WEBVTT - Weirdhouse Cinema Rewind: Gorgo 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:09.440 Hey, Welcome to Weird House Cinema. Rewind, this is Rob Lamb. 0:00:09.480 --> 0:00:12.320 Today is Saint Patrick's Day, so we do have an 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.200 older episode of Weird House Cinema that does, at least 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:19.720 in some small way involve an Irish setting. We're going 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:23.600 to be talking about the nineteen sixty one European Kaiju 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:28.200 movie Gorgo. This this one's pretty fun and has a 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:30.760 great monster in it. So let's jump right in. 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:37.560 Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:46.159 Hey, welcome to Weird House Cinema. 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:49.199 This is Rob Lamb and this is Joe McCormick. And 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:51.600 on today's episode of Weird House Cinema, we are going 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:55.959 to be talking about the nineteen sixty one British Kaiju 0:00:56.120 --> 0:01:00.440 movie Gorgo, which I just saw for the first time 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:03.120 a couple of weeks ago when my friend Ben brought 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:05.679 it over for a movie night. So one of the 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.280 first things you might be thinking is did I hear 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:10.480 the first line of the description? Right? Is this a 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:15.360 British giant monster movie? Yes? You did? Why is that 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:19.040 concept inherently so funny? I don't really know, but to 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:20.920 me certainly it is. And I wonder if you have 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:25.240 the same thought, Rob, So, like I was interrogating this further, So, 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:29.319 Japanese giant monster movie could be funny in execution, but 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:32.960 it's not necessarily funny in principle, Like the original Godzilla 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.000 is not funny at all. It's a very dark, grim serious, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:40.600 great movie. An American giant monster movie, I'd say same 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:44.800 thing could be funny in execution, not necessarily funny in principle. 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:48.760 But a British giant monster movie where a huge rat 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:52.320 creature attacks London is just fundamentally hilarious. 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:55.600 Yeah. I'm not sure quite what it is, because you 0:01:55.720 --> 0:02:00.560 do find giant monster kaiju movies in various films cultures, 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:05.680 and it doesn't feel inherently out of place in other 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.520 film traditions. But yeah, there's something about the British setting 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.959 and all the British actors. I don't know. It makes 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.800 it unique, and it does maybe make it a little 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:16.680 bit hilarious unintentionally. 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:18.960 But at the same time, there are a lot of 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:24.119 things about this movie that are beautifully executed. It has 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:26.840 a similar problem that a lot of giant monster movies have, 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:29.400 which is that there's a lot of city stomping at 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:33.440 the end, just relentless smashing of buildings and such. It 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:36.280 goes on for a long time. That's not unique to Gorgo. 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.919 But the city smashing looks fantastic. It looks great. They've 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.520 got really good models. We get to see a creature 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:48.200 smashing well known landmarks throughout London, you know, really laying 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.920 into Big Ben and the Tower Bridge and all that stuff, 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:54.000 and it is really pleasurable to watch. 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:57.800 Yeah, I mean, it's the basic formula in play here. 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:02.359 Don't go into Gorgo expecting some drastically different from any 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:05.320 other giant monster movie that you've seen, but it is 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:08.400 well executed. There are a lot of solid talents that 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.480 were involved in making this film, and it does find 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.400 some places to do things that, if not entirely unique, 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:18.120 at least they come up with an interesting palette with 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:18.880 which to paint it. 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.160 Yeah, I would agree. There are some other things that 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:23.520 work kind of well. I would say in the first 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.600 act there's an interesting sort of full corror vibe that 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:30.359 is unexpected for a movie of this type. We can 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:32.240 talk more about that when we get into the plot, 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:34.920 but I think we should start off by exploring the 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:39.120 question of what is Gorgo right. So Godzilla is a 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:43.240 giant bipedal reptile or lizard of some kind with atomic 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:47.840 radiation breath who emerges from under the ocean. Gamera is 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:51.240 a giant fire breathing turtle from the Arctic that can fly. 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.400 King Kong is a giant prehistoric ape from Skull Island. 