Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

***Godzilla, King of the Monsters!*** is a 1956 American giant monster film directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishirō Honda. The film was released to American theaters on April 27, 1956.

## Plot

Injured American reporter Steve Martin is brought from the ruins of Tokyo to a hospital filled with maimed and wounded citizens. A recent acquaintance, Emiko, discovers him by chance among the victims and attempts to find a doctor for him. Martin recalls in flashback stopping over in Tokyo, where a series of inexplicable ship disasters catches his attention. When a victim of those disasters washes up on Odo Island, Martin flies there for the story, along with security officer Tomo Iwanaga. There he learns of the island inhabitants' long-held belief in a sea monster god known as "Godzilla", which they believe is causing the disasters. That night, a storm strikes the island, destroying many houses and killing some villagers. The islanders believe that Godzilla is responsible for the destruction.

Martin returns to the island with Dr. Yamane, who is leading a team to investigate its ruins. Huge radioactive footprints and a prehistoric trilobite are discovered. An alarm rings and Martin, the villagers, and Dr. Yamane's team head up a hill for safety. Near the summit, they encounter Godzilla and quickly flee downhill. Dr. Yamane later returns to Tokyo and deduces that Godzilla is 400 feet (122 m) tall and was resurrected by repeated H-bomb tests in the Pacific. To Yamane's dismay, the military responds by attempting to kill the creature with depth charges. Martin contacts his old friend, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa, for dinner, but Serizawa declines due to planned commitments with his fiancé and Dr. Yamane's daughter, Emiko.

Emiko goes to Serizawa's home to break off her arranged engagement to him because she is actually in love with Hideo Ogata, a salvage ship captain. Dr. Serizawa, however, gives her a demonstration of his secret project, which horrifies her. She is sworn to secrecy and unable to bring herself to break off the engagement. Godzilla surfaces from Tokyo Bay, unharmed by the depth charges, and attacks the city, destroying a train before returning to the bay. The next morning, the JSDF supercharges the tall electrical towers along Tokyo's coast to repel the monster.

Godzilla resurfaces that night and breaks through the electrical towers and JSDF defense line using his atomic heat breath. Martin documents Godzilla's rampage via tape recorder and is injured during the attack. Godzilla returns to the sea and the flashback ends. Martin wakes up in the hospital with Emiko and Ogata. Horrified by the destruction, Emiko reveals to them the existence of Dr. Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer, which disintegrates oxygen atoms in salt water and causes all marine organisms to die of acidic asphyxiation. Emiko and Ogata go to Dr. Serizawa to convince him to use his weapon on Godzilla, but he initially refuses. After watching a television broadcast showing the nation's plight, Serizawa finally gives in to their pleas.

A Navy ship takes Ogata, Serizawa, Yamame, Martin, and Emiko out to the deepest part of Tokyo Bay. Ogata and Serizawa are lowered down by lifelines near Godzilla to plant the weapon. Ogata is pulled up, but Serizawa delays his ascent and activates the device. He radios the surface of its success and wishes Emiko and Ogata happiness together. Serizawa cuts his lifeline, taking the secret of his invention to the grave. Godzilla succumbs to the Oxygen Destroyer, dissolving his body and bones. All aboard the ship mourn the loss of Dr. Serizawa. Martin reflects that the world can "live again" due to Serizawa's sacrifice.

### *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!*

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

* Raymond Burr   as   Steve Martin
* James Hong   as   Hideto Ogata / Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (voice)
* Sammee Tong   as   Dr. Kyohei Yamane (voice)
* Frank Iwanaga   as   Security Officer
* Mikel Conrad   as   George Lawrence
* Kuninori Kodo   as   Old Man on Odo Island
* Tsuruko Mano   as   Boy's Mother
* Lee Miller   as   Man in Line at Airport

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## Alternate titles

* ***Monster King Godzilla*** (怪獣王ゴジラ *Kaijū ō Gojira*, Japan)

## Development

In 1955, Edmund Goldman approached Toho International Inc., (a Los Angeles-based subsidiary created to distribute Toho films overseas) about purchasing the rights to *Godzilla*. Toho had shown Goldman advertisement materials, which interested him in a screening of the film. Goldman then made Toho an offer of $25,000, which they accepted quickly. The contract was forged on September 27, 1955. The contract stipulated that Toho and Goldman agreed that the film would be "narrated, dubbed in English and completed in accordance with the revisions, additions, and deletions," with final approval by Toho.

Paul Schreibman assisted in the film's acquisition. Samuel Z. Arkoff of American International Pictures also made a bid for the film, negotiating with Toho for three months until he discovered the rights were already sold to Goldman. Goldman enlisted the help of Harold Ross (sometimes credited as Henry Rybnick) and Richard Kay of Jewell Enterprises to distribute the film. According to Goldman, it was Ross and Kay's idea to dub the film and hire Raymond Burr. Goldman would later sell his interest to Jewell Enterprises.

Ross and Kay turned to Joseph E. Levine to further finance the project. The duo arranged a screening of the film for Levine in Los Angeles. The film's possibilities excited Levine and paid $100,000 for half of the rights. This arrangement allowed the rights to *Godzilla* to be split between Jewell Enterprises and Levine's Embassy Pictures. Levine enlisted Edward Barison to create Trans World Releasing Corp., to distribute the film. Levine also enlisted producer Terry Turner to develop promotional strategies, which cost $400,000. Turner managed to get the film mentioned by Steve Allen on *The Tonight Show*. Levine and Turner initially considered the title *Godzilla, the Sea Beast* but eventually settled on *Godzilla, King of the Monsters*. Ross and Kay hired Terry O. Morse to direct the film. Schreibman had arranged for Burr to participate in the film. Morse was paid $10,000 for re-writing and directing the film and Burr was paid the same amount for a single day's work.

## Legacy

While the 1954 film is credited for starting the franchise and establishing the template for *tokusatsu* filmmaking, *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!* was responsible for introducing international audiences to the character Godzilla. The Japanese version was unavailable overseas until 2004, when it was given a limited theatrical run in North America to commemorate the franchise's 50th anniversary. In 1982, a subtitled version of the Japanese cut was screened at New York and Chicago film festivals honoring Takeshi Shimura's work. After the release of the 1956 American version, Toho adopted the moniker "King of the Monsters" in publicity materials. The moniker was used as the title for the 1983 unproduced American film and as the title for Legendary's *Godzilla* sequel. Subsequent Godzilla films featured reporters as the leads. Author David Kalat credits Burr for this trend, stating, "these reporter heroes may owe their prominence to the legacy of Raymond Burr's Steve Martin."

### Sequel

Main article: Godzilla 1985
In 1985, New World Pictures released *Godzilla 1985*, an American adaptation of Toho's *The Return of Godzilla*. Like *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!*, it used footage from the Toho film, with added footage shot in Hollywood, and the dialog re-recorded in English. Raymond Burr reprised his role as Steve Martin, acting as an adviser to the Pentagon, but did not interact within the main story as he had done in *King of the Monsters*. *The Return of Godzilla* was a sequel to the 1954 film, and *Godzilla 1985* served as a sequel to *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!*.