayes declared that “If there is a Gillman, we’ll catch him.”
In an interview with our reporter, Lucas stated that he warned Johnson and Hayes that if the Gillman was dead they would have wasted their money and if he was still alive, they probably would have wished it was dead. Captain Lucas apparently couldn't understand the point of the expedition and felt that the creature should’ve been left alone.
According to Captain Lucas, he warned the expedition leaders that “if this thing is alive, maybe you’ll be sorry.” In support of his pessimistic outlook concerning the expedition to capture the creature, Lucas stated that prior to this expedition, “this thing I have seen with my own eyes, it doesn’t belong in this world” and that “this beast exists because it is stronger than the thing you call evolution.”
In relation to the origins of the creature, Johnson theorized that under the right conditions a creature might avoid being affected by evolution, thereby leap-frogging many of its important stages.
And now ladies and gentlemen, for the first time we present to you a telephoto of the creature. A half-fish, half-man creature? A missing link between marine and terrestrial life? What do you think? Perhaps soon we’ll find out for sure….
Our next report will come to you live from Ocean Harbour where we will await the arrival of The Gillman which if this report is true has been successfully captured. We’ll also hopefully be able to provide you with details concerning the creature’s capture and its eventual fate. Until then, ladies and gentlemen, this is Walter Swen, giving you all the news and nothing but the news from WNTV.
SPECIAL NEWS REPORT FROM WNTV
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The healthy beverage recommended by 91% of doctors for treatment of lethargy, nervous conditions, hysteria, headache and constipation.)
Walter: Welcome viewers to a special second news report featuring the capture of The Gillman. This time we will be crossing live to our reporter Mack Racker who is at present reporting from Ocean Harbour. Now Mack, what seems to happening there?
Mack: Well, Walt, the Gillman has been successfully transported to Florida and as we speak is being unloaded from the boat and transferred to a holding tank so studies can begin on it. As you can see the creature is motionless and concerns have been raised over the fact that the creature has remained in a coma since being stunned by explosions when it was captured.
Walt: Mack, I may interrupt? Do you have any further information about the capture of The Gillman?
Mack: Yes Walt. I have here with me, Joe Hayes, one of the leaders of the exhibition. Tell me Mr Hayes, how was the creature’s capture accomplished?
Joe: Certainly. After we entered the Creature’s lagoon, I donned a diving suit and entered the water to secure a net we had hung across the entrance of the lagoon. Unknown to me, I was being stalked by the Gillman. Being preoccupied with the net, I didn’t notice the creature until it was too late when it attacked me. The others on the boat heard my frantic cries for help and began pulling me in with the life line. The creature however, attempted to break the line before being driven off by gunfire from the boat.
The next day George Johnson, my expedition partner, set a series of explosives around the lagoon, hoping that their detonation would stun the creature and force it to the surface. Luckily our plan worked and the creature simply floated to surface unconscious near the boat.
With the creature secured, all that remained was to begin the task of transporting it back to Florida and so here we are.
Mack: Thank you so much Mr Hayes. Now Walt, we can see a shot of the creature being transferred to the holding tank. Overseeing the transfer is Helen Dobson who is also here with me. Miss Dobson, I understand that you intend to use the creature as the basis of a thesis.
Helen: Yes, I am. I’ll be gathering material for my master's thesis in ichthyology.
Mack: Ickywhowhatnow?
Helen: Ichthyology. That’s a branch of zoology that deals with the scientific study of fish. Now, you’ll notice that Joe – Mr Hayes- has entered the tank and is walking the creature around the holding tank. This is the same technique that is used on sharks. This is done in order to push water through the creature’s gills and hopefully revive it.
(After a couple of hours, several more interviews, shots of Joe walking the creature around the tank and a televised tour of the aquarium, the creature suddenly stirs……)
Walt: Mack, what seems to be happening?
(Sound of flash bulbs going off)
Mack: Walt, Mr Hayes has barely made it out of the tank before being attacked by the Creature. (Sound of panic and screams) The creature is going berserk and is trying to jump out of the tank! (Sound of Creature’s rage-filled roar.) Joe Hayes is now trying to stop the creature but has fallen back into the tank. Two workers are attempting to rescue him but appear to have been badly injured. Oh no….get out of the way! (Mack and camera crew shift position to get a better view) Thank goodness…. a net has been thrown over the creature and it has been bought back under control!
Walt: Are you alright Mack?
Mack: Yes…Yes. All is quiet now. (Tries to get his breath back) Back to you in the studio.
Walt: Well, what a tense moment that was viewers! This creature that should have died a quarter of million years ago may be an object of scientific study, but its potential danger cannot be underestimated. Today’s events will only serve to add to the enormous publicity already generated by the creature. Apparently hotels are booked for 50 miles around by tourists wanting to see the creature.
Our next special report will come to us live from the main viewing tank where the creature is expected to be placed. Until then, this is Walter Swen, giving you all the news and nothing but the news from WNTV.
(This report brought to you by the makers of Koola Kola. Cool off with a refreshing Koola-Kola!)
SPECIAL NEWS REPORT FROM WNTV
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Walt: Welcome ladies and gentlemen, this is Walter Swen with another special report on The Gillman and we now cross live to our reporter, Mack Raker.
Close up of a sign reading;
PUBLIC
EXHIBITION
OF
"THE GILLMAN"
Mack: Thanks Walt. We are now coming to you from the permanent viewing tank at the aquarium where the public can see the Gillman exhibit. You’ll notice that one leg of the creature is secured with a chain to stop its further attempts to escape. The size of the crowds visiting the exhibit have been huge and the process of studying the creature has now begun.
We have here from the Florida Institute, animal psychologist Prof Clete Ferguson who has been engaged in studying predatory behaviour in mammals. When news of the capture of the creature came through, Doctor Ferguson was invited to go to Ocean Harbor to study it. Doctor Ferguson, can you tell us what your study of the creature will entail?
Ferguson: Yes, well, both Miss Dobson and I will try training the creature by using vocal commands similar to methods used on dolphins. In this way, we believe we can teach the creature to be less aggressive and be more responsive to voice commands. The best way to convey this to you will be to show you.
(Scene of Ferguson and Dobson donning scuba gear and entering the tank, while Mack Raker provides viewers with a running commentary. Ferguson and Dobson are armed with a special shock probe which they use to zap the creature at the crucial time during feeding. They then lower another portion of food that has been injected with drugs to sedate the creature. Ferguson then attaches a device for measuring the creature’s brain activity and proceeds to obtain blood samples from it.)
Mack: Well, Walt that was an amazing sight! We now have a rather water-logged Prof Ferguson with us again. Can you recap for our viewers what just took place?
Ferguson: Our intention was to condition the Gill Man to respond to our commands, and so Helen- Miss Dobson and I attracted the Gill Man with food, then we shocked him with the cattle prod after Miss Dobson verbally commanded him to "stop." We should have the results of the blood test soon which we will make public during a news conference.
Mack: Thank you so much Professor. Back to you Walt.
Walt: Thanks Mack. Yet another fascinating insight into this marvel of Nature. What secrets as to its origins will it reveal to us? Only time will tell. This is Walter Swen giving you all the news and nothing but the news from WNTV.
SEGMENT FROM A NEWS CONFERENCE
Mack: Mack Raker from WNTV. Professor Ferguson, what have you and Miss Dobson managed to discover about the Gillman?
