Dogora (1964)

The Earth is attacked by a giant jellyfish monster from outer space that, for some reason, has a sweet tooth for diamonds.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Jôjirô Okami (story "Space Mons"), Shin'ichi Sekizawa

Stars:

Yôsuke Natsuki, Yôko Fujiyama, Hiroshi Koizumi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yôsuke Natsuki	...	Inspector Kommei
Yôko Fujiyama	...	Masayo Kirino
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Kirino
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Dr. Munakata
Robert Dunham	...	Mark Jackson (as Dan Yuma)
Akiko Wakabayashi	...	Hamako the Gangster Moll
Jun Tazaki	...	Chief Inspector
Susumu Fujita	...	General Iwasa
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Gangster Boss
Hideyo Amamoto	...	Maki the Safecracker
Haruya Katô	...	Sabu the Small Fry
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Gangster
Nadao Kirino	...	Gangster
Akira Wakamatsu	...	Gangster
Jun Funato	...	Inspector Nitta

Storyline

Several satellites have been destroyed without explanation. A few days later, a group of diamond thieves are thwarted when the gems they are after suddenly disappear. Strangely enough, the two incidents are connected when scientists discover that a giant jellyfish like creature, which was mutated due to a high amount of radiation hovering over Japan, is drawing up all carbon based matter, including coal and diamonds. Soon the creature is also attacking bridges and ships. Can anything be done to destroy the creature before he begins drawing up all mankind?

---

Plot Keywords:

jellyfish | dead woman on a beach | kaiju | gangster's moll | space monster | 

---

Taglines:

SOS From Earth. It Devours Buildings and People.

---

Genres:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

11 August 1964 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Dogora

Filming Locations:

Fukuoka, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Dagora" is mentioned in a Season 2 episode of the sitcom "Sanford and Son". Redd Foxx's character, Fred Sanford, has a taste for monster movies. The other movies he mentions watching on the show are mostly fictional, with this being a notable exception; he refers to it as "Dagora, the Space Monster" for this was how the title appeared in TV Guide issues from the 1970s.

---

Goofs

In the scenes featuring the smaller Dogoras, the strings holding them up are clearly seen.

---

Crazy Credits

The U.S. English dubbed version, released by American International under the title "Dagora, The Space Monster," has all of the cast and credits removed. The picture and sound contain an awkward jump from the main title to the first scene. It is believed that American International, for unknown reasons, physically cut the cast and credits from their initial release prints.

---

Connections

Referenced in Found (2012)

User Reviews

The Best Movie About A Giant, Carbon-Sucking Jellyfish Monster From Outer Space That I Have Ever Seen

"Atragon," the 1963 offering from the great film-making team of director Ishiro Honda, composer Akira Ifukube and special FX master Eiji Tsuburaya, is an excellent sci-fi movie depicting a Japanese supersub's battle with the undersea kingdom of Mu. The following year, this same team came out with "Dogora," a fun if decidedly lesser effort. In this one, a single-celled organism floating in space is affected by Japan's seemingly ubiquitous radiation and grows to become a humongous, jellyfishlike monster who lives to suck carbon off the surface of our world...along with any buildings, bridges or trucks that happen to be in the area! In a somewhat confusing plot, multiple story lines involving a group of diamond thieves, a mysterious insurance investigator, an aged expert on crystals, and a swarm of bees are conflated, with mixed results. The first time I watched "Dogora" (and no, we never learn the meaning or origin of this particular "kurage kaiju"'s moniker), I thought the film rather hard to follow, and in all somewhat diffused. On a second viewing, the plot seemed to make more sense, but its dependence on coincidence still rather marked. One of the picture's saving graces, for me, is the presence of Akiko Wakabayashi--who I first became enamored with in 1967, as a result of her appearance in the James Bond blowout "You Only Live Twice"--who here plays a moll and who looks more beautiful than I have ever seen her. Dogora itself is a pleasing creation, and the sight of it whirlpooling coal into its giant maw or pulling a Kyushu bridge to bits is actually fairly awesome. Its ultimate demise is brought about in a fairly unique manner, as well. In all, not a bad little picture, as long as you don't go in expecting anything on the order of Honda's "Gojira" or "The Mysterians"!