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:59.559 What is Gorgo? I would describe Gorgo as a gigantic 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:03.960 two the monster with a similar bipedal posture to Godzilla, 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:08.119 who looks like a cross between a frilly eared lizard 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:12.680 and a satanic rat with red glowing eyes. He comes 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:15.400 out of the sea off the coast of an Irish island, 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:18.839 and he is thought to be some kind of ancient god, 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:19.840 at least at first. 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:23.039 Yeah, and I would also add that he has pretty 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:26.560 much has the body of a rock'm sockem robot, not 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:28.920 in the sense that it's metallic, but in the basic 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:33.800 posture and proportions. It looks like he's ready to throw 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:36.040 some punches, and I guess ultimately does throw some punches 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:37.880 at major London landmarks. 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:39.880 And the way you can kind of see him rotating 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:42.000 his torso as he reaches with his arms. 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:46.080 Yeah, now, if there I had plenty of scenes later 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.599 in the film to stare at this monster and try 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:52.240 and cope with some headcanon for everything I'm seeing. And 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:54.480 I will say the teeth. The more I looked at them, 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:57.120 the more I started thinking, well, these are like filter 0:04:57.200 --> 0:05:01.680 feeding teeth. Like, this isn't a qua organism that's had 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:06.239 millions and millions of years to sort of evolve. Maybe 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.320 it's a filter feeder. Maybe that's what those teeth are 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:08.680 all about. 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.080 That's a good point. So you might think giant toothy 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:17.120 rat lizard creature and think a smaller number of large, 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:20.479 pointy teeth. You know, maybe each pointy tooth is like 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:23.640 the size of a sharpened boulder. But no, instead it's 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:26.200 a lot of tiny, pointy teeth. It's more like a 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.479 mouthful of swords. And so I think with that in mind, 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:31.919 you could also look at that as like the bristles 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:35.960 or the bleen of a filter feeder. That's a good connection, Rob, 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:37.160 thank you. 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.200 But you know this is not the only the only 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:47.200 connection between this monster and the world of actual terrestrial biology, 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:52.760 because the creature's name Gorgo is allegedly based on an 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:55.320 actual dinosaur, the Gorgosaurs. 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.200 Now they don't say that in the movie, and the 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:01.760 movie they later explained that. Well, first, when we learned 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.640 the name Gorgo, they literally say, we don't know why 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:10.560 he's called that. But then the scheming circus operator who 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:14.839 is exploiting Gorgo for cash, he explains that he named 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:18.680 the creature Gorgo after the gorgon Medusa. So there is 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:21.120 a common connective thread that we could get into. But 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:23.919 they don't say in the movie that it's named after 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:24.880 this dinosaur. 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:27.479 Yeah, so this might have been something that was more 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:30.760 of a stronger connection at some earlier phase of production. 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:34.080 It could also be something that's been kind of added 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:37.960 after the fact. But the truth is there is a gorgosaurus. 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:42.800 The gorgosaurus was not named after this movie. This is 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:47.200 the literally names fierce lizard. This creature lived during the 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:50.160 Late Cretaceous period eighty to seventy three million years ago 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:52.560 in parts of what is now the United States and Canada, 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:55.240 So you know, I guess its range wouldn't actually have 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:59.720 extended over to the British Isles. But anyway, it was 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:02.679 a large therapod and we have at least twelve complete 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.840 or near complete skulls and various partial skeletons to go 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:09.480 off of. It was a tyrannosaur, not as big as 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:11.760 a t rex, but still quite impressive at eight to 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.880 nine meters or twenty six to thirty feet in length. 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:18.720 It was first described and named by Canadian paleontologist Lawrence 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:22.120 Lamb that's not spelled like my name is Lambe in 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:25.600 nineteen fourteen. And the gorgo part of the name fierce 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:29.000 is in fact related to the ancient Greek word gorgos, 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:32.320 which means grim or dreadful, reflected in the naming of 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:33.560 the mythical gorgons. 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:37.320 Okay, so at the very least, the real gorgosaurus and 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:39.640 the gorgo of the movie get their name from the 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:40.280 same place. 