Undead Backbrain

One of the famous “lost” films occupying the shelves of the Willis O’Brien Memorial Film Archive (you know, the one that exists in an alternate reality — a reality that we’re bound to stumble upon one day) is Ray Harryhausen’s “The Elementals”. This one dates from around 1956-57, just before Harryhausen started work on 20 Million Miles to Earth. It’s not “lost” in the sense that it was made and then misplaced, but “lost” in that it was another idea with potential that never got a green light.

Ray had developed a story idea called THE ELEMENTALS, in which alien eggs would arrive on Earth unleashing giant bat-like creatures [on]to an unsuspecting Earth. Some sketches were developed and Ray even created a stop-motion model, filming some test sequences in color [that] showed the creature attacking Ray. This footage eventually surfaced to the public on the Criterion laserdisc release of JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS but was shown in black and white. Excerpts of the color footage can be seen in the televised documentary, THE RAY HARRYHAUSEN CHRONICLES. Jack Deitz, of BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, had been pitched the story and a screenplay was developed, but like many projects announced, this one slipped into obscurity.

Source: Scifistation.com

Apparently the humanoid bat-like Elementals were to attack Paris, with airborne battles to take place between the creatures and fighter planes. From the following image — which is one of Harryhausen’s sketches for the film — The Elementals would have had a period setting, no doubt during the First World War.

Source: Stephen Jones, The Illustrated Dinosaur Movie Guide (Titan Books, 1993)

The Elementals is currently being re-constructed — under Bluewater Comics’ Ray Harryhausen Presents imprint — as a comic series. The first issue is scheduled for September this year.

1915 France. The Great War rages and a new breed of hero take to the skies. Part bull-terrier, part daredevil, the aces of the Royal Flying Corps’ 5th Squadron are Britain’s elite. It was an era of counter-intelligence, dogfights and drinking songs. But that was before the world changed. That was before the Elementals. When a routine mission goes awry, the 5th Squadron finds itself trapped in an unreal world called The Source. Here giant bat-like creatures dominate the world keeping the Universe, and all of its parallel realities, in a precarious balance. But despite its serene appearance, it is a violent, predatory land. Trapped along with Germany’s greatest flying ace, they all must work together to find a way back home. But the home they left is no longer the world they knew.

Source: Bluewater Productions website

Given Bluewater’s increasing interest in film production, maybe we’ll see a film version of “The Elementals” in due course. Something else to hope for.

Over at the Giant Monsters Attack blogspot, Mysterious Pants has discovered a wonderful set of trading cards that prove once and for all that dinosaurs were bloodthirsty giant monsters that would have brought about a general apocalypse if they hadn’t been wiped out by whatever cosmic disaster fortuitously came Earth’s way just before the Age of Mammals kicked in.

The card set, called Dinosaurs Attack!, was apparently released in 1988 in the wake of the better-known Mars Attacks! set (thanks Tim!) and was even considered as a suitable subject for transfer to celluloid at the same time as Mars Attacks! was produced. Didn’t happen though. Another lost gem! Can you imagine what it would have been like? After looking at the examples below check out the whole set and you get an idea of the overall plotline and sheer bloodiness involved.

Anyway, I couldn’t resist putting up a few of the cards myself and drawing your attention to the original site, and the work of creators Len Brown and Woody Gelman.

Note the extreme accuracy with which the dinosaurs are depicted as they engage in all the classic daikaiju activities (that’s irony, by the way).

As a potential “cat lady” myself (we have three cats … how many does it take before you’re officially a “cat lady”?), I particularly like this one:

This last one is a clear homage to Godzilla, as the film director looks suspiciously like Ishiro Honda, Gojira’s director, and the actors on the left are clearly meant to be that film’s leads, Akira Takarada and Momoko Kôchi:

Anyway, go check out the whole set. Fantastic!

I find it fascinating the way the set conveys a potentially complex storyline through a series of generic moments. Major plot “turns” are depicted by single cards and two or three words, with the work of interpretation largely left to the viewer. It’s a nascent art form in itself — albeit one that has never caught on all that much; a sort of stripped-back graphic novel.

Todd Tennant, whose graphic novel version of the unused Ted Elliott/Terry Rossio script for the US Godzilla can be viewed on his American Kaiju website, has stumbled upon another piece of the Godzilla 1994 puzzle. He’s been in touch with Jeff Farley, an effects-crew guy. Here’s Jeff’s story:

“A few years later (after failing to get a job on the Godzilla vs. Biollante effects crew in Japan), I was sculpting some bendy figures for the Trendmasters Godzilla line. I was contacted by a friend at Sony Imageworks to sculpt a scannable Godzilla maquette for their bid (and also for a Sony Imageworks cgi test). I was lucky enough to get that job. We only had three days to produce the clay sculpture. It was then packed in dry ice and shipped off to the company that actually made the scan. Even though I never got to see it, I heard that they had The Big G stomping around the MGM Studios. You can view it [the maquette] by going to the sculpture page at my website. Even though it was only the “American” Godzilla, I was very happy to have been involved in some capacity.”