Ferguson: Well, the blood tests we conducted have thrown up some peculiar results, I am really concerned about exactly what we are dealing with. On every level tested so far, the creature appears to be on an evolutionary scale closer to man than animals! Miss Dobson will tell you more from her copy of “Gillman Examination – X9747.”
Helen: Thank you Professor. The creature’s red corpuscle content is 10% less than human blood. It seems that every test, every reaction, just misses being human! …….But more than that I can’t help feeling that the poor thing is just…. lonely, like an orphan of time-alone; the only one of its kind. I worry about what long term effects all our testing might have on it………
Ferguson: Both my assistant Miss Dobson and I have been stunned by the creature’s progress. What a chimp would take to learn in three weeks the creature is able to learn in a matter of hours.
Helen: Yes that’s true, Professor. Over time I have also come to realise that the creature is certainly not just a “Flippy The Educated Porpoise” who has merely been taught to retrieve objects and raise the flag. Perhaps such creatures are able to talk to us and that in our arrogance we’re the ones not smart enough to understand….
Reporters: Professor! Professor!....Miss Dobson!......
URGENT NEWS REPORT FROM WNTV
Walt: Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt regular programming to bring this news- breaking event from the aquarium involving the Gillman. We now cross over to Mack Raker.
Mack: Thanks Walt. During an experiment held in the tank containing the creature, Professor Ferguson was attacked and injured by it. Enraged, the Gillman strained against the chain holding it managing to break free.
(Sounds of pandemonium as the camera zeroes in on Joe Hayes who tries to intervene. He is then dragged into the tank and killed. The creature then leaves the tank and Mack Raker takes up the commentary….)
Mack: The creature has escaped the viewing tank and appears intent on getting into the ocean. Park visitors are scattering in terror, but it doesn’t seem to want to kill or injure those within its reach like it has done to Mr Hayes. It is anyone’s guess where the creature will wind up. Will it be recaptured or will it try to make its way back to the habitat it knows best, the Amazon River?
Walt: Thank you Mack. We now return you to regular programming, but we will keep you informed as new developments arise. This is Walter Swen giving you all the news and nothing but the news from WNTV.
WASHINGTON POST
NAVY HUNTING GILL MAN!
(Gillman’s “thoughts”: an approximation)
‘Sun-hair she-creature I find.
Hairy four legs beast attack me with teeth.
Destroy beast!
Leave now but watch.’
The next morning
‘Follow sun-hair and man devil who hurt me with pain stick.
Her mate? No! I kill. Take her!
Strange big wood log stop.
Sun-hair swim. I follow.
No kill her. Like sun-hair creature, want to touch…..
She go back. Leave water world. Leave my world. No!
Must hurry….
No….too late.’
At The Lobster House
‘I see sun-hair and man devil walk and stand close.
Both walk back to noisy wood cave.
I follow now.
Weak creatures run from me.
No pain sticks.
Easy to take sun-hair.
We go to water. Safe. Give life. Can live.
Sun-hair mine, man devil!……..’
NEWSFLASH!
THE GILLMAN IS HERE IN JACKSONVILLE!
URGENT NEWS REPORT FROM WNTV
Walt: Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for this interruption to regular programming to bring you this report on developments concerning the Gillman. We now cross over to Mack Raker in the region of Point Diego.
Mack: Thank you Walt. Earlier tonight a report was received by authorities from a couple fishing in a boat who heard screaming coming from a channel marker in the river. It turned out that Miss Helen Dobson who had earlier been abducted by the Gillman from the Lobster House had managed to break free of the creature and was trying to escape by climbing onto the channel marker. As the fishing couple watched, Miss Dobson was dragged back under just as a police launch arrived on the scene.
I have been told that the police have issued an alert and have commenced clearing the public off the streets.
I have here a member of the coast guard who has been conducting a search for Miss Dobson and the Gillman. What further developments have there been?
Coast guard guy: Yes, we’ve just investigated an incident involving two young men who while driving found a body on a nearby beach. They apparently stopped to investigate. The body left an impression on the ground and must have been that of the missing woman, Miss Helen Dobson. It appears that the creature came up behind the two preoccupied men and killed them before heading into the water with Miss Dobson’s body.
Mack: Thank you for that update. We now move on with the search and it is apparent that hundreds of armed police are scouring the area. We are now approaching a gathering of policemen who are being briefed on the creature by Professor Ferguson. Let’s see if we can pick up his words….
Ferguson: ……remember to keep in mind the sheer strength of the creature and more importantly its high level of intelligence…..(Meeting interrupted by a man with an urgent message)
Mack: Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that the creature has just been sighted by searchers coming back ashore further along the beach. We will resume our report once we arrive on the scene.
(Commercial break featuring Sugar Snaps: The perfect start to any day recommended by 91% of doctors. A free plastic Gillman action-figure in every box of Sugar Snaps!
(Later that evening……)
Mack: Walt, we resume our live report just in time to see the creature retrieving the body of Miss Helen Dobson and heading back into the water. Professor Ferguson is now approaching the retreating figure of the Gillman and seems to be using what appears to be the kind of conditioning training that was taught to the Gillman back at the aquarium. My God! It appears to be working! Ferguson has managed to make the creature drop Miss Dobson. (Sound of gunfire erupts.) The police have just now seized the opportunity and have opened fire with a volley of gun fire.
Thank God Miss Dobson is unharmed!
(Shot of Helen and Ferguson embracing. Pan to smoke-filled scene of watery surface stillness and fade back to studio with close up of Walter Swen.)
Walt: A good outcome for Miss Dobson with perhaps a bitter taste left in the mouth. The Gillman, this Creature from the Black Lagoon….A maligned and misunderstood missing link or a malevolent monstrous misfit? This is Walter Swen giving you all the news and nothing but the news from WNTV.
Points Of Interest
“The Revenge of the Creature” was reported to be the highest-grossing film of the "Creature" trilogy.
Much of the film was shot at Marineland in Florida with The St. Johns River standing in for the Amazon.
The actors filmed in the water during the tank scenes were required to swim with actual sharks, eels and barracudas.
The Lobster House restaurant where the Creature kidnapped Helen Dobson located in Jacksonville, FL. was destroyed by fire in 1962.
The film was the only sequel to a 3-D film to be shot in 3-D as well.
Clint Eastwood has a brief cameo in the beginning of the film as a goofy lab technician "Jennings" who being devoid of a .45 Magnum can’t seem to keep even lab rats in line! And the hairdo! It might make some people’s day!
Is there any outfit that Lori Nelson (also in “The Day the World Ended”) does not look stunning in? The creature had a good eye!
The audience is made to feel empathy for a monster who experiences an attraction for a beautiful woman but who is denied her by the reality of their existence and differences, Not only that, but the monster endures being probed and prodded, being gaped at by tourists, experiences pain, capture, and even death for being merely what it is.
The Gill Man evokes far more sympathy in "The Revenge of the Creature" than he did in "the Creature from the Black Lagoon." Firstly, there is the creature’s obvious sensitivity and feelings for Helen. It was also the creature who becomes a victim of scientific curiosity, human arrogance and the need to control and subjugate the forces of Nature. It was humans who invaded the safety of the creature’s natural habitat of the Black Lagoon with the intent of capturing and removing him. The Creature’s freedom has been replaced with shackles and repeated cattle prodding. Is it any wonder that REVENGE may have to be exacted? Push a man ….or creature too far and…..
