ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Two low-budget American movies and one big-budget Japanese monster movie that was quite a hit in 1956, so much so that my late mother took me to see it (and Forbidden Planet at a large downtown theater in Atlanta.

I remember hearing a couple of guys my age talking in front of the theater as we were leaving. One kid asked his friend why the Japanese army kept missing Rodan.





My mother, standing nearby, smiled at the boys and said, “Because they were lousy shots.”


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Rocket Attack U.S.A. (1960)

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__*__*__*__*__Spoiler Alert__*__*__*__*

The entire story can be summed up as follows: an American spy goes to Russia to get info on their newest intercontinental missile. He teams up with a defecting female government worker. They try to sabotage the missile, but they screw up the job and both get shot. Russia retaliates by launching a missile and nuking New York.

That'll teach us, eh?
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The Rocket Man (1954)

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A sci-fi comedy from Lenny Bruce!

He co-authored the screenplay for this lighthearted satire, in which a small boy (George "Foghorn" Winslow, from "Mister Scoutmaster") is visited by a Klaatu-like alien who appears in the boy's room and gives him a gun that shoots truth rays. Anybody George zaps starts spouting the plain, unvarnished you-know-what.

In the hands of a child this proves devasting, naturally.

Starring a cast which, to tell the truth, just can't be beat: Spring Byington, Stanley Clements, Charles Coburn, and three notable science fiction alumni, John Agar, Anne Francis, and Beverly Garland (the female John Agar of 1950s sci-fi).

Now honestly, who could resist this movie? Not me, I swear! Directed by Oscar Rudolph.

Enjoy the trailer on Youtube.

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Rodan (1956 Japan)

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The year 1957 (the American release date for this film) produced the largest number of science fiction movies in the entire decade (41 movies, compared to only 28 the year before), and Americans flocked to the theaters to see almost any sci-fi film that came out.

Japanese director Inoshiro Honda set out to top his hit monster movie "Godzilla", and in many ways he succeeded. "Rodan" not only features two giant monsters (the title prehistoric bird and its mate), it also features several scary scenes involving over-sized prehistoric bugs that attack terrified mine workers. When Rodan hatches from its egg inside the mine, it eats the bugs!

After growing to full size, Rodan topples bridges and destroys buildings just by flying over them and creating a devastating shock wave. (Not exactly scientifically accurate, but it looks impressive.)

Rodan lands smack in the middle of Tokyo and takes on the Japanese Army in a rip-roaring battle that thrilled monster-hungry audiences.

"Rodan" was a big hit, even bigger than "Godzilla" from the year before, although the monster itself didn't have the kind of public appeal that inspired the long chain of sequels which Godzilla has spawned.

"Rodan" is handsomely filmed in color, and it played in classy downtown theaters (no mall cinemas in those days). For several weeks there was no escaping the barrage of TV trailers that filled the airwaves. Kids loved the movie, and back in 1957 responsible parents didn't let their young kids go to downtown theaters alone — so absolutely everybody saw "Rodan".
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Miscellaneous note: Consider these two facts:

(1) Japanese artwork indicates a culture that produces amazingly patient and detail-conscious people.

(2) Japanese cinema indicates a public that loves monster movies.

So, why haven't Japanese filmmakers ever produced a stop-motion animated monster movie?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)