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:44.680 Yes, And you know, if this strikes a chord with 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:46.080 anyone out there, you're like, where have I heard about 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:49.960 gorgosaurus recently? Well, the gorgosar has actually just made the 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:53.480 news last month. This was reported about in the New 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:59.800 York Times under their Ancient Meat Reporting Desk. This concerns 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:03.560 a seventy five million year old gorgosaurus fossil. It was 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:07.800 discovered with fossilized stomach contents. This was the first, apparently 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:11.080 for a tyrannosaur. It was a juvenile and the stomach 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:15.400 contents were the hind limbs of two small feathered dinosaurs. 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:19.360 According to Michael Greshko in his New York Times article 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:23.600 covering a study authored by Francois Therein, the curator of 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:28.560 Dinosaur paleo Ecology at the Royal Tirel Museum in Alberta. 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:30.880 They said that if it had grown to adulthood, it 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.720 would have likely moved on too much bigger prey. But 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:36.920 as a smaller critter, it was having to eat the 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:42.000 legs of various bird creatures. So at any rate, gorgosaurs 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:44.920 still making the headlines, at least, you know, as far 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:49.439 as stories about ancient meat and an ancient chicken legs ghost. 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:53.040 Now you included an illustration from the New York Times article. 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:56.760 It's an artist's impression of what the living juvenile gorgosaurus 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:58.960 would have looked like. And this is a much more 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:02.360 spindily creeture than the gorgo of the film, which is 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:06.800 which is very dense and bulky, and apart from its 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:11.040 rat like head, it's got the more classic sort of 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.640 storybook illustration of the tyrannosaur that's very sort of bottom 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.720 heavy and has like big legs and lower body parts. 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.840 Right right, but before you Gorgo fans look up this 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:25.240 article and say this is not accurate, let me suggest 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:28.360 that the Gorgo that we see in this movie has 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:33.040 again evolved for life in an aquatic setting over millions 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:34.680 of years. So he has kind of like that whale 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:38.560 body going on. Ah So, if we're being generous, we 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:40.920 might say, well, it's it kind of makes sense. 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:44.000 That's right. Yes, the Gorgo's body has has evolved for 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:45.280 insulation purposes. 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:48.840 Yeah, so a little science there, but believe me, the 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:52.560 science is not necessary for your appreciation and understanding of 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:53.160 this movie. 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:56.720 Okay, so on, We've talked a little bit before on 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:59.480 the podcast when we've done other Kaiju or giant monster 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:04.840 movies about the various subgenres that these movies fall into, 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.360 and I thought it might make sense to try to 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:13.120 figure out where Gorgo fits into that subgenre map. So 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:16.720 a few of the main types of giant monster movies are. 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:20.280 I would say, first of all, Kaiju the destroyer. An 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:23.800 example of this would be the original Godzilla. A giant 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:27.400 beast arrives unexpectedly and brings ruined to humankind, and the 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:31.920 monster must somehow be defeated or driven away. Second category, 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:35.960 I would call Kaiju the Defender. Good examples here would 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:39.480 be the later sequels involving almost any of the popular 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:43.400 Kaiju monsters, monsters like Godzilla and Gammera. This is a 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.480 variation that arises in which the giant monster that was 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:50.480 once the Destroyer must now defend us from a more 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:54.760 horrible threat, usually either space aliens or a new giant 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:57.760 monster that is meaner and more spiny. And I would 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:01.080 argue that the emergence of Kaiju the Defender as a 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:04.640 subgenre of giant monster movies is part of a broader 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.959 trend that's not just in giant monster movies, but it's 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.280 this trend where if you have a series of movies 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:14.240 all about the same focal character, that character will almost 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.679 always become more friendly and approachable over time, even if 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:20.760 they began as a villain or an anti hero. So 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.559 Gamera goes from being a terrifying pyro turtle on a 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:28.600 rampage to the friend of all children. You can look 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.840 to any Vin Diesel movie series for examples of this. 