Notice during the attack by the Creature on the Lobster House that a clock hanging above the entrance suddenly jumps ahead two hours! It turned out that heat from the production equipment tripped the sprinkler system in the restaurant not long after the scene started. As a result, the extras were drenched, along with the production equipment. The extras had to go home and change while the equipment was dried, and the resulting two hour time difference was shown on the clock.
In the scenes of "The Creature" jumping out of a huge aquatic tank to attack the audience and over-turning a car as he was escaping the Oceanarium, wires were used to pull the Creature out of the large tank and turn the car over.
You might have noticed a scene when Professor Ferguson ventures out into a darkened area around the motel to look for Helen’s missing dog. Suddenly, we are given a start when a hand suddenly reaches out from the right side of the screen to touch him. Initially we think it might be the Gillman but is instead Helen. This is an example of director Jack Arnold’s effective technique using the sides of the movie screen as the arches in a proscenium-style theatre (arch over the area of a theatre surrounding the stage opening) with unexpected intrusions coming in from the sidelines.
Ricou Browning played the "Gill Man" in the underwater scenes of Creature from the Black Lagoon
While playing The Creature, Actor/Stuntman Tom Hennesy grabs Helen Dobson (stunt woman Ginger Stanley) on a pier and jumps into the water with her. The water, however, was full of jellyfish. Not only that, but a freak current started to pull them both down. Hennesy let go of Stanley, who managed to swim to the surface, while Hennesy's Gill-Man costume became waterlogged and too heavy and inflexible for him to escape the current. Luckily he was rescued by two local boys who were nearby in a boat watching the filming.
(End of Revenge of the Creature)
**********
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
A rather slow-paced but commendable made-to-formula sci-fi film
Directed by Robert Gordon
Produced by Charles H. Schneer
Written by Hal Smith, George Worthing Yates
Music by Mischa Bakeleinikoff
Cinematography: Henry Freulich
Editing by Jerome Thoms
Studio: Clover Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Running time: 79 min.
Budget: $150,000
Box office: $1.7 million (US)
Cast
Kenneth Tobey: Cmdr. Pete Mathews
Faith Domergue: Prof. Lesley Joyce
Donald Curtis: Dr. John Carter
Ian Keith: Adm. Burns
Dean Maddox Jr.: Adm. Norman
Chuck Griffiths: Lt. Griff, USN
Harry Lauter : Deputy Bill Nash
Richard W. Peterson: Capt. Stacy
1955: A Taste Of The Times
Disneyland opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
Actor James Dean is killed at age 24 when his automobile, a Porsche 550 Spyder, nicknamed "Little Bastard," collides with another car at a highway junction near Cholame, California
The first footage of Elvis Presley is filmed as part of a film short about the Cleveland, Ohio, disc jockey Bill Randle.
Bo Diddley makes his television debut on Ed Sullivan's Toast Of The Town show for the CBS-TV network.
“It Came From Beneath the Sea” was produced by Sam Katzman and Charles Schneer and directed by Robert Gordon for Columbia Pictures, from a script by George Worthing Yates. The film’s most distinguishing feature would have to be the special model-animated effects of Ray Harryhausen. Much of the film was shot at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard with some scenes being shot aboard a submarine. Some of the naval personnel were even given supporting roles in the film.
(Spoiler Alert!!!!)
(Words and phrases in italics taken from narration and dialogue in the film.)
(Post Day of Reckoning)
Special Report from KNTV
Studio News Presenter: Tonight we have a story that sounds too incredible to be believed, but true it IS ladies and gentlemen. It is a story that fills in the details of the recent catastrophic events that befell our proud city of San Francisco.
At that time it was considered to be too early for the world to know what was going on. But now we can lay before you the incident in its shocking entirety.
Our story begins with an atomic submarine designed to be man’s greatest weapon of the seas on patrol manoeuvres in the Pacific Ocean. For the crew on board this maritime marvel of Man’s genius, it must have seemed that in between playing cards, all they had to do was eat and sleep and press a button when there’s any work to be done.
The sub captained by Commander Pete Mathews suddenly came into contact with an object that their sonar indicated was of massive proportions. It was definitely not a whale, nor a ship. Even after several attempts at evasive manoeuvres, the sub was somehow disabled but managed to free itself and proceed to Pearl Harbor.
What was even more disturbing about this incident was that a radiation warning signal was triggered and that it was determined that the radiation was coming from outside the sub. All aboard the sub had good reason to fear the danger posed by the presence of radiation. According to one of the crewmen we interviewed who wished to remain anonymous, “I heard it (radiation) makes it so you can’t have children.”
(Early Encounter)
Excerpt from Commander Pete Mathews’ personal log:
……the next time I arrive in these waters I’m going to have torpedos on board and warheads on them……..
Commander Pete Mathews’ official report:
Shakedown cruise completed-x-ray-struck submerged object-x-ray-damage: minor flooding. Putting into Pearl for repairs.
(Post Day of Reckoning)
Special Report from KNTV
Studio News Presenter: Back at Pearl Harbour, it was discovered that a large amount of animal tissue had jammed the sub’s dive planes.
Beyond this point, for the first time in their lives, three people met: the man-and-woman team of marine biologists, Dr John Carter, Professor Lesley Joyce and Commander Pete Mathews.
Professor Lesley Joyce is head of marine biology at the South East Institute of Oceanography. She is considered to be the most outstanding authority on marine biology alive today.
After 12 days and nights of numerous tests and experiments, nothing was certain, until finally Joyce and Carter managed to identify the tissue as part of a gigantic squid.
Their findings were presented to military authorities at an arranged meeting. Prof Lesley Joyce takes up the story;
“We were faced with scepticism from the authorities and had begun receiving reports of missing bathers, and the unexplained disappearance of a Japanese fishing fleet. In addition, the Siberian seal hunting season had failed due to a lack of animals.
“Dr John Carter and I had come to the conclusion that the giant octopus was in fact from the Mindanao Deep and had been forced out of its natural habitat due to hydrogen bomb testing in that area. The testing caused the giant octopus to become radioactive, and that it was this radioactivity that drove away its usual food supply.”
Journalist: What actual proof did you have to support your theories?
Prof Lesley Joyce: We later received a report of an attack on a tramp steamer that encountered the squid. The captain had ordered the crew to abandon ship just before it was dragged under the water. The surviving members of the crew were questioned by psychiatrists, but when one of the sailor's description of the attack by a creature with giant tentacles was met with scepticism, his crew mates refused to testify.
Journalist: So how were they persuaded to reveal the truth of what happened?
Prof Lesley Joyce: Let’s just say that I was able to convince the first sailor to repeat his story for the government officials. We now had the evidence to back our theories.”
Studio News Presenter: We now present to you an actual recording we have managed to obtain of part of the interview that was conducted with one of the survivors by the psychiatric team;
“…It grabbed us……came up out of the water…..ship I was on….she went down with all hands…It was a giant octopus!!!”
(Pre-Day of Reckoning)
Extract from the San Francisco Chronicle July --- 1955
The US government has announced a halt to all sea traffic in the North Pacific. No reason has been given for this course of action, apart from the official statement that the US navy is engaged in secret manoeuvres.
Sea trade between at least three continents has come to a complete standstill.
Rumours are beginning to circulate that what is in fact taking place is the strangest search in history. But for what and why remains…….
(Post-Day of Reckoning)
Special Report from KNTV
Studio News Presenter: The Navy recently gave permission for Commander Pete Mathews to take part in an exclusive interview with one of our reporters. Here is part of the interview;
Journalist: Can you tell us Commander about the events at Harper’s Cove?
