The Two Mightiest Monsters of All Time! (July, 1963)

 

 
Needless to say, when I found the first ad for the titanic title bout between King Kong and Godzilla I got a little excited.
 

 
When I found the second ad, needless to say, I was a little concerned about the repeater, but figured, hell, we were heading for the weekend and building toward something really and truly special…
 

 

Well, shit.

 

 
Hrrrrmmmnnn … Trumped by Connie Francis. Nertz. Welp, hopefully, when it recycles to the Drive-In the ads will be a little more dramatic. And varied. And until I find those, check out these super-cool ads for the same film at the equally super-cool Friends of Marty Melville archive.
 

Other Points of Interest:

Poster campaign for King Kong vs. Godzilla at the Archive.

King Kong vs Godzilla (1962/1963) Toho:: John Beck :: RKO General Pictures :: Universal International / P: Tomoyuki Tanaka, John Beck (American Version) / D: Ishirô Honda / W: Shinichi Sekizawa, Bruce Howard (American Version), Paul Mason (American Version) / C: Hajime Koizumi / E: Reiko Kaneko / M: Akira Ifukube / S: Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yû Fujiki, Akihiko Hirata, Mie Hama

See the World Quake at the Fury of the Unleashed Battle of the Monsters! (December, 1965)

 

 

 

 

 

Other Points of Interest:

Poster campaign for Ghidrah at the Archive.

Ghidrah: the Three Headed Monster (1965) Toho :: Continental Distributing / P: Tomoyuki Tanaka / D: Ishirô Honda / W: Shinichi Sekizawa / C: Hajime Koizumi / E: Ryohei Fujii / S: Yosuke Natsuki, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Akiko Wakabayashi, Takashi Shimura

Drive-In Mash-Up :: Out of Pollution’s Depths It Slithers! A Deathmaster Back from Beyond the Grave! (May, 1972)

 

 

 

 
When head Godzilla guru, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, took one look at Yoshimitsu Banno’s finished film he declared the first time kaiju director would never work for Toho again, decrying he had ruined the franchise. That’s being a little harsh, as I find Godzilla vs the Smog Monster to be a trippy, surreal mess of awesome — you will believe a monster can fly, folks. But! The lack of the “Save the Earth” American International dub on Sony’s otherwise fantastic DVD is a crime, and that’s why I will never, ever part with my old VHS copy. Also of note, I did not know that actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, who played Hedorah, the Smog Monster, had to have an emergency appendectomy during the production — while still strapped into the rubber suit! Wow. As for our sequel to Count Yorga, despite the fact that the villain died in the last installment, with no explanation for his resurrection, and the fact that it’s basically the exact same movie as the first, the brass at AIP were bound and determined to groom Robert Quarry as a replacement for Vincent Price as their reigning King of Horror. And, well, we all know how that turned out, don’t we?
 
Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971) Toho Company :: American International Pictures / P: Tomoyuki Tanaka, Samuel Z. Arkoff / D: Yoshimitsu Banno / W: Yoshimitsu Banno, Takeshi Kimura / C: Yoichi Manoda / E: Yoshitami Kuroiwa / M: Riichirô Manabe / S: Akira Yamauchi, Toshie Kimura, Hiroyuki Kawase

The Return of Count Yorga (1971) Peppertree Productions Inc. :: American International Pictures / P: Michael Macready / D: Bob Kelljan / W: Bob Kelljan, Yvonne Wilder / C: Bill Butler / E: Laurette Odney / M: Bill Marx / S: Robert Quarry, Mariette Hartley, Roger Perry, George Macready, Craig T. Nelson

All New High Adventure! Gigantic Heights of Terror! (July, 1966)

 

 

 

 

 
In our first feature, Tarzan gets the James Bond treatment as he goes up against an evil mastermind (and his tanks, apparently), who is hell bent on cashing in on the mythical lost city of gold. As for our second feature, Toho starts to get a little trippy with this tale of a leftover World War II experiment that mutates into a giant monster — just in time to take on the giant lizard, Baragon, currently terrorizing the countryside. Good and absolutely demented, sure, but nowhere near as much fun as the sequel, War of the Gargantuas.
 