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.920 The Vin Diesel character will always become nicer as it 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:38.360 goes on. Even Freddy Krueger goes from being in the 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.680 First Nightmare on elm Street movie, this grimy, disgusting child 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:44.680 murderer to later on more just kind of like a 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.680 lethal puck in a sweater, Like he does still kill people, 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.320 but he's more kind of a prankster and a jokester. 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:52.880 Yeah, it becomes more of like a peewee Herman kind 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:56.720 of a character as opposed to just a nightmare monster 0:11:58.080 --> 0:11:59.439 from your mind, that sort of thing. 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:02.600 Right, So in the later sequels in these movies you 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.560 often get Kaiju the defender. Next, I would say is 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.719 the pity the Kaiju movie. Great example here is sort 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:12.200 of the original King Kong, Like a dangerous but in 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:16.439 many ways admirable and noble monster is kidnapped or imprisoned 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:20.280 or otherwise exploited by greedy humans, and in the end 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:24.280 you have emotional sympathy for the creature in the way 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:26.760 that it has been mistreated by humankind. 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:31.040 Yeah, and obviously there are numerous sub classifications that we 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.480 could point out here, but well, one that comes to 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:37.480 mind as well as essentially the ware Kaiju option. So 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.720 not an amazing colossal situation where just a human gets 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:43.560 big and then does big stuff, but a situation where 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:48.000 a protagonist transforms into a giant monster that is distinct 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:51.319 from just a giant human. The twenty sixteen film Colossal 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:54.160 starring Anne Hathaway comes to mind that has a fun 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:57.400 twist on this concept, and there's also nineteen sixty five's 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:01.080 Frankenstein Versus Beragon that involves something like this as well, 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:04.600 with a small boy transforming into a giant Frankenstein's monster. 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:08.000 Hmmm, I don't think I've seen either of those. I 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:11.000 certainly haven't seen the one with Anne Hathaway. Does Ann 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:14.200 is Anne Hathaway the one who transforms into a giant monster? 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.800 Yes, she is, or it's a so spoilers if if 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:19.760 you if you haven't seen this, just skip like you know, 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:23.240 a few minutes ahead. But the basic concept, if memory serves, 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:28.840 is that she she has the spells where she becomes 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:32.680 the monster or controls the monster with her impulses, but 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.200 is not conscious of the fact. So it's not a 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:39.600 physical transformation. Uh. It's it's it's something else, it's it's 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:43.120 it's a very fun film. It's it's it's it's a comedy. 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:43.679 Uh. 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:46.040 But it has a giant monster and it has a 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:48.880 number of wonderful actors in it. Well worth checking out. 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:51.600 That does sound interesting. I'll have to look that up. 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:56.000 But okay, So where does Gorgo fit into the these subgenres? 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.760 I would say Gorgo has elements of the first Kusu 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:02.160 the Destroyer, and elements of the third the Pity the 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:05.920 Monster film, less of the second, which makes sense because 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.280 this is the first Gorgo movie. This is not like 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.120 a later sequel, and usually they don't become defenders of 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:15.160 people or friend to all children until later on, so 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.560 it has elements of both. I would say, especially in 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:20.160 the first act, the monster really does seem scary and 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:24.080 seem like a threat. But as the film goes on, yeah, 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:29.000 you really come to sympathize with the monster spoiler monsters 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:34.320 over the I don't know, just like gloating, egotistical naval 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:38.120 commanders who think that launching some more bombs at them 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:41.200 will finally solve the problem. 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:42.560 Right right, It's ultimately going to be a draw, and 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.560 you realize, well, we can't really oppose Gorgo anymore. We 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:50.040 must form an alliance with Gorgo. Clearly, if they'd made 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:53.760 more Gorgo movies, it would have been Gorgo protecting the 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:56.000 British Isles from some other menace. 