Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (film)

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
aka	Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
Year	1966 (Japan) 1969 (U.S.)
Directed by	Jun Fukuda
Produced by	Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by	Shinichi Sekizawa
Studio	Toho Studios
Cast	Akira Takarada Chôtarô Tôgin Haruo Nakajima Tôru Watanabe Akihiko Hirata Chieko Nakakita Peter Fernandez Hal Linden
Run time	87 minutes
Riffed in	Experiment #213

For the episode, see MST3K 213 - Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.

Plot

After Yata is lost at sea, his brother Ryota steals a yacht with his two friends and a bank robber, who planned on stealing the boat himself. However, the crew runs afoul of Ebirah, a giant lobster-like creature, and washes ashore on Letchi Island. There the Red Bamboo, a terrorist organization, manufactures heavy water for selling weapons of mass destruction; as well as a yellow liquid that keeps Ebirah at bay, presumably controlling it. The Red Bamboo has enslaved natives from nearby Infant Island to create the yellow liquid, the natives hoping that Mothra will awaken in her winged, adult form and rescue them.

In their efforts to avoid capture, Ryota and his friends, aided by a native girl named Daiyo, come across Godzilla, who previously fought Ghidorah and is now sleeping within a cliffside cavern. The group devises a plan to defeat the Red Bamboo and escape the island. In the process, they awaken Godzilla using a makeshift lightning rod. Godzilla fights Ebirah, but the huge crustacean escapes. Godzilla is then attacked by a giant condor and a squadron of Red Bamboo fighter jets. Using its atomic ray, Godzilla destroys the jets and kills the giant bird.

After Ryota lands on Infant Island and finds his brother Yata, they and the others free the enslaved natives as Godzilla begins to destroy the Red Bamboo's base of operations, smashing a tower that causes a countdown that will destroy the island in a nuclear explosion. Godzilla fights Ebirah and defeats it, ripping its claws off, forcing it to retreat back into the sea. The natives await for Mothra to carry them off in a large net. However, Godzilla challenges Mothra when she gets to the island. Mothra manages to repel Godzilla and save her people and the human heroes. Godzilla also escapes from the island just before the bomb detonates and destroying the island.

Cast

• Akira Takarada as Yoshimura
• Tôru Watanabe as Ryota Kane
• Toru Ibuki as Yata Kane
• Chôtarô Tôgin as Ichino
• Hideo Sunazuka as Nita
• Kumi Mizuno as Daiyo
• The Bambi Twin Pair as Mothra's Little Beauties
• Jun Tazaki as Red Bamboo Commander
• Akihiko Hirata as Captain Yamoto
• Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla

Notes

• Like most FVI films, the title sequence uses footage from a different movie as background. In this case, the footage comes from the 1967 film Son of Godzilla.
• The script for this movie was originally written for King Kong called "Operation Robinson Crusoe", but Godzilla had to be substituted when rights to Kong weren’t available, which explains the uncharacteristic behavior of Godzilla's brief flirtation with Daiyo.
• This is one of the last Godzilla films to feature effects by original designer Eiji Tsuburaya.
• This is the first Godzilla film where the bulk of the action takes place outside of Japan.
• Ebirah's name is derived from the Japanese word for shrimp.

MST3K Connections

• Director Jun Fukuda was also director and writer for Godzilla vs. Megalon.
• Writer Shinichi Sekizawa was also story and Jet Jaguar Song writer for Godzilla vs. Megalon and writer for Mighty Jack.
• Akihiko Hirata also portrayed a Space Force official in Fugitive Alien.
• Hideyo Amamoto (Red Bamboo naval officer) also portrayed Tammy in Mighty Jack.
• Wataru Ômae (newspaper reporter) also portrayed Cabinet Minister Bippu in Time of the Apes.
• Godzilla suit wearer and stunt choreographer Haruo Nakajima also wore the Godzilla suit in Godzilla vs. Megalon.
• Executive producer Tomoyuki Tanaka was also producer for Godzilla vs. Megalon.
• Assistant director of special effects Teruyoshi Nakano was also director of special effects for Godzilla vs. Megalon.
• Director of special effects Eiji Tsuburaya was also producer for Mighty Jack.
• Director of special effects photography Sadamasa Arikawa was also director of special effects for Mighty Jack.
• English dubber William Ross was also associate producer and assistant director for The Green Slime (in which he also portrayed Ferguson) and handled the English dub for The "Legend of Dinosaurs".

Critical Response

• Leonard Maltin wrote: "Two-and-a-half stars ... Seventh Godzilla movie (the first directed by Fukuda) is also the first to do away with trademark scenes of urban destruction. Splendid use of color and nice, change-of-pace jazzy score by Masaru Sato make this one of the more entertaining entries."