Monster Team-up: Godzilla vs the Thing (Mothra)

"King Kong vs Godzilla" was a box-office smash, not only in Japan, but abroad. (It still stands as the all-time, Toho/kaiju earner.)  A direct, shoe-in sequel to the titanic clash was proposed, but Toho (per trailblazing producer Tomoyuki Tanaka) picked a different path.

As such, Mothra (and her offspring) challenged the studio's homespun "dragon", in what became "Mothra vs Godzilla" or "Godzilla vs the Thing", as it was better known in the U.S. (thanks to American International Pictures), with other title variations surfacing around the globe. (Later, it was released on Paramount VHS as "Godzilla vs Mothra".)  

I must confess, I was a trifle disappointed when I first viewed the 1964, Ishiro Honda directorial effort, in that I had anticipated a super-morphed version of James Arness' "The Thing (from Another World)".  Mothra's name recognition beyond Japan wasn't as strong at this point, which is why an air of mystery enshrouded her.

Though I found Mothra (Mosura) interesting, she was my least favorite of Toho's A-listers. I fancied Rodan (Ladon) and Ghidrah (Ghidorah) more. Also, since I was viewing the Toho flicks out of sequence on UHF, my loyalty to the mighty moth was stunted due to no fault of her own. Be that as it may...  

Per Shinichi Sekisawa's script, Godzilla is much meaner in his fourth, headlining outing, and that's saying a lot since he was far from Mr. Congeniality in the earlier chapters. 

Disgruntled by his defeat to Kong, Godzilla appears determined to pounce Mothra/the Thing (who goes by both names in the dubbed version) for a presumed, easy win. If Mothra's washed-ashore egg just so happens to get smashed along the way, so be it.  However, much to Godzilla's dismay, the ailing Mothra fights with unsurpassed vigor to protect her confined twins. 

Mothra's egg also impact's the film's make-a-buck subplot: similar to the prior chapter's, which in its own right springs from "King Kong '33" and "Mighty Joe Young '49".  

To thwart the business men who wish to exploit the uncanny formation, the miniature, guardian ambassadors of Infant Island (dubbed Mothra Island) intervene: The fairies are portrayed by Emi and Yumi Ito, who were better known as the Peanuts on Japan's nightclub circuit and held a significant role in the first Mothra movie. They sing (pray) in a most melodious manner to Mothra and her soon-to-be-hatched larvae to halt Godzilla.  

Beyond its ultra-small/ultra-big performers, the film features an all-star Toho cast, with Hiroshi Koizumi as Professor Shunsuki Miura; the lovely Yuriko Hoshi as novice photographer Nakanishi Junko; Akira Takarada as reporter Ichiro Sakai; Yu Fujiki as reporter Jiro Nakamura; Jun Tazaki as editor-in-chief Marata; Yoshifumi Tajima as the Denham-seque Kumayama of Happy Enterprises; and Kenji Shara as the unscrupulous Jiro Torahata.

Hajimi Koizumi's cinematography is the most striking of any Toho production; and Akira Ifukube's iconic score complements Honda's direction to a tee, particularly during the film's ferocious, final frames, when Mothra's incensed children back the big, green one into a sticky situation (to say the least).  

The film has never waned in popularity and was remade in '92 to huge fanfare. Even so, for sentimental reasons, the original remains favored and clinched a long line of Toho crossovers, which marched in respectful step to Universal's monster rallies.

Even if one doesn't consider "Godzilla vs the Thing" a classic (though how could one not?), there's no denying the epic's refreshing, rock 'em, sock 'em execution. 

They sure as hell don't make 'em like this anymore; so toss that PC junk out the door, and let old-school, fight-to-the-death Godzilla and Mothra show ya how it's done.

HAPPY 75TH ANNIVERSARY...FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN!!!

Today marks the 75th anniversary release of perhaps the most influential monster-movie team-up in history..."Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man"!!!

The film, written by Curt Siodmak and directed by Roy William Neill, sports a memorable Hans Salter score and one helluva cast: Lon Chaney, Jr.; Bela Lugosi; Maria Ouspenskaya; Ilona Massey; Patric Knowles; and Lionel Atwill. It also paved the way for such significant monster-movie rallies as "House of Frankenstein", "House of Dracula" and "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".

The film is both thrilling, moving and still holds up today: an indisputable classic that demonstrates how to do a crossover right!!!

Monster Team-Up Reflection #2: Story of Drac, Wolf and Frank LP

Lots of folks around my age surely recall those wondrous Power Records selections back in the '70s. Power Records offered a large range of fantastic, pop-cultural adaptations of favorite stories and characters, ranging from "Planet of the Apes" to "Six Million Dollar Man". As a youngster, I frequently re-played such engaging recordings as the introspective Captain America/Falcon romp, "A Phoenix Shall Arise" and the powerfully poignant Man-Thing classic, "Night of the Laughing Dead". 

These recordings were done in the old-time-radio vein, with a number of actors offering the voices, accompanied by comic-books that one could read-along to as the discs played. (Little beeps would signal one to turn the page, in case one's mind wandered, which was unlikely to happen, considering how enthralling these stories were in both their audio and visual aspects.)

Power Records also offered an astonishingly good monster team-up LP in '75, verbosely entitled, "A Story of Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein", which I recently revisited, still being on my evident monster team-up kick. The title (as it appears on the front-cover artwork) is, in fact, a tad inaccurate, due to one of the plot twists, but nonetheless, this is a monster-icon merging irrevocably worthy of consumption, combining elements of Universal and Hammer lore, with the tone of such '70s entries as Dan Curtis' classic monster adaptations and even the epic, "Frankenstein: the True Story."

The rollicking yarn kicks off with Frankenstein's nephew/assistant, Vincent, on the run with his curvaceous finance, Ericka, only to found by a mysterious, but seemingly helpful stranger, who on the recording has a distinct Lugosi-like accent and a stark resemblance to Bram Stoker's literary, legendary blood-sucker. (Gosh, wonder who he might be...)

The man invites the couple to his castle, but then reveals he motive: he has already recreated the Frankenstein laboratory, but is struggling to emulate the notorious experiment successfully. With Vincent in his grasp, he can accomplish this. As such, he keeps Ericka captive, while Vincent is forced to construct a new monster, who upon awakening, finds poor Ericka and tosses her out a window.

Though initially assumed dead, Ericka is found unconscious by a couple of dim-witted men and their grandmother: an old gypsy woman named Maleva, who though named after Maria Ouspenskaya's "Wolf Man" character, is nowhere near as kind or gentle. She soon plunges Ericka into a Cinderella-like hell, with no apparent hope of escape...

Eventually, the surprise lycanthrope rears its furry head (and yet another emerges on top of that). Drac and the Monster ultimately engage in an intense fight, until all is seemingly settled, with Vincent and Ericka happily reunited.

Neal Adams (who fashioned some of the very best Batman images of the '70s) illustrated this one. Peter ("Speed Racer"/"Ultraman") Fernandez can be heard on the recording, as well as on other Power Records adventures. 

I must say, as a kid, this one sure played like a movie in my mind, and even insinuates a sequel in its final panels, which alas never materialized. (Gosh, it really would have been cool if another had been done, perhaps having incorporated Jekyll/Hyde, maybe even the Invisible Man and/or the Mummy!)

You can actually tap into the recording and images via YouTube. There are also some tribute/mini-review samplings available throughout the web.

Anyway, give "Story of Drac, Wolf and Frank" a whirl when you can. It'll give you a swell taste of '70s pop-culture, as well as ample, fun-filled time with variations on some your very favorite, famous monsters!