Frankenstein Conquers the World
Encyclopedia
Frankenstein Conquers the World, released in Japan as , with Toho's official English title being Frankenstein vs. Baragon, is a kaiju
film produced in 1965 by Toho Company Ltd
. This film features a Japanese version of the Frankenstein Monster, who becomes giant-sized to fight the giant subterranean monster, Baragon
.
This was also the first of three Toho-produced films to star actor Nick Adams, the second being the sixth Godzilla
film, Invasion of Astro-Monster
, and the third being the 1967 spy film, The Killing Bottle.
during the final days of World War II
. A Kriegsmarine
Officer, flanked by three Commandos, barge into the laboratory of a Dr. Riesendorf with orders to seize the immortal heart of the Frankenstein Monster, on which he is busy experimenting. The heart is summarily transported by U-Boat
to passed off to their Japanese allies via the Atlantic. In the Indian Ocean
, off the Maldives
, the U-Boat meets up with a with a Japanese Imperial Navy submarine to make the exchange. They are sighted by an Allied Forces
scout plane, and then bombed, but not before the Kriegsmarine pass the heart (contained in a locked chest) to the Japanese, who take it back to Hiroshima
for further experimentation. But just as they are about to begin, Hiroshima is bombed by the Allied Forces, and the heart and the experiments vanish in the atomic fireball.
Fifteen years later (1960), a feral boy runs rampant in the streets of Hiroshima, catching and devouring small animals such as dogs and rabbit
s. This comes to the attention of American
scientist Dr. James Bowen and his assistants Sueko Togami and Ken'ichiro Kawaji. A year later (1961), they investigate and find the boy hiding in a cave on a beach, where a mob of outraged villagers has almost caught him. While the strange boy catches media attention and is taken care of by the scientists, another astounding event evades the public's eye. Once the boy is taken to the hospital, it is discovered that he is caucasian
and his body is building a strong resistance to radiation rather than getting sick from it.
The Former Imperial Navy Officer Kawai, who brought the heart of Frankenstein's Monster to Japan in WWII, is now working in an oil factory in Akita Prefecture
, when a sudden earthquake shakes the very foundations of the refinery, and collapses a offshore drilling tower. As the ground splits open, Kawai, for a moment, glimpses a monstrous, inhuman visage peering through the fissure, and an unearthly glow, before it is obscured by collapsing wreckage.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bowen and the scientists find that the strange boy is growing in size due to intake of protein
. Afraid of his strength, the scientists lock and chain the boy in a jail cell, and Sueko, who really cares for him, feeds him some protein food to sustain him. Meanwhile, Dr. Bowen is visited by Kawai, who tells him that the boy could have grown from the heart of the Frankenstein Monster, as the boy was seen in Hiroshima more than once before. At Bowen's advice, Dr. Kawaji confers with the aging Dr. Riesendorf in Frankfurt. Riesendorf tells Kawaji of the story of the Frankenstein Monster and its noted virtual immortality, due to the intake of protein. Riesendorf recommends cutting off the monster's arm or leg, speculating that a new one will grow back. When relating this to his fellow scientists upon his return to Japan, Sueko strongly objects to this method, fearing that nothing may grow back. Even when Bowen suggests that they wait a little longer to think it over, Kawaji tenaciously attempts to sever one of the now-gigantic monster's limbs. He is interrupted by a TV crew, whom Kawaji allows to film the monster, though they enrage it with the shining bright studio lights aimed at its face. The monster, hereafter known as "Frankenstein", breaks loose and is on the run from the Japanese police. He even has a tender encounter with Sueko on the balcony of her apartment before he has to run away.
While Frankenstein is on the run, he travels to many places, from Okayama (where he eats more animals) to Mount Ibuki
, where his primitive childlike activities (throwing trees at birds and trying to trap a wild boar) end in disaster.
Unbeknownst to Bowen and the scientists, Baragon, the monster Kawai saw earlier, goes on a rampage. Tunneling under the earth, he pops out and ravages villages, eating people and animals and leaving destruction in his wake. People believe this is Frankenstein's doing, and the misunderstood monster is wrongly hunted down by the military, though not before narrowly escaping. Before Bowen and his assistants have no choice but to dismiss Frankenstein, Kawai returns to tell them that Frankenstein may not be responsible for the disasters: it could be the monster (Baragon) he saw in Akita. He tries to convince the authorities, but to no avail. Kawaji still wishes the scientists luck in finding Frankenstein.
