Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965)

Near the end of WWII, Germans transport the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster to Japan, where it is seeming lost in the bombing of Hiroshima. Years later a wild boy is found, born from the immortal heart.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Reuben Bercovitch (story), Takeshi Kimura (screenplay) (as Kaoru Mabuchi)

Stars:

Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Tadao Takashima

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Adams	...	Dr. James Bowen (as Nikku Adamusu)
Kumi Mizuno	...	Dr. Sueko Togami
Tadao Takashima	...	Dr. Yuzo Kawaji
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Mr. Kawai
Kôji Furuhata	...	Frankenstein
Jun Tazaki	...	Military Advisor
Susumu Fujita	...	Osaka Police Chief
Takashi Shimura	...	Axis Scientist
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Skeptical Museum Chief
Kenji Sahara	...	Soldier
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Submarine Commander
Kôzô Nomura	...	Overzealous Reporter (as Terunobu Nomura)
Haruya Katô	...	TV Director
Ikio Sawamura	...	Man Walking Dog
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Mountain Soldier

Storyline

During WWII, a human heart taken from a certain lab in Europe (Dr. Frankenstein's) is kept in a Japanese lab, when it gets exposed to the radiation of the bombing of Hiroshima. The heart grows in size, mutates and sprouts appendages, and eventually grows into a complete body and escapes. Later, a feral boy with a certain physical deformity (a large head with a flat top) is captured by scientists who refer to the boy as Frankenstein. The creature grows to the height of 20 feet, escapes again, fights police and army, and is practically indestructible. Later, a reptilian monster goes on a rampage. Eventually the Frankenstein creature and the reptile face off in a terrible battle.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor victor frankenstein character | psychotronic film | baragon character | frankenstein's monster | nazi zombie | 

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Taglines:

He rolled the Seven Wonders of the World into one!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is often associated and said to be originated with the 1962 pitch by Willis H. O'Brien titled "King Kong vs. Frankenstein", also known as King Kong vs Prometheus. That would lead to the original King Kong vs Godzilla but is not the primary reason for this film being made. Henry G. Saperstein had previously distributed Mothra vs. Godzilla with UPA and announced that Toho & UPA would produce a Frankenstein vs Godzilla film, thus the original idea for the film came from Sperstein's group. A Frankenstein vs Godzilla story would be written before it was decided to create a new monster and make the Frankenstein monster a more compassionate character.

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Goofs

When the 3 scientists drive to the mountains to search for the monster,they are in a gray sedan. When they stop to continue on foot,they are in a red convertible.

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Quotes

Axis Scientist: Frankenstein's heart.
Mr. Kawai: Frankenstein? It's alive?
Axis Scientist: It is immortal.
Mr. Kawai: Immortal?
Axis Scientist: You never heard what was said of Frankenstein's experiments?
Mr. Kawai: Yes, but I heard he was destroyed.
Axis Scientist: Well, a long time ago, a German scientist sewed together the parts of a man in hopes to bring it back to life. He used an electric shock to bring it to life.
Mr. Kawai: But what can we gain from the research?
Axis Scientist: We might learn how to process or grow any part of the human body.
Mr. Kawai: Please don't joke with me.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

In the version being distributed by U.P.A., the opening credits lists producer Tomoyuki Tanaka as "Tomoyuka Tanaka."

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Alternate Versions

Asian version has a fight between Furankenshutain and a giant octopus which is missing from the American and international prints.

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Connections

Referenced in The Women of Godzilla (2008)

User Reviews

Frankenstein Conquers The World: Toho does Frankenstein

The legend of Frankenstein and his various adventures have been covered to a crazy degree over the years but right here we have horror legends Toho take a stab at it. Sadly it appears they weren't told very much before they wrote the screenplay.

Assisted once again by a US studio (Which has always been to their detriment) this tells the story of a young boy who is discovered and found to be growing at an incredible rate. Before they know it he's grown disastrously large and broken free of his constraints, just at the same time as a giant monster has appeared on a rampage as well.

You can immediately tell that it's a Toho film, from the sfx to the one bit of score they keep using or mildly remixing. Several of the usual faces are also present including Takashi Shimura who has a blink and you'll miss it role.

The storyline is actually more competently done than many of these Toho monster films but in its place the sfx are a tad worse. The creature effects and that of our Frankenstein are fine, but every once in a while you'll spot something so bad it should have got someones butt fired (I'm looking at you shifty Boar and awful Horse).

What drew the most ire from me were certain logistical issues. For example Frankenstein is of course the name of the Scientist who created the monster not the name of the monster itself. As the boy grows the clothes grow (Hulk style) and various other little things that bothered me more than they perhaps should.

It's more Toho monster cheese, if you like that stuff this will likely appeal otherwise you'll probably scratch your head in amazement just how ridiculous it all is.

The Good:

Fairly well made stuff

The Bad:

Takashi Shimura is wasted

Frequent logistical flaws

Some really poor sfx

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

8 July 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankenstein Conquers the World

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc., Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 93 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1