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:59.920 Right, But Rob, you brought to my attention the fact 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:04.280 that there was a Gorgo comic series that seems to 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:07.600 have happened after the movie. So, if I understand correctly, 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:11.120 the character was created for the film, but then there 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.560 were comics made in the wake of that, and I 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:18.240 haven't read these comics, but just judging by looking at 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:22.440 some of the covers online, Gorgo does appear to go 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.040 through the exact same like heel to face turn we 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:27.560 see in these other Monsters, because in the first issue 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:31.160 he's just yeah, like you know, looming over London opposing 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:33.480 some kind of threat. But by the last issue, it 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:35.600 looks like he's the only thing that can save the 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.120 world from communism. Yeah. 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:41.200 Yeah, these covers are definitely worth looking up. I was 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.320 surprised because I think i'd run across the idea before 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:46.479 that there was some sort of a comic book adaptation, 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.360 and that alone is not surprising. I was thinking, oh, 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:50.920 it's a one off, you know, they did a comic 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:53.600 book adaptation of the movie, But no, it's like it's 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:59.760 a whole run with Gorgo fighting various threats including communism 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.640 and giant squidsed it. You know, it's that sort of thing, 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:09.080 big furry monsters with horns on their head, cyclopses, you 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:09.440 name it. 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:13.320 Yeah, So for a brief survey, issue number one, Rob, 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:15.800 I've added these images to the outline so we can 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:17.920 comment on them as we look. Issue number one is 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:21.360 just Gorgo standing. There's London in the background because he 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:23.760 big ben. You see the tower and the clock, and 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:26.440 then some guys on the ground with flame throwers blasting 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:30.600 up at Gorgo's hands, and Gorgo just looks done. He's 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.240 got a kind of like grinning through the pain look 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:33.920 on his face. 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.800 Yeah, yeah, And I assume this one is basically an 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:40.760 adaptation of the picture, or you know, an abbreviation of 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:41.840 it anyway. 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.520 Right, But then by issue number three we see a 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.320 cover that is some kind of mad scientists trying to 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:50.400 harness Gorgo's power. Gorgo looks different now, by the way. 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.720 He's kind of he's got a different shape, and he's 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.480 kind of bubbly all over in a lighter shade of 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.800 like yellow green. But he's standing there and he's sort 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.280 of reeling back. Gorgo looks like it's a more defensive posture, 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:06.439 and this mad scientist is poking at him with this 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.560 shock ray, and the mad scientist is saying, I can 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:13.000 control you. With you at my command, I will rule 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.000 the world. Yeah. 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.000 Like, clearly, Gorgo is a force of nature that is 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:23.000 going to be potentially exploited by bad actors in the 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:27.000 human realm, and therefore the real villains are the mad scientists. 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.240 That's right. So that's three. By issue number five, we've 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:35.240 got the title Gorgo Clashes with the Sea Beast, where 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:38.080 he's just it's a Kaiju meat slam. Now he's just 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:41.400 wrestling with another giant monster. This looks like some kind 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:46.040 of octopus inspired type creature, though. I have to say 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.520 the illustration is funny because it looks like they're about 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.240 to kiss. Doesn't it like Gorgo's even sort of holding 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:53.359 the back of the octopus's head like he's going to 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:54.560 dip him for a kiss. 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:57.840 Yeah. Yeah. It says Gorgo clashes with the Sea Beast 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:01.680 and the Unforgettable the Day Manhattan Died, which raises all 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:03.960 sorts of questions. Why is Gorgo going over to Manhattan? 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:07.600 Is like, is there like a Gorgo sharing program or 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:10.840 treaty between the UK and the United States At this point, 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:11.520 I'm not sure. 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.800 Oh, you know, they do invoke NATO later in the 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:19.480 uh oh in the movie yeah, and then it goes on. So, 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:22.840 like I included issue number ten, there's more fighting that 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.199 looks kind of like kissing. This is where Gorgo is 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:28.480 fighting the Venusian Terror. It says they came from an 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:32.600 alien world bent on destroying Earth and its inhabitants. Could 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:36.639 even the mighty Gorgo stop them. Don't miss the Venusian Terror. 