DailySkew

Review: Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)

The 1960’s truly is the Silver Age of sci-fi movies and TV shows. And then there’s Frankenstein Conquers the World, produced by Toho, the makers of Godzilla. Okay, it wasn’t that bad…or was it? I don’t know, I was watching this pretty late at night. Why don’t you find out with me during this review. First…

Plot (from Wiki):

The prologue is set in World War II, circa 1945. Nazis break into the laboratory of Dr. Reisendorf and confiscate the heart of the Frankenstein Monster, on which he is busy experimenting. The Nazis travel by submarine to the Pacific. The Allied Forces then bomb their submarine, but not before the Nazis pass the heart (contained in a locked chest) to the Imperial Japanese Navy, who take it back to Hiroshima to be experimented on. But just as they are about to begin, Hiroshima is bombed by the Allied Forces, and the heart is lost.

Fifteen years later (1960), a savage boy runs rampant in the streets of Hiroshima, catching and devouring small animals such as dogs and rabbits. 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 Naval Captain Kawai, who brought the Frankenstein heart to Japan in WWII, is working in an oil factory in Akita Prefecture, when a sudden earthquake shakes the factory and collapses a tower, beneath which he saw the ghastly face of a giant floppy-eared reptile with a glowing horn.

Meanwhile, Dr. Bowen and the scientists find that the strange boy is growing 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 been mutated 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. Reisendorf in Frankfurt. Reisendorf tells Kawaji of the story of the Frankenstein Monster and its noted virtual immortality, due to the intake of protein. Reisendorf 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 it enrage by shining bright studio lights at its face. The monster, heretofore 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.

But 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 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 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, but it is about to eat Sueko, until Frankenstein comes to the rescue! The cataclysmic battle between the two giant monsters then begins.

Ending of course, with Frankenstein killing Baragon before being swallowed up by lava. However, since Frankenstein was revealed to be immortal, we know he’ll be back.

The Good

• I give credit for Toho thinking up a way to get Frankenstein’s monster to become Toho-sized, and linking up the monster to the perils of the atomic bomb.
• Toho actually tried something a bit different here (a giant monster without the rubber suit) and had a much deeper plot than the Godzilla movies of the same era. Toho’s production standards are a bit higher in this movie, also (not saying much, but it plays more like an American movie).
• There are many creepy and gory scenes (we finally find out what Toho monsters eat: farm animals and people!)
• The acting is good for a monster movie- the famous American Japanese actor Nick Adams and Kumi Mizuno.
• The Hiroshima angle at the beginning was great- it was a place where the Godzilla movies did not officially go to. In fact, there were great (fictional) Hiroshima hospital scenes 15 years after the bombing.
• Whereas Toho was making Godzilla a funny cheesy monster at the time, this movie is dark and serious (although it may not look like it from watching clips, it was very dark).
• Pretty wicked and long fight scenes.
• Composer Akira Ifukube is great at monster themes!

The Bad

• Like Toho’s King Kong, Toho’s Frankenstein just is similar in name to the version you’re most familiar with. Yes, of course they reference Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, but this clearly is not the same character.
• There’s a reason why Toho and other studios use rubber costumes for “giant” monsters. I didn’t see the illusion most of the time in this movie; I saw an actor running around ripping plants out of the ground that were supposed to be trees.
• I just didn’t feel an emotional attachment to Frankenstein. I actually wanted Baragon to win at the end.
• Speaking of Baragon, its body costume is great, but the face and eyes look cheesy.

Fun Facts

• Obviously the correct name is “Frankenstein’s monster”, but…well, it’s the movies.
• This is a “cult” movie for many monster fans outside the Godzilla fan club. It is consistently rated higher by monster fans than by movie critics.
• Was originally supposed to be Frankenstein vs Godzilla, but Toho became concerned about how goofy that would look. [ha]
• Of course, there were some legal issues with using Frankenstein’s monster.
• Baragon went on to appear in Godzilla movies…so…was this the same earth as Godzilla’s? Just like Rodan, Toho doesn’t come out and say it, and no character mentions Godzilla. Baragon’s subsequent appearances seem to show that he comes from a race of creatures, since this one died.
• Baragon’s origin is similar to other Toho monsters- he was a prehistoric dinosaur that was hibernating underground before being awakened (usually by atomic testing).
• This movie has an alternate ending featuring an octopus monster (maybe the same one from King King vs Godzilla), and different titles (Frankenstein vs Baragon, Japanese translations).
• This was an American and Japanese production crew.

Conclusion

Not as bad as you’d think, given the title and premise, but the theme and acting is all in earnest. At the end of the day, though, it’s just too weird to be taken seriously like the original Gojira or King Kong movies. I would only recommend this to freaky old-time monster fans or if you saw this movie when you were 6 years old and want a dose of nostalgia.

Trailer (English-dub, I saw the movie in sub-titles):

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