Below are Jeff’s watercolor sketch and sculpt of his ‘94 Godzilla:

At the end of last year, I reported on the sale of Stan Winston Studio’s maquette for Jan de Bont’s unmade American Godzilla movie. Now another maquette from the “lost” film has been sold on eBay.

This is one of the Probe-Bats, or “Bat Minions”, associated with the Gryphon, Godzilla Might-Have-Been opponent in the abandoned version of the film. The eBay description went like this:

Never finished as a full-size character, this is the henchman for the Griffon [sic] Beast that was the nemesis in an early version of the Godzilla story. The script changed as drastically as the look of the lead monster did when he became the terrorizer, rather than the protector of Earth as he was in the original storyline. Made of solid resin and hand painted at Stan Winston Studio, this is a maquette of a character that would have been just larger than human scale if it had been realized on film. Measures 45 in. long x 35 in. wide.

Link (limited life, as the auction ended a few days ago)

David Russell’s storyboard drawings (available on Todd Tennant’s American Godzilla ‘94 Project site) illustrated what the Bats would have been getting up to:

Godzilla does what he does best in the next installment of Todd Tennant’s American Godzilla ‘94 graphic novel:

For those who don’t know, kaiju artist Todd Tennant has for some time been engaged in an ambitious project to create a graphic-novel version of the abandoned 1994 Ted Elliott/Terry Rossio Godzilla screenplay that Jan De Bont was planning to film. Pre-production involved such SFX and artistic luminaries as Ricardo Delgado, Carlos Huante, Stan Winston and David Russell, who were all working on the design side of things before the studio cut the project off at the knees (because it was going to cost so much) and then handed it to Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin to mess up a few years later.

The original screenplay is a vastly different affair to the one we eventually got — and one that is a lot more faithful to the spirit of the Gojira franchise. Todd obtained the blessing of the various parties concerned to create a non-commercial graphic novel version of the script, using designs based on those of the original project. He has now created some 62 full-colour pages, which you can read for the cost of the data transfer!

The American Godzilla ‘94 graphic novel begins here.

The latest pages — G’s battled with the navy — begin here.

If you want to view some of Ricardo Delgado’s conceptual artwork or a collection of David Russell’s original storyboards, go here.

This work of Todd’s is not only superb artistically, but it represents an act of generosity on his part that I still find amazing.

Over the years, there has been much discussion of King Kong’s descendants — including in an article of my own. Analysis of the 1933 film’s ancestors, however, has usually been confined to accounts of Kong co-directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s real-life adventures and the degree to which they inform the character of the film’s directorial adventurer / entrepreneur, Carl Denham, as well as to wider cinematic influences such as generic similarities between the plot of King Kong and that of the early The Lost World (1925) — which, of course, featured stop-motion animation (of assorted dinosaurs) by Willis O’Brien, Kong’s visual effects creator.

But what of pre-Kong giant apes? Generally it is said that King Kong was the first and the greatest of the giant ape films. There’s no real argument to be made against the second part of that statement, but what of the first?

A while back some excitement was generated over the existence of giant ape footage ostensibly from the film The Gorilla, a comedy-thriller made in 1930 by Bryan Foy, now classified as lost. Films that included gorillas were not uncommon at all in the decade leading up to Kong, but a giant ape is another matter. Whether or not he was the first to notice, Mark Cofell on his Gorilla Men website tells how he had stumbled upon some footage of a giant gorilla walking through a cityscape in a stock film-clip catalogue owned by Getty Images. He says that he recognised the man-in-a-suit style ape as the work of Charles Gemora, “one of the great gorilla suit performers who worked in the movie industry from the 20’s until his death in the 50’s”, but was baffled as to where it might have originated. He says:

The suit was used in the late 20’s and early 30’s though was out of use after KING KONG’s release. The film appeared to predate KONG - I and a few of my fellow film fanatics wondered if it was test footage for Kong or, just as fascinating, another giant ape project never realized?!

It was Bob Burns — “World renown archivist and historian of props, costumes, and other screen used paraphernalia from some of the greatest (and not so great) science fiction, fantasy, and horror motion pictures” (IMDb) — who clarified the mystery:

Some months after I came across the footage [Cofell continues], I was introduced to Bob Burns by artist George Chastain who informed me it was trailer material from 1930’s THE GORILLA, a film about a murderous (and relatively short) ape. The city footage was illustrating the grip of terror the beast had on the urban populace. Oddly enough I came across a notation about the film on the IMDB as I was waiting for Bob’s reply; the film is considered lost and the shots I viewed are all that remain of it.

