Anyone remember the first black and white Godzilla movie featuring Raymund Burr

Anyone remember the first black and white Godzilla movie featuring Raymund Burr


Yes Mullet-Head, I'm sure there's a few more in the coloney who saw it on a big screen part of a double feature Saturday matinee with 25 cartoons all for 50 cents. It was promoted in advance using the TV ads, this was a new approach to selling a movie in the 50's. It build up a tremendous curiosity for kids that they had to see this pre-historic giant sea monster destroy cities by walking on them and burning them down. It was a different twist on "post atom bomb" monster movies that were popular then. "Tarantula", "Them" and "It" were gaint ants and spiders that scared the wits out of us, but now the biggest of them all a gaint of gaints a creature that shot flames from it's mouth or nose and jet plane rockets couldn't kill it! and I thought it was coming to my town and crush it like the one in the movie, only after I saw it a couple of times, even after he died from the underwater "Oxygen Bomb", I accepted that he wasn't coming to kill my town, but I also felt jealous and envious at the same time, Godzilla chose Japan and not America to crush towns, after all, we beat Japan in the war and he should have chosen New York City, USA instead...dumb huh!? but, that would have been cooler!

The special effects were not to bad for that time, it scared me and I remember that the whole movie audience of nothing but loud kids came to a big silent hush when Godzilla was slowly dying lack of oxygen...almost teary eyed for some.

I don't know or remember why Raymond Burr was there I guess the Japenese needed an American in it to make it sellable to the USA movie industry, I think it was Japans first time to break into the US movie market, they sure did a lot of promotioning before it was released and Burr sealed the deal selling it. The original was the best and it has staying power and I think even today Godzilla's is sold as a toy for kids. All of the other Godzilla movies that followed were garbage.

Hot Wax     

Did you ever see Son of Godzilla. How about that tenders scene with Godzilla hugging his son as the snow was falling

Did you ever see Son of Godzilla. How about that tenders scene with Godzilla hugging his son as the snow was falling


No, I think those movies were made much later on and I was not interested at all as I got older, and what I could remember anyway is that that special effects were real bad and geared for littletots sort of like Seseme Street characters in Big Bird costumes, a far cry from a killing machine monster costume as the one that scared me. But it sounded like you enjoyed that scene with his son in the snow...that's cool!

HW

I don't know or remember why Raymond Burr was there I guess the Japenese needed an American in it to make it sellable to the USA movie industry, I think it was Japans first time to break into the US movie market, they sure did a lot of promotioning before it was released and Burr sealed the deal selling it.


The original movie wasn't made for the American market, and Raymond Burr wasn't in it. It was only later on, when someone decided to bring it to America, that extra footage of Burr edited in to the original.

It's one of my favorite Godzilla movies.

The original movie wasn't made for the American market, and Raymond Burr wasn't in it. It was only later on, when someone decided to bring it to America, that extra footage of Burr edited in to the original.



mrgazpacho, is that what they did! even back then what little I knew of story plots I wondered why he was in that movie at all, he didn't do anything but look around at the people running out of the city...What was his character supposed to be, do you know?


Hot Wax

I never really paid attention... I think he was supposed to be some sort of reporter...

I never really paid attention... I think he was supposed to be some sort of reporter...



Yes, you're right he was a reporter, so they did add his footage to get the movie accepted into the US market, I don't remember, was English dubbed in also? or did they use English speaking Japanese actors in his footage only? I would like to see the both versions of Godzilla now and see, I'll check the internet. Thanks.

Hot Wax 

They probably overdubbed the original Japanese voices with American ones for the US release. I can't see that they would have done anything else back then. Unless you mean scenes in which Burr can clearly be seen with an English-sounding Japanese person (are there any? I dunno). In which case they probably would have got an English-speaking Asian-American to do the part.

LOL now you make ME want to see the Burr version, to check all these details out! :D

They probably overdubbed the original Japanese voices with American ones for the US release. I can't see that they would have done anything else back then. Unless you mean scenes in which Burr can clearly be seen with an English-sounding Japanese person (are there any? I dunno). In which case they probably would have got an English-speaking Asian-American to do the part.

LOL now you make ME want to see the Burr version, to check all these details out! :D



I'll keep in touch if I get the two versions. HW

The movie title is "Godzilla, King of Monsters". The western version, with Raymond Burr, was overdubbed in english. Mr. Burr plays the role of a reporter. Most of his scenes in a booth, possibly  a radio station, describing the events going on outside.
  The original Japanese version is 2 minutes longer than the western version.
  The earlier Godzilla movies were sent to the west in Japanese with english subtitles. OK, now you all know what a geek I am.
  Actually, when I was a kid, we had an independent television station that ran a thriller show on Saturdays around noon. I believe they must have shown every Godzilla movie ever made.

The movie title is "Godzilla, King of Monsters". The western version, with Raymond Burr, was overdubbed in english. Mr. Burr plays the role of a reporter. Most of his scenes in a booth, possibly  a radio station, describing the events going on outside.
  The original Japanese version is 2 minutes longer than the western version.
  The earlier Godzilla movies were sent to the west in Japanese with english subtitles. OK, now you all know what a geek I am.
  Actually, when I was a kid, we had an independent television station that ran a thriller show on Saturdays around noon. I believe they must have shown every Godzilla movie ever made.


Was That channel 29 in Buffalo New York. I believe they had Creature feature at Three in the afternoon and Sci Fi theater at six. I'd sit through both movies drove my parents nuts. Then again it was a lot better than Long Division without a calculater