The H-Man (1958)

When a narcotics deal goes sour and a suspect disappears, leaving only his clothes, Tokyo police question his wife and stake out the nightclub where she works. His disappearance stumps the ... See full summary »

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Takeshi Kimura, Hideo Unagami (story)

Stars:

Yumi Shirakawa, Kenji Sahara, Akihiko Hirata

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yumi Shirakawa	...	Chikako Arai, singer in the nightclub
Kenji Sahara	...	Dr. Masada
Akihiko Hirata	...	Inspector Tominaga
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Police Sgt. Miyashita (as Eitaro Ozawa)
Koreya Senda	...	Dr. Maki
Makoto Satô	...	Uchida, gangstar
Hisaya Itô	...	Misaki, the dissolved gangster
Machiko Kitagawa	...	Hanae, the hostess of nightclub
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Detective Taguchi
Naomi Shiraishi	...	Mineko, Dr.Maki's assistant
Kô Mishima	...	Kishi, gangster in nightclub
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Detective Sakata
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Mr. Chin, gangster
Haruya Katô	...	Mattchan - Fisherman
Ayumi Sonoda	...	Emi, lead exotic dancer

Storyline

When a narcotics deal goes sour and a suspect disappears, leaving only his clothes, Tokyo police question his wife and stake out the nightclub where she works. His disappearance stumps the police - until a young scientist appears who claims that H-Bomb tests in the Pacific, evidenced by a "ghost ship" that has turned up in the harbor, have created radioactive creatures - "H-Men" - who ooze like slime and dissolve anyone they touch.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | ghost ship | liquid creature | monster movie | monster in the sewer | 

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Taglines:

Molecular Man Terrorizes the World!

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original Japanese version, after the stock shots of the hydrogen bomb tests, the title, cast and credits are matted over shots of the "ghost ship" in Tokyo Bay. For the U.S. English dubbed version, the title, cast and credits are matted over a shot of an H-Man in the sewer system. Since there are fewer cast and credits on screen in the U.S. version, Masaru Sato's opening score was skillfully edited into a shorter version.

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Goofs

In the English subtitled version prepared for the 2009 U.S. DVD release, the subtitles give Kenji Sahara's character's name as "Asada" through most of the film. In the final fourth of the film, the subtitles properly give his name as "Masada."

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Quotes

Dr. Maki: [last line, delivered as voice-over] If man perishes from the face of the Earth, due to the effects of hydrogen bombing, it is possible that the next ruler of our planet may be The H-Man.

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Crazy Credits

In an unusual move, Columbia Pictures did not matte the English "The End" over the final shot. It appears in Japanese as it did in the original Japanese version.

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Alternate Versions

The Japanese version shows one of the dancers melt to leave nothing but her G-string, but this was cut from the U.S. version, which is missing several other scenes, including an investigation scene at Nishiyama's house.

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Connections

Referenced in The Blob (1958)

User Reviews

Nightmares for weeks as a child

I saw this when it was first released in 1958 in Sydney. The theatre was a very large and cold cinema. The atmosphere of the environs only added to the atmosphere of the film. I was six at the time but I can still remember it fairly vividly today - nearly forty years later. It gave me nightmares for weeks.

I always thought this was the movie that the Blob was based on although the release dates seem to be fairly close. This by far was the better movie of the two. I have seen this once again in my older years and it still resurrects memories of those childhood nightmares.

I would love to be able to obtain a copy of the film but it seems these days no-one seems to know of it.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

28 May 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The H-Man

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1