This held up the exciting possibility that a giant ape existed on film pre-Kong.

You can view the clips on the Getty Images site here and here.

That the footage was never part of the film itself but was used in advertising for the film to suggest the power of The Gorilla to terrify the populace is generally accepted now — but the afterburn of fannish possibility is nevertheless exciting.

But there appears to be another possible branch to the Kong family tree, albeit one just as inconclusive. A potential King Kong ancestor (or at least antecedent) is the 1929 film Stark Mad, a US jungle-adventure directed by Lloyd Bacon. It, too, is currently considered a lost film, but the AFI describes the plot thus:

James Rutherford has organized an expedition to the jungles of Central America to find his missing son, Bob, and his guide, Simpson. Professor Dangerfield intercepts the party, bringing with him Simpson, whose jungle experience has made him a raving maniac. They go ashore and decide to spend a night at a Mayan temple. After Irene, Bob’s fiancée, disappears, they come across a gigantic ape chained to the floor, and Captain Rhodes, commander of the yacht, is abducted by a strange monster with great hairy talons. Messages are found warning the party to leave. Sewald, an explorer, is mysteriously killed by an arrow. Simpson’s reason returns, and he saves the party, revealing that the demented hermit, whom he has just killed, and who formerly occupied the ruins, murdered Bob two months before.

Intriguing…. Has anyone out there seen it?

A Special Report by Kaiju Search-Robot Avery

The history of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s propagandist foray into the giant monster genre is a more convoluted one than has previously been known.

Our story begins back in the year 1978 with the kidnapping of South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and his wife by North Korean intelligence, under orders of Kim Jong-il, son of Kim II Song the ruler of the country at the time. They were to be kept there under house arrest for many years to come. Kim, being the avid fanatic of cinema that he was, ordered Shin to make several films for him.

One of these films was an epic fantasy adaptation of the Korean legend of Pulgasari, the Iron-Eating Monster.

The film depicts the titular monster as an ominous horned devil-like giant demon – one that, according to legend, is summoned to exact revenge for those who had been wronged by the oppressive Emperor and his armies. It was decided that the film would incorporate suitmation techniques not unlike those being used in the popular “Godzilla” series from Japan. Being a fan of the Toho company’s famed film series, Kim would not let the kaiju eiga influence end there. He even went so far as to hire several staff members from the Japanese outfit to contribute to his production. He placed the company’s Teruyoshi Nakano in charge of the special effects and hired Kenpachiro Satsuma to portray the title character. Kenpachiro was the then-current “Godzilla” suit actor and had just portrayed the “King Of The Monsters” in the film Return Of Godzilla [aka Godzilla 1985].

Before Pulgasari could be completed, however, Shin Sang-ok and his wife escaped, defecting to the West in an operation somewhat reminiscent of a James Bond film. In order to complete the project, Kim Jong-il replaced Shin with director Chon Gon Jo.

Pulgasari would remain on the shelf until the early 1990s when North Korea attempted to market it outside of the country. It was not until 1998 that distribution rights were finally sold to Japan.

The film then received a limited theatrical release there and become a moderate success. Later, in the year 2000, it would return to Korea — this time given a theatrical release in South Korea. The film wasn’t as huge a success there as was hoped. Upon its release, Shin Sang-ok made a failed attempt to sue for the rights to return his name to the director’s credit. The film was subsequently sold to America and released directly to video.

In 1996 Shin changed his name to Simon Sheen and remade his beloved work in the United States under the new title Galgameth [aka The Adventures Of Galgameth; Legend Of Galgameth]. This version is a more juvenile-themed take on the story.

But the story doesn’t end there. Or rather it didn’t even begin there — with the kidnapping of Shin Sang-ok and the making of Pulgasari. It is little known among kaiju fans that Galgameth would be the third film adaptation of the famed legend of ‘The Iron-Eating Monster’. ‘Third’ version, you say? Surprising but true! Shin’s original film was in fact itself a remake. Apparently the story had been brought to the big screen many years prior to these events, originally adapted by director Kim Myeong-jae as Bulgasari [aka Pulgasari; The Iron-Eating Monster; Starfish] in 1962. Little is known about this version as it is considered a ‘lost’ film. Not until recently did we have any sort of clue as to the nature of the film. The discovery of two promotional posters has given some indication as to the monster’s appearance:

The Korean Film Archive, along with some basic production and release credits, offers the following plot synopsis:

During the later years of Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), a talented martial artist is murdered. His resentment makes him born again as Bulgasari, a monster that grinds and eats up iron. The monster takes his revenge on the traitors responsible for his death.

Who knows if Bulgasari will ever surface or if it is indeed lost in filmdom’s distant past, never to be seen again by human eyes?

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Thanks to Avery Battles for preparing this article — the Backbrain

The Backbrain’s review of Pulgasari can be read here.

