Furankenshutain tai chitei kaijû Baragon (1965)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Reuben Bercovitch (story)
Takeshi Kimura (writer)(American version)

Release Date:

8 July 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

He rolled the Seven Wonders of the World into one!

Plot:

During WWII, a human heart taken from a certain lab in Europe (Dr. Frankenstein's) is kept in a Japanese lab...

Plot Keywords:

Frankenstein | Monster | WWII | Frankenstein's Monster | Scientist

Cast

Tadao Takashima	...	Dr. Yuzo Kawaji
Nick Adams	...	Dr. James Bowen
Kumi Mizuno	...	Dr. Sueko Togami
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Mr. Kawai
Koji Furuhata	...	Furankenshutain (The Frankenstein Monster)
Jun Tazaki	...	Military Advisor
Susumu Fujita	...	Osaka Police Chief
Takashi Shimura	...	Axis Scientist
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Skeptical Museum Chief
Kenji Sahara	...	Soldier
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Submarine Commander
Kôzô Nomura	...	Overzealous Reporter (as Terunobu Nomura)
Haruya Kato	...	TV Director
Ikio Sawamura	...	Man Walking Dog
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Mountain Soldier

Also Known As:

Frankenstein Conquers the World (USA)
Frankenstein Meets the Giant Devil Fish
Frankenstein and the Giant Lizard
Frankenstein vs. Baragon (International: English title)
Frankenstein vs. Godjirra (Japan) (working title)
Frankenstein vs. the Giant Devil Fish
Frankenstein vs. the Subterranean Monster
Furankensuten to Baragon

Runtime:

90 min | Japan:93 min (original version) | USA:87 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc.

Trivia:

In it's original release, it was billed as the first film collaboration between Japan and the U.S.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the sequence with "Frankenstein" trying to capture the wild boar, in the last shot of the boar running off, the tracks that the model is running on are visible.

Quotes:

Axis Scientist: Frankenstein's heart.
Mr. Kawai: Frankenstein? It's alive?
Axis Scientist: It is immortal.
Mr. Kawai: Immortal?
Axis Scientist: You never heard what was said of Frankenstein's experiments?
Mr. Kawai: Yes, but I heard he was destroyed.
Axis Scientist: Well, a long time ago, a German scientist sewed together the parts of a man in hopes to bring it back to life. He used an electric shock to bring it to life.
Mr. Kawai: But what can we gain from the research?
Axis Scientist: We might learn how to process or grow any part of the human body.
Mr. Kawai: Please don't joke with me.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (2004) (V)

Strange, but strangely compelling

There's no denying that this movie is one of the oddest of Toho's creations, but it's surprisingly moving in some ways. The all-consuming, rock'n'roll-loving "Frankenstein" is a truly pathetic figure (as is Nick Adams, though in a different way), and his fight with Baragon, cheap as it is, is still impressive, something of a low-budget gladiator match. I actually felt sorry for the big lug. I'm not saying this movie is "Citizen Kane," but neither is it as terrible as, say, "The Starfighters" or "Night Train to Mundo Fine".