Commander Pete Mathews: The local Sheriff, Bill Nash took Prof Lesley Joyce and I to the site of an attack along the beach where we found a circular imprint in the sand. We then decided to send a request to Dr John Carter to join us. While we were waiting for him, we decided to do some fishing.
Journalist: Fishing?
Commander Pete Mathews: That’s right. Having had no luck catching anything made us convinced that the giant creature was probably in the vicinity. After Dr Carter arrived the imprint was identified as having been made by a giant octopus.
Journalist: What did you decide to do then?
Commander Pete Mathews: Well, my immediate concern was for Prof Lesley Joyce. I told her that she should leave the project, which seemed to me to have become far too dangerous for a woman.
Journalist: She obviously didn’t comply with your wishes?
Commander Pete Mathews: Well, let’s just say that Prof Lesley Joyce is part of an all new breed who feel they are just as smart and courageous as men. They don’t like to be pushed around. Ha! Ha! She told me in no uncertain terms that I had underestimated her ability to help in a crisis. She wasn’t wrong there!
Journalist: So what did you do then?
Commander Pete Mathews: Unfortunately Sheriff Bill Nash was attacked along the beach by the creature right in front of us so…….
(Day Of Reckoning)
Extract from the San Francisco Chronicle July__, 1955
Western Coast Of America Made Ready!
An imminent threat from what is believed to be a giant octopus has resulted in the entire off-shore Pacific coast waters being mined and all shipping taking refuge.
In addition, an electrified safety net has been strung underwater across the entrance to San Francisco Bay to protect the Golden Gate Bridge, which has also been wired.
As part of a project team put together to study and combat this latest threat to our survival, Professor Lesley Joyce demonstrated to a group of reporters a special jet-propelled atomic torpedo, with a warhead patented on a harpoon with which it is hoped to shoot the creature and then drive it out to sea before electrically detonating the device…..
(Day Of Reckoning)
Mobile Radio Unit Report:
Ladies and gentlemen, the military has just reported that an unknown contact is moving towards San Francisco harbor. The explosions you can hear are part of the planned detonation of mine fields in the hope of driving the creature off. (more sounds of explosions)
Oh my….The mines have had absolutely no effect on the marine intruder. We’ve been informed that the second stage of the defence plan is to be put into action involving an electrical current being put through the Golden Gate bridge and into the water.
We have just had it confirmed that the threat is in fact a giant octopus. It has also apparently demolished a net that had been placed across the Bay and is now heading toward San Francisco!
…………..
We are now standing at the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge and have discovered that the Navy has ordered the bridge to be abandoned. Just a minute! I see Dr John Carter from the team tasked with combating the creature. He appears to be agitated and yelling out something about the electric circuit on the bridge being on and needing to shut it off before damage is caused to the bridge itself. He is now driving off through the police cordon apparently to shut the current off.
Oh my God! The giant creature has surfaced and caught sight of the bridge. It has a huge medusa-like bulbous head with snaking tentacles emanating from it and it is now full of rage and is attacking the bridge itself! That moaning sound of agony you hear is the sound of steel girders being rent, ground, twisted and contorted by the pulverizing power of the octopus’ tentacles.
What has become of Dr Carter? He is completely exposed to the enraged creature….Just one moment! Another member of the team, submarine Commander Mathews has now just rushed on to the scene and is driving out to rescue Carter!
It seems that Carter has managed to shut the power down and the beast is slowly slipping beneath the water. Oh no! It is now thrashing the bridge but wait…..Commander Matthews is returning and ….yes! He has managed to rescue Dr Carter. Just in time too as one whole section of the bridge is collapsing right before our eyes!
(Day Of Reckoning)
KGO-FM 103.7
Emergency bulletin read by radio announcer Sam Hayes: “A marine monster is at large within this vicinity. You are advised to stay in your homes. The ferry boats are not running, so stay away from the ferry boats…..”
Mobile Radio Unit Report:
We have resumed our broadcast to find a city in panic and a mass exodus taking place down the peninsula, The creature has now re-surfaced near the Market Street docks and is now starting its rampage, destroying everything in its path, including the Ferry Building. We can see a group of soldiers armed with flame-throwers bravely forcing the creature back into the water foot-by-foot with each lick of fiery death being directed at it…….
(Post-Day of Reckoning)
Special Report from KNTV
Studio News Presenter: We also have for you an interview we recently conducted with Dr John Carter who collaborated with Professor Joyce in the investigation surrounding the gigantic marine intruder to our shores.
Journalist: Dr Carter, can you please tell us how the giant octopus was eventually defeated?
Dr Carter: Well, the Defence Department authorized Commander Matthews to launch his submarine carrying the modified atomic warhead. I joined the commander while Professor Joyce remained at the base.
When the soldiers with the flame-throwers succeeded in pushing the creature back into the sea, the commander ordered the torpedo to be fired at the creature. Unfortunately for us the octopus grabbed hold of our submarine and held us fast.
Using an aqualung, Commander Matthews bravely swam out to the octopus and placed explosive charges on it. It seemed like he almost had a personal vendetta against the creature. As it turned out, he was knocked out by the creature's flailing tentacles.
Journalist: What happened then? Obviously you couldn’t detonate the warhead with the commander still in the water and the sub being pinned down so close. How did you manage to do this while still being able to save the Commander and the sub?
Dr Carter: Well, I took it upon myself to don scuba gear and swim out and shoot the octopus in the eye, forcing it to release its grip on the ship. The most vulnerable part of the octopus is its brain, you see. Fortunately I was also able to bring Commander Matthews back to safety.
As the creature made its way toward open sea, the torpedo was detonated, destroying it.
Journalist: Thank you so much for your account, Dr Carter. We now take you back to the studio.
Studio News Presenter: As you can see from tonight’s special report, the recent events tell a story that shakes the very foundations of our complacent belief in our technological supremacy over nature, whereby all Man’s knowledge has increased so much so that any upheaval in nature would be beyond his belief.
Prior to this it seems that not even last year’s events involving the creature Godzilla’s rampage in Japan, nor even the Rhedosaurus’ wreaking havoc in New York City in ’53 had fully shaken us out of our complacency. With the new disaster having been visited upon us, we now know that the mind of man had thought of everything…..except that which was beyond his comprehension.
Could such a calamity befall us yet again? Will our children and grandchildren again…say… in about another 50 or 60 years’ time have to face another giant octopus, another Rhedosaurus or even another……Godzilla!?
Good night and thank you….
Points Of Interest
Kenneth Tobey also starred in 'The Thing from Another World' (1951) and 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' (1953), both featured in this book.
To keep shooting costs low, scenes were shot inside an actual submarine, above and under water, using handheld cameras.
A Pacific coastline scene was created by dumping several truckloads of sand onto a soundstage at Columbia Studios backed with a rear screen projection.
The principle feature of “It Came From Beneath The Sea,” are the octopus effects by Ray Harryhausen. Due to budget constraints, Harryhausen was only provided with enough money to animate six of the octopus' arms. Two tentacles were cut off.
The octopus is quite impressive through Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation magic and its integration into various scenes where we are treated to seeing it seemingly climb on the Golden Gate Bridge, grabbing hold of a submarine and squashing fleeing citizens with its tentacles in the San Francisco harbour. Here was Hollywood’s answer to the increasing popularity of television in American homes.