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:38.880 What is the Venusian Terror? Well, you see a couple 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:41.560 of flying saucers in the background that almost kind of 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:44.080 look like they have eyes, like they're kind of placid, 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:48.560 smiley faces. But then the Venusian monster is a cyclops 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:52.320 being with a long yellow snake tongue, one big eye, 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:54.520 and one big horn on the top of his head. 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:57.880 Yep, and he's licking Gorgo in the face. It really 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:02.880 seems like maybe this is a big misunderstanding. The Venusian 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:06.200 tear doesn't really want to hurt anyone. He just wants 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:09.040 a little snuggling, a little little face licking. 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:13.159 That's it. Yeah, he is cute. And then, like we said, finally, 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:15.800 by like the end of the series, we've got Gorgo 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:17.520 in one of them. I don't know what's going on here. 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.520 He's fighting a giant guy just like a guy who 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:24.520 kind of looks like Dracula, but he's Gorgo sized. I 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:27.439 think they must have blown him up with mad science somehow. 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:31.960 He's fighting Gorgo. And then also Gorgo is fighting somebody 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.280 called General Thung, and we see General Thung saying that 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:41.679 with together we will destroy all imperialistic nations, and Gorgo, 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:45.000 I guess is gonna gonna prevent that? I don't know. 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:49.560 Yeah, Gorgo's politics are fully explored in this particular issue, 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:52.480 I'm sure, Yeah, but all of that comes later. This 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:55.760 movie is about then this would be my elevator pitch. 0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:58.080 It's the British Isles versus giant. 0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.360 Monster, that is exactly it. 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:02.560 All right, well, let's go ahead and have that trailer 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:05.480 audio so everyone can hear some of the destruction that's 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:06.160 coming their way. 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:18.359 FA No motion picture of our time has ever unleashed 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:22.080 shut spectacle of such scope and realism as up from 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:29.760 the depths of prehistoric mystery rages Virgo. The Headlines of 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:32.720 the World plays the fabulous story of this monster from 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:33.520 another age? 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:34.160 Can it pulled? 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:38.240 It romps up vast soub ocean cavern by unprecedented volcanic action, 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:41.800 and the Headlines screamed. The story of the reckless skin 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:45.320 divers who capture the monster and put it on exhibition. 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:49.879 Sap the debts you're joint. 0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:50.880 Take it easy. 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:54.600 I can't go home and go back to see where belongs? 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:59.919 Why maybe to see they're silly skins for you gorgo. 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:03.000 But the headlines do not record the story of the 0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:06.520 little boy who had a curious sympathy and understanding for 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:10.919 the fantastic creature. What strange secret does he know that 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:12.600 scientists only suspect. 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:14.840 You're trying to say, there maybe a fully grown one 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:15.960 of these things around somewhere. 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:18.800 How big would a full grown one be an approximate 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:25.200 guess the infant the adult that'll make an early two 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:29.040 hundred feet tall. Freaking terrible ventuance against the civilization that 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:33.000 has captured its offspring, powering over the cities of the world, 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:49.720 has millions flee. It's awesome terror. Nothing can stop it, 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:54.600 defying the porce of the army, the might of the navy, 0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:57.080 na Montanie. 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:03.800 Ready to open fiser file, then. 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:15.359 Even the fury of the jets and a writing proshundo. 0:22:15.520 --> 0:22:19.280 Fights never before beheld by human eyes, and adventures never 0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:21.560 be more experienced by any man no woman. 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:41.040 All right, Well, if you want to go out and 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:44.320 watch gorgo before proceeding with this episode. It is widely 0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:48.280 available in physical and digital formats and on multiple streaming platforms. 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:50.639 You can even grab it on Blu Ray and again. 0:22:50.680 --> 0:22:53.440 The film was also covered by Mystery Science Theater three 0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:55.880 thousand in a nineteen ninety eight episode, and I think 0:22:55.920 --> 0:23:07.560 that's available in different formats as well. All right, let's 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:10.119 talk about the people behind this film, starting at the 0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:13.800 top with the director. Eugene Lourie born nineteen oh three 0:23:14.119 --> 0:23:18.719