Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

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

Stars:

Tadao Takashima, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tadao Takashima	...	Dr. Yuzo Kawaji
Nick Adams	...	Dr. James Bowen (as Nikku Adamusu)
Kumi Mizuno	...	Dr. Sueko Togami
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 | frankenstein's monster character | psychotronic film | monster | scientist | 

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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

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

8 July 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankenstein Conquers the World

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

One proposed title was "Frankenstein vs. the Giant Devil Fish". One lobby poster features the title monster fighting a giant octopus. That scene was deleted from the film, but a similar duel was incorporated in the sequel, The War of the Gargantuas (1966) features a battle between Gaira, the Green Gargantua, and a giant octopus.

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Goofs

The horse Baragon kills is an obvious stiff puppet. Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya recognized how fake the shot looked but chose not to redo it.

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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

Featured in Hail to the King - A King named Kong (2014)

User Reviews

Great Movie. Buy The 2 Disc Release

This is one of my favorite films as a kid. I have always been a big Toho fan. Godzilla of course was/is my favorite "Actor". It would have been nice if Godzilla would have been in this film as originally planned, but Baragon is just fine. Why this film has such a low rating of 3.7 is beyond me.

I have an original full screen terrible transfer copy of this film on VHS but I still enjoyed it. When I found out that this movie was coming to DVD I bought it as soon as I could. Boy was I surprised when I opened the DVD case. Inside were 2 DVD's. Disc 1 was the original uncut version of the film in Japanese with optional English subtitles and disc 2 was the English dubbed edited version. Both are 2:35 widescreen versions!!! If you want to buy this movie make sure it is the 2 disc release. You will be glad you did.

Later that night I put disc 1 in my DVD player and watched the movie for the first time in it's original version with subtitles on my big screen TV with popcorn by my side enjoying every minute of it.

This movie was made for kids and the young at heart. It is a fun movie and nothing more. I give this film a 7.0 rating.