The monster octopus is merely a creature whose habitat man has been disturbed by Man and is driven by instinct to survive. Atomic testing caused it to become radioactive and it could no longer hunt because its usual prey could somehow sense its presence. It had to come to the surface in search of food. On this basis we can feel sympathy for the creature but as a monster character it is devoid of the personality of Harryhausen's other creatures. Also unlike Godzilla and Co. our marine monster is limited to a largely aquatic environment. No rampaging through cities or going on inland excursions for him!
The octopus originated in the Mindinao Deep, the deepest part of our ocean's bottoms. What else lurks within the unexplored parts of our oceans?
Faith Domergue’s character, Professor Lesley Joyce provided for the time an interesting feminist point of view. Unfortunately, it was somewhat spoiled by the love triangle and romantic scenes. As Matthews constantly kept grabbing Joyce, throwing her around, invading her space and physically cutting off her escape routes, I couldn’t help thinking what would happen if he tried that these days. Harassment law suits? Painful assault to his groin area? And what is it with Carter being so damn nice about some guy moving in on his girlfriend? Not even a good old ménage-a-trois arrangement happening here! I also couldn’t help wondering why can’t Joyce make up her damn mind about who and what she wants? Well….. (Note: In the interests of avoiding potential painful assaults to my own groin area, I am making no references about “women!” at this point.)
(End of It Came From Beneath the Sea)
**********
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955)
A science fiction film lacking any real sense of credibility with a monster that disappoints
Directed by Dan Milner
Produced by Jack Milner
Written by Lou Rusoff
Based on original story by Dorys Lukather
Music by Ronald Stein
Cinematography: Brydon Baker
Editing by Jack Milner
Studio: Milner Bos Productions
Distributed by American Releasing Corporation
Running time: 80 min
Budget: $75,000
Box office: $400,000 (as part of double bill with The Day the World Ended)
Cast
Kent Taylor: Dr. Ted Stevens / Ted Baxter
Cathy Downs: Lois King
Michael Whalen: Prof. King
Helene Stanton: Wanda
Phillip Pine: George Thomas
Rodney Bell: William S. 'Bill' Grant
Vivi Janiss: Ethel Hall, Dr. King's Secretary
Michael Garth: Sheriff
Pierce Lyden: Andy, the Janitor
1955: A Taste Of The Times
Movies include classics such as “The Seven Year Itch’ & “Rebel Without A Cause.”
Evan Hunter's movie adaptation of the novel “Blackboard Jungle” premieres featuring the song, "Rock Around the Clock", by Bill Haley and His Comets. Teenagers dance to the song during the film’s showing.
Academy Award, Best Picture: “On the Waterfront,” Sam Spiegel, producer (Columbia), Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Maria Saint), and Best Director (Elia Kazan).
Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel, Lolita
First edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published, in London
Rock and Roll music continues to grow in popularity with such idols as, Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and the Comets, Chuck Berry and The Platters.
Number One Songs: Mr. Sandman - The Chordettes; Let Me Go, Lover - Joan Weber; Hearts of Stone - Fontane Sisters; Sincerely - McGuire Sisters; The Ballad Of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes; Unchained Melody - Les Baxter; Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets; Yellow Rose Of Texas - Mitch Miller; Love Is a Many Splendored Thing - The Four Aces; Autumn Leaves - Roger Williams; Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
(Spoilers follow below!)
A chapter from the 2014 best-selling book……
“20th Century Mysteries, Myths & Hoaxes”
By Al Segue
Sea Monsters
Chapter 15: “The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues”
Introduction
The following account is based largely on rumours and stories that were circulating during the year 1955 and which have persisted since. Any official files that may have referred to the mystery of “The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues” have presumably been either lost or destroyed over the course of time. Archived reports from local Californian newspapers have been accessed and we also have the stories and accounts passed down to the family members of those who were allegedly involved in the events surrounding “The Phantom Mystery.”
The incident that is the subject of this chapter occurred in 1955 with reports of a series of deaths involving fishermen. A government investigator for the U.S. Department of Defense, William Grant and a marine scientist, Dr Ted Stevens soon turned up to investigate. Unknown to Grant, Stevens had been assigned to work undercover on the case. He used the name Ted Baxter and pretended to be a beachcomber and tourist.
Strange Encounter
It was reported that Dr Stevens later made a test dive where he supposedly spotted a mysterious light as well as a strange creature. According to the legend, the creature had arms and legs, with a row of spikes running down its spine.
Death From Unnatural Causes
It was also reported that after Dr Stevens reached safety, he informed Prof King that the fisherman found earlier on the beach had died from radiation burns and not from natural causes. It appeared that an unexplained source of atomic power on the ocean floor was being guarded by the” Phantom Monster.”
Dangerous Experiments
In reality Dr Stevens was a scientist famous for his experiments on the biological effects of radiation on marine life. As has already been stated, he had been investigating the nuclear light source and the monster, and was reportedly worried that the light in the ocean was man-made and could have been transformed into a dangerous weapon. Furthermore, he theorized that the monster obtained sustenance from the light and concluded that the Phantom and the light had to be destroyed.
Oceanographer Prof King, who worked for an oceanography college on the Pacific coast, had been conducting experiments and it was apparently his experiments that had something to do with the strange Phantom Monster. The Professor was apparently trying to use his discovery to create a "Death Ray" that could be used by the US military. Stevens, however, revealed that King was not under suspicion because it was determined that negotiations to sell the professor’s atomic inventions had been taking place. It turned out that it was the professor's own assistant, George Thomas who was seeking to turn over the atomic-secrets to a foreign power, most likely the former Soviet Union.
Cold War Capers
It was discovered that George Thomas had a lover, known only as “Wanda”, who was a secret agent for the Soviets. She was using Thomas to obtain information about the nuclear light created by King, and to prevent Grant's investigation from proceeding further. As part of this plan, George Thomas sabotaged Grant’s diving gear.
Grant meanwhile met with Ethel Hall, Dr King's Secretary and revealed to her that her son died while collecting specimens for King. He then persuaded her to obtain a wax impression of King's lab keys. Ethel was to later use the keys to gain access to King’s lab in order to search it.
Later on as Grant and Stevens were preparing for their dive, the poison that Thomas had earlier inserted into their scuba gear almost knocked out Grant. After Stevens revived Grant, the two men made their descent. It wasn't long before both men encountered the phantom but they managed to evade it and reach the surface safely.
Murder Most Foul
It was suggested that after Thomas revealed to Wanda that Ethel had met with Grant, he was ordered to take care of Ethel. As Ethel proceeded to the beach to meet with Grant, George Thomas, who was said to be lying in wait, killed her with a spear gun before she could keep the rendezvous with Grant.
Fortunately Thomas’ activities were soon uncovered and he along with the foreign agent, “Wanda” was arrested.
Interestingly the investigation into Ethel’s murder concluded that she was killed by George Thomas, who it was stated was deranged and suffering from a severe a psychiatric condition. He was committed to a psychiatric facility where he passed away in 1956. Cause of death: a cerebral haemorrhage.
The whereabouts and fate of the woman called “Wanda” remain unknown.
Seeing The Light
After the sheriff confirmed that George Thomas had killed Ethel and had earlier shot at Grant, Grant urged Prof King to provide the necessary information to destroy the light source and the “Phantom Monster.” King finally revealed that he had indeed activated a uranium deposit in the ocean floor in order to create the nuclear light. He then requested the others to give him an hour to consider Grant’s proposal.