Bowen, Sueko, and Kawaji then form a search party and venture into the forest in which they believe Frankenstein is currently hiding. But Kawaji, to the shock of Bowen and Sueko, then proceeds to attempt to kill him, believing that Frankenstein could be dangerous by his very nature, and not even Sueko could possibly tame him. He intends to blind him with chemical grenades and capture him to recover his heart and brain. Kawaji presses on to find Frankenstein, and instead finds Baragon. Kawaji and Bowen try in vain to stop the monster with the grenades, and when it is about to eat Sueko, Frankenstein comes to the rescue. The cataclysmic battle between the two giant monsters then begins. After the fight, the area where the fight took place starts to tremble, and then both monsters are sucked into the earth.
, they begged to include it into the screenplay, even in spite of logic. So we shot some scenes with the Giant Octopus but, in the end, they were left out of the picture."
For accuracy, it should be added that after many years, in the Japanese video edition of Frankenstein Conquers the World, that discarded scene was tagged on as an “alternate ending.” The management of Benedict Pictures stood by their guns, however, and in the following co-production, War of the Gargantuas
(1966), the octopus rolled through the screen officially and in its full slimy glory.
In addition to this scene, American International Pictures
also requested several scenes of a more violent Frankenstein. Unlike the extra ending, these scenes were used in the American version.
(1960), as Mizuno finds the Frankenstein Monster's body, and revives him, so that he can help him use the Frankenstein formula to revive his beloved girlfriend Fujichiyo (who died at the end of said film). This was also supposed to be Toho's co-feature with the Japanese release of My Fair Lady.
, an iconic representation of the monster featured in the famous book
by Mary Shelley
. In general, the monster is referred to by the name of his creator ("Frankenstein"), as opposed to "The Frankenstein Monster" (which Dr. Bowen did refer to him as once in this film).
(titled Furankenshutain no Kaijû: Sanda tai Gaira in Japan). In said film, pieces of Frankenstein's cells mutate into two giant humanoid monsters: Sanda (the Brown Gargantua) and Gaira (the Green Gargantua). The former is a benevolent and peace-loving creature, the latter is murderous and savage. However, United Productions of America
, the US co-producers, obscured all references to Frankenstein in the American version, possibly because the two monsters could not be recognized as "Frankenstein" monsters. However, a reference is made to a severed hand.
Kaiju
is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
film produced in 1965 by Toho Company Ltd
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
. This film features a Japanese version of the Frankenstein Monster, who becomes giant-sized to fight the giant subterranean monster, Baragon
Baragon
is a fictional Kaiju that was first featured in the 1965 Toho-produced film, Frankenstein Conquers the World. Baragon is a four-legged dinosaur with a horn on his head and large ears. His main weapon is a heat ray that he can fire from his mouth...
.
This was also the first of three Toho-produced films to star actor Nick Adams, the second being the sixth Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
film, Invasion of Astro-Monster
Invasion of Astro-Monster
Invasion of Astro-Monster is a Science Fiction kaiju film released in 1965 as a direct sequel to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster...
, and the third being the 1967 spy film, The Killing Bottle.
Plot
The prologue is set in Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during the final days of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
Officer, flanked by three Commandos, barge into the laboratory of a Dr. Riesendorf with orders to seize the immortal heart of the Frankenstein Monster, on which he is busy experimenting. The heart is summarily transported by U-Boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
to passed off to their Japanese allies via the Atlantic. In the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, off the Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
, the U-Boat meets up with a with a Japanese Imperial Navy submarine to make the exchange. They are sighted by an Allied Forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
scout plane, and then bombed, but not before the Kriegsmarine pass the heart (contained in a locked chest) to the Japanese, who take it back to Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
for further experimentation. But just as they are about to begin, Hiroshima is bombed by the Allied Forces, and the heart and the experiments vanish in the atomic fireball.
Fifteen years later (1960), a feral boy runs rampant in the streets of Hiroshima, catching and devouring small animals such as dogs and rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s. This comes to the attention of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scientist Dr. James Bowen and his assistants Sueko Togami and Ken'ichiro Kawaji. A year later (1961), they investigate and find the boy hiding in a cave on a beach, where a mob of outraged villagers has almost caught him. While the strange boy catches media attention and is taken care of by the scientists, another astounding event evades the public's eye. Once the boy is taken to the hospital, it is discovered that he is caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
and his body is building a strong resistance to radiation rather than getting sick from it.
