Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) dir. Ishiro Honda, Toho/UPA
Mary Shelly's creation had a rough go of it, not only in his own story but in his adaptations. We've seen comedy and knock-offs but ignoring a brief pitch poster for the 31 version, he's never been a kaiju.
Until now...
1945 and the war is going badly for the Axis. So it is decided that what the Japanese need is the immortal heart of the Frankenstein Monster!They smuggle the still beating thing to the perfect place to study it-Hiroshima. When Little Boy get dropped, that seems to be the end of it.
20 years later, Dr. Bowen (Nick Adams) is in Hiroshima studying radiation. Alongside Dr. Togami (Kumi Mizuno) and Dr. Kawaji (Tadao Takashima), Bowen is studying radiation. He's not seeing much point in the work though and is considering resigning when they gets reports of a feral boy (Sumio Nakao) running amuck.
They manage to capture the child and find out a couple of things. Mostly the kid is growing at an inhuman rate and he's now barring a striking resemblance to Boris Karloff.
On an oil rig, an earthquake strikes. The rig is utterly destroyed but the foreman swears he saw something in the water, something with a glowing horn. He tracks down Dr. Bowen to tell what he saw and what he did in the war, namely transporting a beating heart.
Dr. Kawaji is sent to Germany to talk to the last surviving doctor behind the project, Dr. Riesendorf (Peter Mann). The old doctor tells Kawaji that it possible that a child ate the heart and now has the strength of the Monster. The way to find out is easy too. The Monster could regrow anything, so just hack the kid's legs off. If they grow back and the legs remain healthy then you got a Frankenstein.
For some reason Kawaji thinks this is a sound idea. Before he can get to cutting, the procedure is interrupted by a team of newsmen. Their flash photography angers the now 18 foot tall boy, who tears his hand off in the escape. Seeing the hand still twitching convinces Kawaji that the boy is the Monster reborn.
So with another giant on the loose, the JSDF is on the chase, but what about Baragon? You know, the other giant monster? What will happen when the giants collide?
As far as Frankenstein adaptations go, this might be the oddest one yet. Based on an idea from Willis O'Brien we have a typical kaiju meeting Universal horror and what an odd fellow they make. Worth a viewing once if nothing else.
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