As King’s daughter, Lois accompanied Ted Stevens to the lab in order to find her father, they both witnessed a large ship explode in the ocean apparently as it passed over the nuclear light.
After witnessing the same ship exploding off the coast, the professor probably came to the realization that the undersea weapon and the strange monster would have posed a great danger to humanity. It was later surmised from the destruction and upheaval in King’s lab that having witnessed the explosion and being overcome by guilt at what he had caused; he attempted to destroy all evidence of his life’s work.
Redemption
It was also conjectured that Prof King then rowed out to the cove and planted dynamite in order to destroy the nuclear light along with his monstrous creation. King may have been seized by the “phantom Monster” before he could escape, and was killed in the explosion along with the monster, or his guilt may have been too much to bear and he committed suicide. Lois and Ted’s children maintain that it was probably the former scenario.
As a result of Prof King’s actions, the light was permanently covered up. Just prior to Ted Steven’s death in a Californian nursing home several years ago, he was reported as having commented on the events surrounding the “Phantom From 10.000 Leagues” mystery, where he concluded that Prof King had paid for his mistakes. He was said to have at last remarked on the Phantom incident when muttering over and over, “he (King) paid for his mistake. Nature has many secrets that man mustn't disturb – and this was one of them!”
Fact or Fiction?
Consider the following;
For a Phantom, the marine creature seemed to have been quite easily spotted by anyone who entered the water. Also, the so-called Phantom appears to habe been more like a man-made cobbling together of something vaguely humanoid and partially reptilian. It appears to be somewhat like a bipedal sea monkey on steroids. Compare this ludicrous-looking creature with the kind of creatures we have had to contend with in the last few decades: The Rendosaurus in ’53; the giant octopus in San Francisco in ’54; Godzilla in Japan in ’54 and again in the US just a few years ago.
The fact that the incident was coined, “The Phantom From 10.000 Leagues” is remarkable. Considering that one league is about 3 nautical miles (5.5 km) or roughly how far an observer of average height (around 6 ft. or 1.8 m) can see when standing at sea level. can you imagine anyone being able to scuba dive to such depths, if such depths existed on earth!? Wrong direction perhaps?
Ted Baxter initially claimed that he was a beachcomber and tourist. How many beach bums and camera wielding tourists have you seen clad in a suit and tie and dress shoes, attire which it was reported he was wearing when first encountered by Grant?
We also know that he has written a book entitled “Biological Effects Of Radiation On Marine Life”, which has a sizable head-shot of him. With that in mind, how is that Ted would try and assume a false identity in order to investigate Prof king who would be guaranteed to recognize him on sight?
How is that George Thomas would know to tamper with two sets of scuba diving equipment, without knowing that Ted Stevens would be accompanying Grant? Also, how convenient it was that George left his fingerprints all over the spear and had left the spear-gun-in his car!
The two spies George Thomas and Wanda were so unprofessional and incompetent and so easily caught by the FBI that no country would be bothered making use of them in their espionage activities.
Mystery, Myth or Hoax?
Lois and her husband, Ted never commented publicly on the Phantom incident throughout the remainder of their lives (except for Ted's alleged rambling reference at the nursing home.) Grant was reassigned to unspecified duties at an undisclosed location. Until further hard evidence is turned up, perhaps we will never know……
End of Chapter 15
Points Of Interest
“The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues” ended up as the bottom half of a double-bill, below Roger Corman’s science fiction film debut as director of “The Day The World Ended.”
Despite reluctance from various distributors to buy the two films, they were both a commercial success due to the marketing skills of James H. Nicholson. Within two months of release the films had earned $400,000.
The film’s low budget was reflected in its flimsy sets such as Prof king’s home, the concealment of the professor's death ray project behind a curtain; the same single boat used in all the scenes and that damn same stretch of beach.
Count how many times the professor took off his suit coat to put on his lab coat or put on his lab coat then take it off and once again change to his suit coat. It should prove to be an interesting diversion!
And what exactly was the phantom monster doing to the fisherman’s leg underwater at the start of the film? It was like watching a frisky canine trying to copulate with a person’s leg!
I tells ya’…
“It ain't normal – this carrying on!”
(End of Phantom from 10.000 Leagues)
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Rodan (1956)
Monster fun with good drama, action and direction by Ishiro Honda
1956: Taste of the Times
Race Relations:
Autherine Lucy arrived at the Tuscaloosa branch of the University of Alabama and became the first black person to enrol there. She had been accepted in 1952 and then was denied because of her race.
The US Montgomery Boycott sparked arrests that included Martin Luther King.
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the ban on segregation in public schools in Brown vs. Board of Education and also ended race segregation on buses.
Tennessee National Guardsmen halted rioters protesting the admission of 12 African-Americans to schools in Clinton, Tennessee.
In South Africa the government ordered over 100,000 non-whites to leave their homes in Johannesburg within a year, in order to make room for whites.
Nelson Mandela and 156 others were arrested for political activities in South Africa. They were charged with treason for supporting the Freedom Charter, which called for a non-racial and socialist-based economy.
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Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Ken Kuronuma (original story), Takeshi Kimura, Takeo Murata
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography: Isamu Ashida
Edited by Kôichi Iwashita, Robert S. Eisen
Production company: Toho
Distributed by Toho
Running time: 82 min.
Cast
Kenji Sahara as Shigeru Kawamura, colliery engineer
Yumi Shirakawa as Kiyo, Shigeru's lover
Akihiko Hirata as Professor Kyouichiro Kashiwagi (biology)
Akio Kobori as Police Chief Nishimura
Yasuko Nakata as Female Honeymooner
Minosuke Yamada as Colliery Chief Osaki
Yoshifumi Tajima as Izeki, reporter of Seibu Nippou
Kiyoharu Onaka as Male Honeymooner, Sunagawa's friend
Haruo Nakajima as Radon / Rodan
Shôichi Hirose as F-86F pilot
Ichirô Chiba as Chief of police station
Mike Daneen as American Soldier Typing
Tazue Ichimanji as Haru, Kiyo's neighbour
Saburo Iketani as News Reader
Saburô Kadowaki as Sunagawa's colleague
Tateo Kawasaki as Tsunesan, miner
Kanta Kisaragi as Suteyan, miner
Rodan, was released in Japan as Sora no Daikaijū Radon or "Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky." This 1956 Kaiju film was produced by Toho Studios and was the studio's first Kaiju movie filmed in colour. Rodan was one of a series of giant monster movies that gained popularity outside of Japan. In the United States, it was originally released as “Rodan! The Flying Monster!”
*****
The Sky Monster
Visions appeared to me of a future of which I dare not think,
Of a time when our world will quake from war’s jolt,
When in far-off Cipango the rising sun begins to sink
And is burned and blinded by an Eagle’s bolt;
Humanity will huddle when it happens to hear
And feel the horror of Earth’s raged-filled roar;
For then the only feeling will be that of fear
As all run from oaths and obscenities that pour
Out of cruel long deep wounds gouged by knives of greed
In a headlong haste for more and more,
Only to awaken the wing’d beast to ruin and feed………
[Said To Be From a vision of the 15th Century Italian Dominican friar, preacher and prophet, Girolamo Savonarola.]
*****
(Spoilers Follow below!)