Worth adding to the Giant Monster List is James Williamson’s The Great Sea Serpent (UK-1904). Information on this very early silent short is hard to find, but the Silent Era website offers the following synopsis, suggesting that the sea serpent in question is actually a fake — something small unknowingly seen close-up.

Synopsis: [From a W. Butcher & Sons catalog of Williamson films]: Mr. MacDoodle, in true nautical attire, goes for a trip on a steamer and is “had” by his friends with the aid of a centipede and his telescope, when the harmless insect becomes a monster of the deep.

The status of this film is listed as “unknown”.

The Internet Movie Database lists a second Williamson film called The Real Sea Serpents (1905). However, the only other listings of this film that I can find source the IMDB, so perhaps it represents an entry error. More research is required!

Meanwhile you can read the British Film Institute’s biography of Wiilliamson here, though it doesn’t mention either of the above films.

A False Monster

There’s a story by Edgar Allen Poe (”The Sphinx”) that uses a similar idea as that suggested by the synopsis of The Great Sea Serpent above. In this story the narrator, sitting by an open window, spies a gigantic monster scaling a distant cliff:

Uplifting my eyes from the page, they fell upon the naked face of the hill, and upon an object — upon some living monster of hideous conformation, which very rapidly made its way from the summit to the bottom, disappearing finally in the dense forest below.

The huge monster is described thus:

Estimating the size of the creature by comparison with the diameter of the large trees near which it passed — the few giants of the forest which had escaped the fury of the land-slide — I concluded it to be far larger than any ship of the line in existence. I say ship of the line, because the shape of the monster suggested the idea — the hull of one of our seventy-four might convey a very tolerable conception of the general outline. The mouth of the animal was situated at the extremity of a proboscis some sixty or seventy feet in length, and about as thick as the body of an ordinary elephant. Near the root of this trunk was an immense quantity of black shaggy hair — more than could have been supplied by the coats of a score of buffaloes; and projecting from this hair downwardly and laterally, sprang two gleaming tusks not unlike those of the wild boar, but of infinitely greater dimensions. Extending forward, parallel with the proboscis, and on each side of it, was a gigantic staff, thirty or forty feet in length, formed seemingly of pure crystal and in shape a perfect prism, — it reflected in the most gorgeous manner the rays of the declining sun. The trunk was fashioned like a wedge with the apex to the earth. From it there were outspread two pairs of wings — each wing nearly one hundred yards in length — one pair being placed above the other, and all thickly covered with metal scales; each scale apparently some ten or twelve feet in diameter. I observed that the upper and lower tiers of wings were connected by a strong chain. But the chief peculiarity of this horrible thing was the representation of a Death’s Head, which covered nearly the whole surface of its breast, and which was as accurately traced in glaring white, upon the dark ground of the body, as if it had been there carefully designed by an artist. While I regarded the terrific animal, and more especially the appearance on its breast, with a feeling of horror and awe — with a sentiment of forthcoming evil, which I found it impossible to quell by any effort of the reason, I perceived the huge jaws at the extremity of the proboscis suddenly expand themselves, and from them there proceeded a sound so loud and so expressive of woe, that it struck upon my nerves like a knell and as the monster disappeared at the foot of the hill, I fell at once, fainting, to the floor.

An excellent giant monster indeed! But it turns out to be a Death’s Head moth on a spider’s web a fraction of an inch from his eye, mistakenly perceived as monstrous through a trick of optical distortion. Ironically, of course, the technique is used in giant monster films as an alternative to stop-motion photography and CGI when ordinary reptiles, spiders and insects are made to appear gigantic through optical trickery — problems of perspective and focus notwithstanding!

You can read the full story here.

This animation is a rare piece of stop-motion footage, featuring a very peculiar and intriguing monster. It is a test animation for a film, The Las Vegas Monster, that never went through to completion. The designer was Pete Peterson, who was a technician on Mighty Joe Young (1949) and special effects assistant to Willis O’Brien on The Black Scorpion (1957) and The Giant Behemoth (1959). He was also an animator on The Thing with Two Heads (1972). [I took this information, somewhat uncritically, from the Internet Movie Database, and I have since been informed that Peterson in fact died in the 1960s.]

This test animation presents us with an interestingly different monster and showcases the effectiveness of Peterson’s work.

More information can be found on the BlueSpill site, which features lots of rare stop-motion footage.

Up for sale on eBay is evidence of what Jan de Bont’s unmade American Godzilla movie might have been like, if the job hadn’t be passed on to Roland Emmerich, in a studio-led decision that left fans torn between despair and anger. Up for auction is the Stan Winston Studio’s maquette for the proposed film. It measures 43 in. tall x 63 in. long (head to tail) and has a rather high asking price.

You can check out the auction details here.