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Wow. I can’t believe the fervor over this firm belief – supported by peripheral evidence – that the staff of GODZILLA saw BEAST. All I can say is, wow. Despite quoting screenwriters Murata and Honda, who state clearly that they did not see BEAST, people are saying “no way” – without anything other than their own belief to the contrary. I am stunned, really. It's also interesting that simply because of my postings, it is assumed that I am pro-GODZILLA and anti-BEAST (which is not the case). What is important here aren’t opinions or beliefs, but rather facts, which is all that really matters, after all.

According to producer Tomoyuki Tanaka’s 1993 autobiography, written by producer/novelist Fumio Tanaka (no relation), and published by Kinema Junpo Company, Tanaka says that he read about BEAST in a trade magazine, and the synopsis contained in that article, was the initial inspiration – coupled with the recent Daigo Fukuryu Incident, which was the biggest Japanese media event in 1954 (page 64). Tanaka hired Shigeru Kayama, a popular writer at the time, who specialized in adventure stories about strange creatures and mysterious lands, to draft a story treatment based on Tanaka’s suggestion. So, that part is indeed the case, Bill – Tanaka got his initial idea from reading about BEAST.

But, with that being said, the destruction of the lighthouse, mentioned in the Audio Commentary of GODZILLA (released by Classic Media), which Bill points out, was actually only contained in Kayama’s story treatment, and was not in any version of the screenplay. This was most likely an element Kayama lifted from the synopsis of BEAST that was published in the above-mentioned trade magazine. There is no lighthouse scene in the facsimile of the original screenplay (or the storyboards) published in “Toho SF Visual Effects Film Series Vol. 3” (Toho Publishing, 1985). (Interestingly, the monster knocks over a lighthouse in GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN in 1955.)

Once again, Takeo Murata and Ishiro Honda, who wrote the screenplay, both said they didn’t see BEAST before making GODZILLA, with Murata saying, “We never saw it.” Again, why would they lie? Honda was a very humble man, and would have no reason to cover anything up. If someone can produce tangible evidence to the contrary, fantastic, then we can set the record straight. If it is possible that they could have seen the film, as you suggest, Ted, then could it be possible that they didn't see the film? The preponderance of evidence does not suggest that the staff of GODZILLA ever saw BEAST.

Ted, of course there were hit American films released in Japan, and I pointed that out. The fact is that they played in specific cinemas, depending on whom the distributor was, but they weren’t playing in as many cinemas as Japanese films were, which made up more than 70% of the box office (foreign films from the US, UK, Italy, etc. took the other 30%) in the 1950s. The point is that not all American films were shown in Japan, that much is true. Many were not released until some time after they played in the US, while others were released within a short period of time of their US playdates. The distribution rights to BEAST were controlled by Daiei Motion Picture Company, and the film would have to be subtitled before it was released in Japan – all foreign films were subbed – so, prepping it would have not made it available, if Daiei would have allowed another company to “preview” its film in the first place.

For more insight on American films in Japan during the postwar period, please see “Film Trade in Japan Since the 1950s: Government Policies and Media Development” by Lee Sang-Woo. www.mediacom.keio.ac.jp/ publication/pdf2004/review26/5.pdf

Ted, as for who was the person inspired by KING KONG, it was not Ishiro Honda (who wasn’t really interested in such films), rather it was Eiji Tsuburaya, who saw KONG in September 1933 when it was released in Japan. Now, while Tsuburaya was keenly interested in visual effects (which took up the latter part of his 50-year career in filmmaking), I doubt that with his busy schedule, he could have flown to American to see the film. Yes, there were American sci-fi films released in Japan, as I stated, but BEAST was not released until after GODZILLA was, which is factual.

Between the time Toho decided to produce a monster movie in late April, and the time the cameras rolled in August, Tsuburaya worked on two other films – he would not have had time to make such a then-expensive and time-consuming sojourn to the States, and there is nothing in his diaries which states that he did so at this time, either. While it’s quite possible, as you assert (with no evidence or testimony to support it) that he, or the staff, could have seen the film in Japan, it’s also more possible he never saw the film until it was released by Daiei. There is nothing in Tsuburaya’s personal records noting that he saw BEAST before making GODZILLA.*

With the breakneck nature of the Japanese film industry during the 1950s, and how all five Japanese studios (Toho, Daiei, Toei, Shochiku and Nikkatsu) were releasing two films per week, it's doubtful that they would have been aware if BEAST were indeed shown on a US base. According to published records and testimony, the staff of GODZILLA did not decide upon a prehistoric monster – dinosaur – until sometime in June, less than two months before cameras rolled. This was after the humanoid monster designs proved to be unsatisfying. The “Toho Execs” were hardly interested in seeing BEAST, let alone producing GODZILLA in the first place.

The only person who had the power to get it produced was Production Chief Iwao Mori, who hired Eiji Tsuburaya to establish Toho’s visual effects department in the late 1930s. So, could Mori have had the power to see this film? Perhaps, but there is nothing in any Japanese texts that suggest that anyone saw the film. The Toho Execs would have never funded a “research trip” to the US, either – the studio was on shaky ground at the time, with Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI going over schedule and over budget, so Toho’s resources were stretched to the limit, and producing GODZILLA was taxing enough.

Could someone from Toho, working in the US, have seen BEAST on our shores? Sure, but there’s no conclusive evidence to support this. Toho did have theaters in Honolulu, Los Angeles and other cities, but the Toho La Brea (formerly the Fox La Brea Theatre) didn’t open until the late 1950s/early 1960s, after the success in selling GODZILLA, but more likely because of the Academy Award wins for Hiroshi Inagaki’s SAMURAI for Best Foreign Film in 1955 and two nominations for Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction (Black and White) in 1957 – after the film was distributed to US art houses as THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN in 1956.

Film critic Kevin Thomas reviewed his first film screened at the Toho La Brea in 1962. Toho opened their NYC theater in 1963, and then in San Francisco, which I used to frequent. If we can find out exactly when the Fox La Brea closed, we might be able to find out exactly when the Toho La Brea (later the “Toho Theater”) was opened. It is possible that Toshiro Mifune’s presence at the US premiere of Hiroshi Inagaki’s THE RICKSHAW MAN (Muhomatsu-no Issho, 1958) at the Toho La Brea may have also been the opening of the Toho operation of that venue as well.

This story is far from over, I'm sure, but for the time being I will believe the words of the men who made GODZILLA, who say that they never saw BEAST before they made their film. Batting this issue back and forth is pointless, unless someone on the opposition can produce solid, concrete evidence to the contrary.

Respectfully,
August Ragone

*This was made apparent while I was researching and writing the official and authorized biography of visual effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya (available Fall 2007 from Chronicle Books).