Japan, 1967
35mm film, colour
English
A Japanese science fiction film directed by Ishirô Honda.
Plot Summary
The evil Dr Who and his sidekick Madame Piranha create Mechani-Kong, a giant robot modelled on King Kong, to help him excavate the highly radioactive Element X from the North Pole. When radiation fries its electronic brain, Who brings in the real Kong to finish the task. The giant gorilla escapes his conditioning and heads for a showdown in Tokyo with a revived Mechni-Kong.
Credits
Crew
Directed by: Ishirô Honda
Production Companies: Toho Company, Rankin/Bass Productions
Produced by: Tomoyuki Tanaka; Arthur Rankin Jr (US version)
Written by: Kaoru Mabuchi [real name: Takeshi Kimura]
Director of Photography: Hajime Koizumi
Editor: Ryôhei Fujii
Music by: Akira Ifukube
Sound Recordist: Shoichi Yoshizawa
Special Make-up Effects: Nobuyuki Yasamaru
Director of Special Effects: Eiji Tsuburaya
Production Designer: Takeo Kita
Cast
Rhodes Reason (Commander Carl Nelson)
Mie Hama (Madame Piranha (Madame X))
Linda Miller (Lieutenant Susan Watson)
Akira Takarada (Lt. Commander Jiro Nomura)
Eisei Amamoto [real name: Hideyo Amamoto] (Dr Who)
Yoshifumi Tajima, Sachio Sakai, Susumu Kurobe, Nadao Kirino, Tôru Ibuki, Kazuo Suzuki, Shôichi Hirose (henchmen)
Ryûji Kita (SDF general)
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi (general
Ikio Sawamura (Mondo islander)
Tadashi Okabe, Seishirô Kuno (soldiers
Osman Yusuf (submariner
Andrew Hughes (reporter
Haruo Nakajima (Kingukongu)
Yû Sekita (Mekanikongu/Gorosaurusu
David de Keyser (voice of Commander Carl Nelson in English language version)
Paul Frees (voice of Dr Who in English language version)
Julie Bennett (voices of women in English language version)
Alternative Titles
King Kong Escapes
References
Periodicals
Cin̩aste vol.31 no.2 (Spring 2006) pp.39-43 Рillustrated article (All things Kong-sidered by Robert Cashill)
The Daily Cinema no.9607 (2 December 1968) p.8
Fangoria no.250 (February 2006) p.81 – DVD review (DVD Dungeon by Matthew Kiernan)
Films and Filming vol.15 no.7 (April 1969) p.46
The Hollywood Reporter vol.201 no.27 (25 June 1968) p.3
Kine Weekly no.3190 (30 November 1968) p.12
Monthly Film Bulletin vol.36 no.420 (January 1969) p.11
Sight & Sound vol.16 no.1 (January 2006) pp.89-90 – DVD review (King Kong/King Kong Escapes/King Kong Versus Godzilla by Geoffrey Macnab)
Variety 26 June 1968 p.24
Books
Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed) p.265
The Dinosaur Filmography by Mark F. Berry pp.195-196 – credits, review
Feature Films, 1960-1969: A Filmography of English-language and Major Foreign-language United States Releases by Harris M. Lentz III p.239
Nuclear Movies: A Filmography by Mick Broderick p.73
Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.242 – credits
Sixties Shockers by Mark Clark and Bryan Senn pp.252-253
