When Yata Kane (Tôru Ibuki) disappears at sea, his brother, Ryôta (Tôru Watanabe), steals a yacht to search for him. Shipwrecked with his friends and a bank robber (Akira Takarada) on Letchi Island, Ryôta has to deal with terrorists who have taken control of Ebirah, a giant crustacean whom they use as their guardian while creating weapons of mass destruction. They have also enslaved Ryôta's brother, along with the inhabitants of a nearby island. With the help of a native girl named Daiyo (Kumi Mizuno), the young men discover a sleeping Godzilla and try to get him to take out Ebirah and the terrorists so they can rescue Yata and save the world.
For added action, the film also incorporates Mothra, the giant moth, whom the enslaved islanders worship. This was the final appearance of the adult Mothra in the Godzilla series for 26 years. It was also the first time the Shobijin, Mothra's twin priestesses were not played by the singing sister duo the Peanuts (Emi and Yumi Itô). Instead, they were played by Pair Bambi (Yuko and Yoko Okada), another pair of singing sisters.
It wasn't just the more benign Godzilla that marked a turning point in the series. After directing six of the preceding films in the series, as well as Rodan (1956) and Mothra (1961), Ishirô Honda stepped away from the films, which he felt were getting too juvenile. Jun Fukuda would take over as director for the next five films, through 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. With all that change, the film features a few shout outs to the series' past. Akihiko Hirata, who played the scientist who sacrifices himself in the original Godzilla (1954), returns, again wearing the earlier character's eye-patch, to play one of the villains. The bank robber along for the ride is played by Takarada, the hero of the original Godzilla
Originally this was not supposed to be part of the Godzilla series. Rather, King Kong was intended to serve as humanity's champion, which explains some of Godzilla's more sympathetic behavior in the film. At that time, its title was Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah. The project was initially pitched to Rankin/Bass Productions, which had produced the animated holiday special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). They rejected the idea, although they would later produce their own King Kong Escapes (1967). Toho Studios then picked up the idea, but changed King Kong to Godzilla. The original script was set in Japan, but Toho switched it to an island to cut down on special effects costs. Toho would use an island setting again for the eighth Godzilla film, Son of Godzilla (1967).
Toho shot the film on a tight budget of just $1.2 million. They got away with cutting corners because the credited special effects director, Eiji Tsuburaya, who had worked on the series since the original Godzilla (1954), only worked on the film in a supervisory capacity. He had started his own company and wasn't available to work on another Godzilla film. The special effects were actually directed by Sadamasa Arikawa, who was chosen because his TV experience had taught him to work inexpensively. The scenes of Godzilla and Ebirah were actually shot though water tanks, with the actors on a dry soundstage. There were, however, a few shots of Godzilla with the actor underwater. The actual underwater scenes were completed in a week, with the cast and crew working overtime. The giant condor was a refurbished Rodan costume, another cost-cutting measure.
Although the film played theatrically in Japan, it went direct to television in the U.S. in 1968 under the title Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster. That version is missing scenes from early in the action, particularly Ryôta's attempts to get help from the Japanese government and a newspaper reporter. The score is also slightly different, with the rock music that had accompanied one of Godzilla's fight scenes deleted. Hal Linden, later the star of Barney Miller, dubbed at least one of the male voices. The film was altered for its German release as well. Because the Frankenstein name sold well there, the picture was retitled Frankenstein und die Ungeheuer aus dem Meer, and the German-dubbed dialogue stated that Ebirah and the giant condor had been created by Dr. Frankenstein.
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is viewed with fondness by kaiju fans. Writing for Cinefantastique in 2009, Steve Biodrowski calls it "one of the silliest but also one of the more amusing Godzilla movies. The goofiness of the enterprise somehow becomes part of the entertainment value, resulting in a likable, fun-filled, fast-paced movie that is totally incredible but quite watchable."
Director: Jun Fukuda
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay: Shin'ichi Sekizawa
Cinematography: Kazuo Yamada
Score: Masaru Satô
Cast: Akira Takarada (Yoshimura), Tôro Watanabe (Ryôta Kane), Kumi Mizuno (Daiyo), Chôtarô Tôgin (Ichino), Hideo Sunazuka (Nita), Tôru Ibuki (Yata Kane), Akihiko Hirata (Captain Yamoto), Jun Tazaki (Red Bamboo Commander), Haruo Nakajima (Gojira)
By Frank Miller