The Former Imperial Navy Officer Kawai, who brought the heart of Frankenstein's Monster to Japan in WWII, is now working in an oil factory in Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....
, when a sudden earthquake shakes the very foundations of the refinery, and collapses a offshore drilling tower. As the ground splits open, Kawai, for a moment, glimpses a monstrous, inhuman visage peering through the fissure, and an unearthly glow, before it is obscured by collapsing wreckage.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bowen and the scientists find that the strange boy is growing in size due to intake of protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
. Afraid of his strength, the scientists lock and chain the boy in a jail cell, and Sueko, who really cares for him, feeds him some protein food to sustain him. Meanwhile, Dr. Bowen is visited by Kawai, who tells him that the boy could have grown from the heart of the Frankenstein Monster, as the boy was seen in Hiroshima more than once before. At Bowen's advice, Dr. Kawaji confers with the aging Dr. Riesendorf in Frankfurt. Riesendorf tells Kawaji of the story of the Frankenstein Monster and its noted virtual immortality, due to the intake of protein. Riesendorf recommends cutting off the monster's arm or leg, speculating that a new one will grow back. When relating this to his fellow scientists upon his return to Japan, Sueko strongly objects to this method, fearing that nothing may grow back. Even when Bowen suggests that they wait a little longer to think it over, Kawaji tenaciously attempts to sever one of the now-gigantic monster's limbs. He is interrupted by a TV crew, whom Kawaji allows to film the monster, though they enrage it with the shining bright studio lights aimed at its face. The monster, hereafter known as "Frankenstein", breaks loose and is on the run from the Japanese police. He even has a tender encounter with Sueko on the balcony of her apartment before he has to run away.
While Frankenstein is on the run, he travels to many places, from Okayama (where he eats more animals) to Mount Ibuki
Mount Ibuki
is a high mountain, on the border of Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, and Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, and is also included on the lists of the 100 Kinki Mountains the 50 Shiga Mountains...
, where his primitive childlike activities (throwing trees at birds and trying to trap a wild boar) end in disaster.
Unbeknownst to Bowen and the scientists, Baragon, the monster Kawai saw earlier, goes on a rampage. Tunneling under the earth, he pops out and ravages villages, eating people and animals and leaving destruction in his wake. People believe this is Frankenstein's doing, and the misunderstood monster is wrongly hunted down by the military, though not before narrowly escaping. Before Bowen and his assistants have no choice but to dismiss Frankenstein, Kawai returns to tell them that Frankenstein may not be responsible for the disasters: it could be the monster (Baragon) he saw in Akita. He tries to convince the authorities, but to no avail. Kawaji still wishes the scientists luck in finding Frankenstein.
Bowen, Sueko, and Kawaji then form a search party and venture into the forest in which they believe Frankenstein is currently hiding. But Kawaji, to the shock of Bowen and Sueko, then proceeds to attempt to kill him, believing that Frankenstein could be dangerous by his very nature, and not even Sueko could possibly tame him. He intends to blind him with chemical grenades and capture him to recover his heart and brain. Kawaji presses on to find Frankenstein, and instead finds Baragon. Kawaji and Bowen try in vain to stop the monster with the grenades, and when it is about to eat Sueko, Frankenstein comes to the rescue. The cataclysmic battle between the two giant monsters then begins. After the fight, the area where the fight took place starts to tremble, and then both monsters are sucked into the earth.
Alternate ending
The unfortunate Giant Octopus, Oodako, drove many fans up the wall. This monster appeared in several stills from Frankenstein Conquers the World, but no one could spot it in the film. Ishiro Honda explains apologetically: "The movie was made in co-production with an American company, Benedict Pictures Corporation. The bosses were so astonished by the octopus scenes from King Kong vs. GodzillaKing Kong vs. Godzilla
is a 1962 Japanese science fiction kaiju film produced by Toho Studios. Directed by Ishirō Honda with visual effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film starred Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, and Mie Hama. It was the third installment in the Japanese series of films featuring the monster Godzilla...
, they begged to include it into the screenplay, even in spite of logic. So we shot some scenes with the Giant Octopus but, in the end, they were left out of the picture."
For accuracy, it should be added that after many years, in the Japanese video edition of Frankenstein Conquers the World, that discarded scene was tagged on as an “alternate ending.” The management of Benedict Pictures stood by their guns, however, and in the following co-production, War of the Gargantuas
War of the Gargantuas
The War of the Gargantuas, released in Japan as , is a 1966 Kaiju film, sequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon.It introduces two giant, hairy humanoids called Gargantuas, which spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster from the previous film and are described as brothers...
