50's American Horror Part Nine

GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS!

(1956)

Dir - Ishirō Honda/Terry O. Morse

Overall: GOOD

 

Considering that the Japanese Toho production company intentionally made Godzilla to capitalize on the success of American giant monster movies, (specifically 1953's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms), it was hardly an illogical movie to Americanize the initial film for English-speaking markets with Godzilla, King of the Monsters!.  A joint venture between Toho and Jewell Enterprises who reedited, dubbed, and shot new footage with Raymond Burr and various body doubles, the resulting collaboration ended up being the first financially successful Japanese movie in the States.  Of course it also introduced Godzilla to the rest of the world and launched one of the most massive franchises in cinema history.  The much more potent, atom bomb references are eliminated and without said context, this is basically just another popcorn "monster on the rampage" movie, be it a better one than most.  Many of the scenes with Burr are awkwardly shoehorned in at worst, but the narrative is hardly as interesting as just watching Godzilla stomp around Tokyo.  Like every film of its kind, considerable amounts of screen time drag when the big baddie is not being shown.  Even in its mangled form here though, it has a more sincere tone than one would think and coupled with the iconic "man in a rubber suite causing destruction" moments, it is probably still essential viewing.

 

I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF

(1957)

Dir - Gene Fowler Jr.

Overall: MEH

 

The first of American International Pictures' four "teenage cycle" horror movies and the most financially profitable was I Was a Teenage Werewolf.  Though it helped make Michael Landon a star, has some nifty monster makeup, and one scene involving a gymnast getting attacked is expertly done, this is another wretched offender of padded drive-in movies with dashes of excitement splashed in way too far and in between.  The first act establishes Landon's "teen with a severe anger problem" set up well enough, but it takes quite a while for him to wolf man-out and he in fact only does so three times in the movie, one of which is kept off screen.  Enormous chunks of screen time then are dedicated to characters talking about and looking for him and it is enough to put even the most caffeine-injected audience member to deep sleep.  The movie fails wildly to rev up the tension in the third act which is where it is generally most crucial to do so.  Also, the mad scientist angle here is insultingly stupid as he wants to use Landon as a test subject to revert man to his primal instincts for no reason, going as far as to try and film his transformation without making any precautions whatsoever to restrain him first.

TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000

(1958)

Dir - Robert J. Gurney Jr.

Overall: WOOF

 

A moronic sci-fi angle and embarrassing production values undermine Terror from the Year 5000, (Cage of Doom); the first of only three directorial efforts from Robert J. Gurney Jr who also co-wrote the harebrained script.  Early on, we are introduced to the laughable idea that carbon dating can determine if a substance is from the future and of course this Hollywood screenplay version of pseudo-science is presented in a straight-faced fashion, as is everything else that happens afterwards.  Unfortunately, nothing is as unintentionally funny from there on out as the plot quickly settles into a sluggish love triangle with uncharismatic actors, plus some nonsense about radiation.  A mutated woman with lousy makeup and a costume that looks like what actors have to wear nowadays for motion-capture purposes shows up in the final act, but she is tossed in there almost as an afterthought instead of the big mystery reveal that she was intended as.  The whole thing amounts to a "warning to the human race" as far as what their foolish tampering with atomic bombs will unleash, but the presentation is so uneventful that it even fails as a "bad movie night' cheapie.