Bill Bannerman: An uncanny prophetic vision of the events that took place in post-war Japan over 60 years ago by an excommunicated republican and religious reformer who was active in Renaissance Florence? Or is this, as many now suggest, just the product of a hoax perpetrated by a mischievous modern-day blogger? The fragment of the prophesy we do have is supposed to be a copy of the original. The jury is definitely out on this one…
Good evening, I’m your host, Bill Bannerman and welcome to tonight’s program, Probing The Past where we will be examining the 1956 incident referred to by many in Japan as, “Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky.” Of course we in the West know it by the name of “Rodan.”
As you are aware, just two years prior to Rodan’s appearance, Japan reeled under the onslaught of another monster who we know as Godzilla. Just two short years later our story of Rodan began in the small mining village of Kitamatsu, on the outskirts of Kyushu.
Suddenly the air is rent by the wail of a siren signaling a shift change at a mine. Two miners, Goro and Yoshi, had been fighting that day-a day laden with an inexplicable dark cloud of tension. After they entered the mine to start their shift, the shaft of mine number 8 suddenly flooded. Head of mine security, Shigeru Kawamura went below to investigate and discovered Yoshi's lacerated body. He appeared to have been "almost hacked to pieces" and was quickly rushed to the hospital. The doctors were particularly concerned about his head wound.
The cause of Yoshi's death was found to have been a series of deep gashes inflicted by an abnormally sharp object. Of course suspicion began to fall on Goro, who was still unaccounted for.
Two local miners and a policeman, who were later stationed inside the mine, were attacked and killed by someone or something wielding a sharp object that virtually sliced them to pieces.
Shigeru Kawamura who is now in his eighties, takes up the story as part of an interview we conducted with him about his involvement in the incident.
“I remember that I was with Kiyo my then girlfriend and now my wife, when suddenly we were attacked by a horrible huge insect-like creature. Fortunately we both managed to escape, but two police officers who had been hunting the creature were killed and dragged off into the mine by it. Later I, together with the police, found the two officers and discovered that their wounds matched the wounds of the previously murdered men.
After this discovery, I along with a group of metro police and army personnel entered the mine to confront the insect creature and hopefully locate Goro, either alive or dead. As it turned out further down the mine we found the body of Goro who had been butchered and was lying on the floor of the mine. As we approached, the giant insect emerged and pursued us back up the mine shaft. I instinctively grabbed hold of a mine cart, and released it causing it to roll down the shaft and collide with the giant insect and hopefully crush it.
Our troubles were not yet over. As preparations were being made to remove Goro's body, several giant insects were found to be observing us. As the soldiers began firing at them with ‘with machine guns and other pieces,’ an earthquake occurred causing the cave tunnel to collapse, trapping me in the mine. After that I could not remember anything. I was later discovered wandering around and I had amnesia due to a blow to my head. I was not given much of a chance of recovery by the doctors at that time. But as you can see, I am still here after all this time!”
Bill Bannerman: The next day, during an investigation of the incident as described by Shigeru Kawamura, Professor of biology, Dr Kashiwagi identified the giant insect as a Meganulon.
FACT FILE - Meganulon: A prehistoric giant species of dragonfly larvae from the Palaeozoic era which escaped extinction by burrowing.
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Bannerman: It appears that these insects had been reanimated by the mining operations in Kitamatsu village. To make matters worse, an earthquake suddenly struck that very area, and rumours began to spread that Mt. Aso the nearby volcano was about to erupt.
Now let us recall that source of questionable authenticity supposedly from Savonarola. During the Renaissance period we find the term “Cipango” used in the writings of such people as Marco Polo and Columbus. This was the name usually given to what we now know as Japan. Coincidence?
The line “our world will quake from war’s jolt” could be a reference to the Second World War which did in fact jolt our world! The “rising sun” reference could allude to the rise of Imperial Japan under the flag of the ‘Rising Sun.’ Coincidence?
What of being “burned and blinded by an Eagle’s bolt?” Could the eagle represent the USA with the bolt being the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thereby leading to Japan’s surrender and defeat and bringing an end to the Second World War? Coincidence?
All this occurred a mere decade prior to the events of 1956, but still was a prelude to these events and constituted a kind of national wound or scar that would take time to heal and could even run the risk of being reopened.
When we hear of “Earth’s rage-filled roar” we can’t help thinking of the earthquake and volcanic activity at the time and which Japan is susceptible to due to its location on the Ring of Fire, an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
Of course, there is more than a hint of human responsibility in all of this. Many have suggested that such activity as atomic bomb testing helped to unleash the monster, Godzilla in 1954. At the time of the events of 1956 we had a Japan that was beginning to forge a new national, political and economic identity for itself. The reference to “cruel long deep wounds gouged by knives of greed / In a headlong haste for more and more” could represent Japan’s post-war headlong drive for economic expansion with such activities as the type of mining that was undertaken playing a part. Coincidence?
So what of the last line of the ‘prophesy’: “Only to awaken the wing’d beast to ruin and feed?” Perhaps, as has been suggested, “we had dug too deeply……and awakened it to destroy us all."
Let’s see where the events of the 1956 “Rodan” incident take us……..
At about this time strange reports both in Japan and around the world concerning a strange UFO began to appear such as the following;
Seibu Nippou
Jet Destroyed By UFO!
There are unconfirmed reports that an air base in Kyushu, received an alert from one of their jets. The pilot is reported to have observed an unidentified flying object performing incredible manoeuvres at supersonic speeds.
The unnamed pilot was ordered to pursue the object at a distance, but as he did so, the object suddenly altered course and began flying straight towards the jet causing the jet’s destruction.
A JSDF source has reportedly revealed that the only things that have been recovered are the pilot’s oxygen mask and his blood-stained helmet.
By Izeki Shibaguchi
Bannerman: In addition to this, a BOAC flight was also reported to have been attacked by the UFO and destroyed leaving no survivors. Reports were also received of the UFO attacking various cities throughout Asia; including Beijing and Manilla. There were even rumors of a secret military weapon test and there was the case of the disappearance of a newly married couple in Japan together with several head of cattle around Mt. Aso.
When the authorities developed the film from the missing newly-weds' camera, they discovered a photograph of what appeared to be a gigantic wing. It appeared to resemble a drawing of a Pteranodon, an ancient reptile thought to be extinct millions of years earlier. The notion of a Pteranodon as being responsible for what happened to the newly-weds was soon dismissed as being implausible.
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FACT FILE: “Pteranodon” consists of the Greek words for "wing" and "toothless" or "wing without tooth."
•They formed a genus of pterosaurs which included some of the largest known flying reptiles related to the dinosaurs.
•Pteranodons lived during the Late Cretaceous period and became extinct in the K-T extinction event.
• Pteranodons had a wingspread of up to about 25 feet (8 meters).
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Bannerman: The story is taken up once again by Shigeru Kawamura…..
“One day, in my hospital room, Kiyo showed me some eggs that her birds had lain. Suddenly one of the eggs hatched, and as it did so, a horrible memory flooded my brain of me being deep down within the mine. I had a memory of waking after the cave-in and finding to my horror that I was surrounded by hundreds of Meganulon and that there in the middle of the cave was what appeared to be a giant egg!
Suddenly, the egg hatched and out of it emerged an enormous, winged creature and with its sharp beak it bent over and began to eat the Meganulon which was now simply food for this terrible creature. It took the shock of this horrible memory to help restore my full memory….”