(1966), the octopus rolled through the screen officially and in its full slimy glory.
In addition to this scene, American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
also requested several scenes of a more violent Frankenstein. Unlike the extra ending, these scenes were used in the American version.
Cast
- Dr. James Bowen - Nick Adams (Japanese voice actor: Goro NayaGoro Nayais a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Hakodate, Hokkaidō. He is a drop-out of the legal education division of Ritsumeikan University. He is connected to Theatre Echo. He is the older brother of actor and seiyū Rokurō Naya. He is the husband of actress and seiyū...
) - Dr. Ken'ichiro Kawaji - Tadao Takashima
- Dr. Sueko Togami - Kumi MizunoKumi Mizunois a Japanese actress most famous for appearing in several Toho Kaiju films of the 1960s and early 1970s....
- Captain Kawai - Yoshio TsuchiyaYoshio Tsuchiyais a Japanese actor who has appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal masterpiece "Bara No Soretsu" and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Red Beard, and Kihachi Okamoto's Kill!. He has a long-standing interest in UFOs and had written several books on the subject...
- Murata - Yoshifumi TajimaYoshifumi TajimaYoshifumi Tajima was an actor in Japanese Kaijū films, best known for his role as Kumayama in Mothra vs. Godzilla. He was born in Kobe, Japan.- Filmography :...
- Hiroshima surgeon - Takashi ShimuraTakashi Shimurawas a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....
- Dr. Riesendorf - Peter Mann (Japanese voice actor：Kazuo KumakuraKazuo Kumakurais a Japanese actor, voice actor, and theatre director. He is currently affiliated with the Theatre Echo agency.-Television animation:*Astro Boy *Kimba the White Lion *Marine Boy *Monster...
) - Tazuko Tooi - Keiko Sawai
- Frankenstein - Koji Furuhata
- Young Frankenstein - Sumio Nakao
- Baragon - Haruo NakajimaHaruo Nakajimais a famous Japanese actor. He is best known for playing Godzilla and is considered by many to be the best suit actor in the long history of the franchise...
Production
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka had originally commissioned a film called Frankenstein vs. the Human Vapor (フランケンシュタイン対ガス人間 - Furankenshutain tai Gasu Ningen), with a draft written by Kimura. This also follows up with The Human VaporThe Human Vapor
The Human Vapor, known in Japan as , is a tokusatsu film produced and released by Toho Studios in 1960. The film was made by Toho's legendary Godzilla directing/special effects/producing team of Ishirō Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Tomoyuki Tanaka...
(1960), as Mizuno finds the Frankenstein Monster's body, and revives him, so that he can help him use the Frankenstein formula to revive his beloved girlfriend Fujichiyo (who died at the end of said film). This was also supposed to be Toho's co-feature with the Japanese release of My Fair Lady.
Parallels to the source material
There are many references to the 1931 Frankenstein film adaptationFrankenstein (1931 film)
Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
, an iconic representation of the monster featured in the famous book
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
by Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
. In general, the monster is referred to by the name of his creator ("Frankenstein"), as opposed to "The Frankenstein Monster" (which Dr. Bowen did refer to him as once in this film).
Sequel
The sequel to this film is War of the GargantuasWar of the Gargantuas
The War of the Gargantuas, released in Japan as , is a 1966 Kaiju film, sequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon.It introduces two giant, hairy humanoids called Gargantuas, which spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster from the previous film and are described as brothers...
(titled Furankenshutain no Kaijû: Sanda tai Gaira in Japan). In said film, pieces of Frankenstein's cells mutate into two giant humanoid monsters: Sanda (the Brown Gargantua) and Gaira (the Green Gargantua). The former is a benevolent and peace-loving creature, the latter is murderous and savage. However, United Productions of America
United Productions of America
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films. In the late 1940s, UPA produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, most notably the Mr. Magoo series. In...
, the US co-producers, obscured all references to Frankenstein in the American version, possibly because the two monsters could not be recognized as "Frankenstein" monsters. However, a reference is made to a severed hand.
DVD release
Tokyo Shock- Released: 2007
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) (anamorphicAnamorphic widescreenAnamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen...
) - Sound: English/Japanese mono and 5.1
- Region 1
- Note: Includes three cuts of the film: Japanese, International (with Giant Octopus ending), and US.