Kong vs Godzilla [Kingu Kongu tai Gojira] ** (1962, Tadao Takashima, Yû Fujiki, Kenji Sahara) – Classic Movie Review 11,179

Director Ishirō Honda’s quaint and hysterical but fondly remembered 1962 Japanese kaiju monster movie King Kong vs Godzilla [Kingu Kongu tai Gojira] is the third film in the Godzilla franchise, and the first of two Toho Studios-produced films featuring King Kong. It is the first time the characters appeared in colour and widescreen.

It is produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with very entertaining special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.

The film stars Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yū Fujiki, Ichirō Arishima, and Mie Hama, with Shoichi Hirose as King Kong and Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla.

In the screenplay written by Shinichi Sekizawa, Godzilla is reawakened from an iceberg by an American submarine, while a pharmaceutical company captures legendary King Kong as a marketing scheme to boost a TV show’s low ratings, which climaxes in a battle on Mount Fuji.

The movie started with a 1960 story outline by King Kong (1933) stop-motion animator Willis H O’Brien, in which Kong battles a giant Frankenstein’s monster. Producer John Beck gave the project to Toho to produce the film, scrapping O’Brien’s story and introducing Godzilla.

King Kong vs Godzilla was released in Japanese cinemas on 11 August 1962 and became the most attended Godzilla film in Japan, encouraging Toho to prioritise their  seven-year dormant Godzilla series.

Universal-International released a much changed and re-edited English-language version in US cinemas on 26 June 1963.

In his deal with Toho, John Beck kept exclusive rights to produce a version of the film for non-Asian territories. Beck got Paul Mason and Bruce Howard to write a new screenplay and worked with editor Peter Zinner to remove scenes, recut others, and change the sequence of events. They decided to insert new footage to convey the idea that the film was a newscast, with Michael Keith playing newscaster Eric Carter, commenting on the action from U N headquarters. The new footage, directed by Thomas Montgomery, was shot in three days. Library music from a host of older films and stock footage from the film The Mysterians were added.

It was a monster money-spinner. Costing $620,000, is grossed an estimated $10 million. Beck spent $15,500 making his English-language version and sold the film to Universal-International for $200,000.

It follows Godzilla [Godzilla, King of the Monsters!] (1954) and Godzilla Raids Again (1955) and is followed by Mothra vs Godzilla (1964).

After TriStar Pictures failed to revive the franchise with Godzilla (1998), Legendary Pictures have succeeded in delivering Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,179

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