Other Points of Interest:

Poster campaign for Frankenstein Conquers the World at the Archive.

Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) Allfin A.G. :: American International Pictures / P: Sy Weintraub / AP: Steve Shagan / D: Robert Day / W: Clair Huffaker, Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters) / C: Irving Lippman / E: Frank P. Keller / M: Van Alexander / S: Mike Henry, Nancy Kovack, David Opatoshu, Manuel Padilla Jr., Don Megowan

Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) Toho :: Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc. :: American International / EP: Henry G. Saperstein, Reuben Bercovitch, James H. Nicholson, Samuel Z. Arkoff / P: Tomoyuki Tanaka / D: Ishirô Honda / W: Takeshi Kimura, Reuben Bercovitch (American Version) / C: Hajime Koizumi / E: Ryohei Fujii / S: Tadao Takashima, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Koji Furuhata

Spewed from Intergalactic Space! Twice the Monsters! Twice the Terror! (June, 1971)

 

 

 

 

 
I’m sorry to report that I’ve tried to sit through Yog Monster from Space at least twice but fell asleep both times; and the second time I didn’t even make it as far as the inaugural effort. *sigh* However, that is certainly not the case for Toho’s ultimate Kaiju Rally, Destroy All Monsters, where the denizens of Monster Island unite to kick a little Kilaak ass!

Yog Monster from Space (1970) Toho Company :: American International / EP: Fumio Tanaka, Tomoyuki Tanaka / P: Samuel Z. Arkoff, Salvatore Billitter / D: Ishirô Honda / W: Ei Ogawa / C: Taiichi Kankura / E: Masahisa Himi / M: Akira Ifukube / Akira Kubo, Atsuko Takahashi, Yukiko Kobayashi, Kenji Sahara

Destroy All Monsters (1968) Toho Company :: American International / P: Tomoyuki Tanaka / D: Ishirô Honda / W: Ishirô Honda, Takeshi Kimura / C: Taiichi Kankura / E: Ryôhei Fujii / M: Akira Ifukube / S: Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kyôko Ai

Millions Flee Wrath of Monster! Those Who Remain, See it From the Beginning! (February, 1965)

 

 

 

 

 
Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964) Toho Company :: American International Pictures / EP: Sanezumi Fujimoto / P: Tomoyuki Tanaka / D: Ishirô Honda / W: Shinichi Sekizawa / C: Hajime Koizumi / E: Ryohei Fujii / M: Akira Ifukube / S: Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yû Fujiki, Emi Itô, Yûmi Itô

Hercules and the Captive Women (1961/1963) Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP) :: SpA Cinematografica :: Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc. / P: Achille Piazzi / D: Vittorio Cottafavi / W: Vittorio Cottafavi, Sandro Continenza, Duccio Tessari, Pierre Benoît, Nicolò Ferrari / C: Carlo Carlini / E: Maurizio Lucidi / M: Gino Marinuzzi Jr., Armando Trovajoli / S: Reg Park, Fay Spain, Ettore Manni, Luciano Marin, Laura Efrikian

All Kinds of Hell in this Giant Double Thrill Show! (May, 1958)

 

 

 

 
Rodan (1956/1957) Toho :: Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) / P: Tomoyuki Tanaka :: Frank King, Maurice King / D: Ishirô Honda / W: Takeshi Kimura, Takeo Murata :: David Duncan / C: Isamu Ashida / E: Kôichi Iwashita :: Robert S. Eisen / M: Akira Ifukube / S: Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata, Akio Kobori, Yoshifumi Tajima

Hell in Korea (1956) Wessex Film Productions Ltd. :: Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) / EP: Ian Dalrymple / P: Anthony Squire / D: Julian Amyes / W: Ian Dalrymple, Ronald Spencer, Anthony Squire / C: Freddie Francis E: Peter R. Hunt / M: Malcolm Arnold / S: Stephen Boyd, Stanley Baker, Robert Shaw, Harry Andrews, Michael Caine