Bill Bannerman: The link between the creature that Shigeru Kawamura saw and the Pteranodon seemed to now have been established. From a fragment of the egg recovered later by Shigeru and a group of police and scientists from the mine and the cave where the egg had been, it was determined the egg was massive and was some 200 million years old.
At a later briefing, details were given by Professor Kashiwagi as to the size and nature of a fully grown “Rodan.”
· Wingspan: 270 meters.
· Body weight: 100 tons.
· Danger posed to humans: Being eaten & fatalities caused by sonic boom, waves and windstorms created when the creature is in flight.
· Reason for its appearance: Possibly nuclear bomb testing which loosened the Earth and opened up cavities, crevices and caves. Radioactive rainwater may have seeped into the underground caverns and caused a mutation.
Bannerman: To see how the events reached their climactic end, we now turn to archived radio and television reports from Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai or Japan Broadcasting Corporation:
TV reporter Kinji Ugaki: “After Rodan emerged from the ground near Mt. Aso, it took to the air and headed for Kyushu, with a squadron of the JASDF in pursuit. The Japanese Air Force is valiantly attempting to intercept and engage the creature but Rodan seems to be able to out maneuver the jets. But wait….
(Vision of Rodan destroying a number of aircraft and then of jets hot on his tail as they appear to be succeeding in forcing the creature into the river.)
“We are now in Fukuoka after Rodan managed to emerge from the river. The entire city has been laid to waste due to the creature’s wings generating sonic waves and windstorms as well as from the attacking JSDF jets.
(Vision and audio of deafening explosive sounds of destruction as buildings are being ripped apart)
Wait! I have just received a report from a JSDF source that a second Rodan has been sighted heading towards the city. Here it comes above the city….”
(More vision and audio of the city being leveled and in flames with a final shot of the two Rodan flying away)
Second TV report showing a JSDF official outlining the plan to attack the Rodans:
“We have managed to determine that the Rodans are located at their old nest at the base of Mt. Aso. We therefore plan to shell the volcano that will hopefully trigger an eruption that will trap the two monsters under the lava and rock. Since regretfully Kitamatsu will be completely destroyed in this attack, it will be necessary to force the town to evacuate.”
Radio reporter, Masamichi Hakamada: “The military has begun its attack. The plan appears to be working as the volcano begins to vomit the contents of Hell into the sky.
One of the Rodans is now emerging, but is being overcome by the burning noxious and suffocating fumes. It is losing its battle with the volcano’s deities as it descends into the flowing lava in which its vile life-force is forevermore extinguished. The second Rodan is now also descending and seems intent in sharing the fate of its mate as it too also is consumed in the inferno of the lava that has spewed forth from the bowels of the erupting volcano.”
Bill Bannerman: And what of the rest of the supposed Savonarola prophesy? Did it too disappear as did the two Rodan creatures? If it is authentic, did it also foretell humanity’s triumph over the monsters that plagued it all those decades ago? Or did it warn us of future monsters, perhaps of our own making that have yet to emerge and be faced with resolve? Let’s end with the words of Shigeru;
“At the time I realized that ‘by the narrowest of margins, man had proved himself the stronger. but will it always be so? May not other and more terrible monsters even now be stirring in the darkness? And when, at last, they spring upon us, can we be certain we can beat them back a second time?’”
Bannerman: Until next week’s episode of “Probing The Past,” this is Bill Bannerman wishing you all one step back into the past and two steps forward into the future……
Points Of Interest
Rodan was the first of the Toho "Dai Kaiju" series in colour.
For the film’s dubbing, the voices of Paul Frees, Marvin Miller, Keye Luke (main narration provided by the character of Shigeru) and a young George Takei (Mr. Sulu from Star Trek) were used.
Rodan was made without the benefit of today’s CGI. Instead miniatures, a guy in a rubber suit, imagination, drama and action and the genius of Eiji Tsuburaya sufficed to create the on-screen magic.
The film was originally titled, “Radon” but a British toy company had a doll on the market with that name. When the film went overseas “Radon” became “Rodan” simply by switching the vowels in the name.
It has been suggested that it was the film “Them!” that provided the inspiration for “Radon.”
The way in which the film’s story is structured serves to maintain the audience’s interest throughout. At the start we are introduced to the peaceful atmosphere of the mining village which is then quickly replaced by its inhabitants turning against one another. This is followed by a battle with something monstrous and a mystery involving Shigeru’s disappearance and amnesia. The story quickly moves to threats not only to the mining village, but also to the whole world. The rest of the story is taken up with the giant monster attack.
Notice that the creature Rodan does not make a full appearance until the movie is nearly over. When it does appear, it is in a flurry and whirlwind of noise and destruction. The film ends on a highly emotional note when Kiyo tells Shigeru that she's staying with him because she loves him and he holds her and says he loves her too. Their exchange almost mirrors or parallels the death of both Rodans and demands our sympathy for the two monsters that have shown such devotion to each other. Take for instance the observation of Shigeru at the end of the film;
“…and when, still calling to each other, one of them fell at last into the mountain lava stream, the other still refused to save itself. the last of their kind, masters of the air and earth, the strongest, swiftest creatures that ever breathed -- now they sank against the earth like weary children. each had refused to live without the other and so were dying together.”
The film seems to serve as a commentary on Japan’s past history especially during the Second World War, and its effects on the present as well as on the future. It highlights the dangers associated with nuclear testing and man's interference in the delicate balance of nature.
The character Shigeru is played by 24-year old Kenji Sahara who acted in some 57 movies up to 2002, including a record twelve Godzilla series installments.
Kiyo is played by 20-year old Yumi Shirakawa who was cast by Director Ishiro Honda in several of his subsequent movies, including the role of Etsuko Shiraishi in 1957's “The Mysterians” and of Chikako Arai in 1959's, “The H-Man.” Both Yumi Shirakawa and Ishiro Honda feature in the “Tribute” volume of this ebook series.
In most Japanese monster movies, the main characters are usually professional types such as scientists, doctors, journalists, military men and politicians. In “Rodan,” however, the protagonists are generally coal miners and working-class people who occupied the bottom rungs of Japanese society’s socio-economic ladder.
In the scene where the Japanese Army arrives at the cave, there is a group of infantry armed with three tripod-mounted light machine guns. These machine guns are American-made belt-fed M1919A1 .30 caliber weapons.
At the Japanese Air Force airbase we can see on the tarmac a group of jet fighters which are American-built F-86F Sabres.
In the original Japanese version of the film, the Rodans are about destroy the city of Fukuoka. For the overseas US version, it was felt that the name "Fukuoka" might come out sounding like "Fuck-oka" to American audiences. It was therefore decided to change the site of the attack to the much safer sounding name of “Sasebo,” a port city on the western coast of Kyushu.
You may notice that on one of the buildings being destroyed there is a sign that reads "The Tsuburaya Company." This was an on-screen nod and reference to the film’s special effects supervisor, Eiji Tsuburaya.
During the shooting of a scene in which Rodan flies over a bridge, the pulley from which Haruo Nakajima was suspended broke causing him to fall from a height of twenty-five feet! Luckily, the wings together with the foot and a half depth of water absorbed much of the impact.
Rodan grossed an estimated $450,000 to $500,000 during its opening weekend at 79 theaters in the New York City metropolitan area.
Please note, Meganulon has never existed! It is fictional and began appearing with the film “Rodan.” It continued to appear and evolve in subsequent films.
(End of Rodan)
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The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)
Low budget, undemanding but entertaining film