Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961)
"Uchu Kaisoku-sen" (original title)

Clumsy invaders from Neptune are thwarted by hero Space Chief and a nondescript group of microshort-wearing Japanese kids.

Director:

Koji Ota

Writers:

Shin Morita, Akihiro Watanabe (story)

Stars:

Sonny Chiba, Kappei Matsumoto, Ryuko Mizukami

Cast

Credited cast:
Sonny Chiba	...	Tachibana - Scientist / Space Chief (as Shinichi Chiba)
Kappei Matsumoto	...	Tanigawa Hiroshi
Ryuko Mizukami	...	Tanigawa Yoko
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harold Conway	...	Washington Broadcast Station Chief
Shinjiro Ebara	...	Yanigada - Scientist
Hidemichi Ishikawa	...	Yoshimoto Hiroshi
Seiichirô Kameishi	...	Yamagata Yukichi
Takashi Kanda	...	Defence Chief Takita
Genji Kawai	...	Morie
Mitsue Komiya	...	Saito - Scientist
Junji Masuda	...	Tamiya Hiroshi
Masazumi Okabe	...	Railway worker
Kôsaku Okano	...	Reporter
Koji Sahara	...	Garrison Chief Mikami
Shôken Sawa	...	Land Commander Inukai

Storyline

(English version) Slow-moving aliens from the planet Neptune, wearing nosecone-shaped space helmets, attempt to invade Earth in a winged rocketship. But they are thwarted by a mysterious superhero called Space Chief who flies around in a rocket-propelled car.

---

Plot Keywords:

space | alien | flying car | superhero | children | 

---

Genres:

Sci-Fi

---

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 July 1961 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Space Greyhound

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Famous Mount Wilson Observatory in California above Altadena is mentioned 3 times.

---

Connections

Featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Invasion of the Neptune Men (1997)

User Reviews

I get the Neptune part

Ah, japanese cinema. And we are treated to an early performance by Sonny Chiba! Too bad the helmet obstructs the view. I believe this dubbed version I saw definitely turns on the goofy meter with terrible high squealed voices reminiscent of an Alvin and the Chipmunks outtakes session followed by high pitched ear piercingly crass sound effects and lots of weird stuff like music playing backwards, creepy demonic alien warnings, and the hokiest kung fu battle EVER. Still, this is a strange strange movie and although you want to resist slamming the screen with sledge hammer, you wonder what can occur next or the highly effectiveness of an electro barrier. If you hate flicks where smug kids are always right and run around fields with impunity, you will not enjoy this Invasion. Watch Tokyo get bombarded and a rather dubious building front from a past era (I won't even spoil it since you get more of a kick seeing it by surprise).

This MST one brings pain and you actually can share the misery that the guys on the Satellite of Love endured...and they usually watched this four or five times!! Goofy, fun, chalk board scratchingly bad, and a gamut of emotions are associated with this one. Still, way better than Mars Attacks.