WEBVTT - Weirdhouse Cinema: Gorgo 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:08.800 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:14.680 Hey, welcome to Weird House Cinema. 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.760 This is Rob Lamb and this is Joe McCormick. And 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.120 on today's episode of Weird House Cinema, we are going 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:24.520 to be talking about the nineteen sixty one British kaiju 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:28.960 movie Gorgo, which I just saw for the first time 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.680 a couple of weeks ago when my friend Ben brought 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.239 it over for a movie night. So one of the 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:36.800 first things you might be thinking is did I hear 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:39.000 the first line of the description, right? Is this a 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:43.879 British giant monster movie? Yes? You did. Why is that 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:47.680 concept inherently so funny? I don't really know, but to me, 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:49.600 certainly it is. And I wonder if you have the 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:53.800 same thought, Rob, So like I was interrogating this further. So, 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:57.880 Japanese giant monster movie could be funny in execution, but 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:01.520 it's not necessarily funny in principle, Like the original Godzilla 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.560 is not funny at all. It's a very dark, grim serious, 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:09.119 great movie. An American giant monster movie, I'd say, same 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:13.319 thing could be funny in execution, not necessarily funny in principle, 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:17.280 but a British giant monster movie where a huge rat 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.840 creature attacks London is just fundamentally hilarious. 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.160 Yeah. I'm not sure quite what it is, because you 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:29.080 do find giant monster kaiju movies in various film cultures, 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:34.199 and it doesn't feel inherently out of place in other 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:37.040 film traditions. But yeah, there's something about the British setting 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:39.440 and all the British actors. I don't know it. It 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:42.880 makes it unique, and it does maybe make it a 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.200 little bit hilarious unintentionally. 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:47.480 But at the same time, there are a lot of 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:52.640 things about this movie that are beautifully executed. It has 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.360 a similar problem that a lot of giant monster movies have, 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:57.920 which is that there's a lot of city stomping at 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:01.960 the end, just relentless smashing of buildings and such. It 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:05.200 goes on for a long time. That's not unique to Gorgo. 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:09.480 But the city smashing looks fantastic, It looks great. They've 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:13.080 got really good models. We get to see a creature 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.760 smashing well known landmarks throughout London, you know, really laying 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.440 into Big Ben and the Tower Bridge and all that stuff, 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:22.520 and it is really pleasurable to watch. 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.360 Yeah, I mean, it's the basic formula in play here. 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:30.920 Don't go into Gorgo expecting something drastically different from any 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.880 other giant monster movie that you've seen, but it is 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:36.920 well executed. There are a lot of solid talents that 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.040 were involved in making this film, and it does find 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.919 some places to do things that, if not entirely unique, 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:46.680 at least they come up with an interesting palette with 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:47.440 which to paint it. 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:49.680 Yeah, I would agree, there are some other things that 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:52.079 work kind of well. I would say in the first 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:56.120 act there's an interesting sort of full corror vibe that 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:58.880 is unexpected for a movie of this type. We can 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.240 talk more about that when we into the plot, but 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.800 I think we should start off by exploring the question 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:08.080 of what is Gorgo? Right? So, Godzilla is a giant 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:12.280 bipedal reptile or lizard of some kind with atomic radiation 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:16.520 breath who emerges from under the ocean. Gamera is a 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:19.800 giant fire breathing turtle from the Arctic that can fly. 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:23.920 King Kong is a giant prehistoric ape from Skull Island. 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:28.079 What is Gorgo? I would describe Gorgo as a gigantic, 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:33.000 toothy monster with a similar bipedal posture to Godzilla, who 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:37.000 looks like a cross between a frilly eared lizard and 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:41.360 a satanic rat with red glowing eyes. He comes out 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:43.920 of the sea off the coast of an Irish island, 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.360 and he is thought to be some kind of ancient god, 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:48.400 at least at first. 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:49.080 Yeah. 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:51.760 And I would also add that he has pretty much 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:55.520 has the body of a rock'm sockem robot, not in 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:58.120 the sense that it's metallic, but in the basic posture 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:02.800 and proportions. It looks like he's ready to throw some punches, 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:05.120 and I guess ultimately does throw some punches at major 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:06.400 London landmarks. 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.400 And the way you can kind of see him rotating 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:10.520 his torso as he reaches with his arms. 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:14.640 Yeah, now, if there I had plenty of scenes later 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.120 in the film to stare at this monster and try 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:20.760 and cope with some headcanon for everything I'm seeing. And 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:23.000 I will say the teeth. The more I looked at them, 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.640 the more I started thinking, well, these are like filter 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:30.200 feeding teeth, Like this is an aquatic organism that's had 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:34.760 millions and millions of years to sort of evolve. Maybe 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:36.839 it's a filter feeder. Maybe that's what those teeth are 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:37.279 all about. 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:40.640 That's a good point, So you might think giant toothy 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:45.719 rat lizard creature, and think a smaller number of large, 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:49.000 pointy teeth. You know, maybe each pointy tooth is like 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:52.160 the size of a sharpened boulder. But no, instead it's 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:54.760 a lot of tiny pointy teeth. It's more like a 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:58.000 mouthful of swords. And so I think with that in mind, 0:04:58.040 --> 0:04:59.960 you could also look at that as like the brick 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.599 souls or the beleen of a filter feeder. That's a 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:04.480 good connection. 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:07.159 Rob, thank you. But you know this is not the 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:12.599 only the only connection between this monster and in the 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:18.560 world of actual terrestrial biology, because the creature's name, Gorgo 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:23.840 is allegedly based on an actual dinosaur, the Gorgosaurus. 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:26.719 Now they don't say that in the movie. In the 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.800 movie they later explained that it. Well, first, when we 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.880 learned the name Gorgo, they literally say, we don't know 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:38.120 why he's called that. But then the the scheming circus 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:42.760 operator who is exploiting Gorgo for cash, he explains that 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:46.760 he named the creature Gorgo after the gorgon Medusa. So 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.520 there is a common connective thread that we could get into. 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:52.159 But they don't say in the movie that it's named 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:53.400 after this dinosaur. 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.000 Yeah, so this might have been something that was more 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:59.320 of a stronger connection at some earlier phase of production. 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:02.599 It could also be something that's been kind of added 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.520 after the fact. But the truth is there is a gorgosaurus. 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:11.320 The gorgosaurus was not named after this movie. This is 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:15.599 the It literally means fierce lizard. This creature lived during 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:18.560 the Late Cretaceous period eighty to seventy three million years 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:20.520 ago in parts of what is now the United States 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.120 and Canada, So you know, I guess its range wouldn't 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:27.839 actually have extended over to the British Isles. But anyway, 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:30.480 it was a large therapod and we have at least 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:34.080 twelve complete or near complete skulls and various partial skeletons 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:37.680 to go off of. It was a tyrannosaur, not as 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:39.920 big as a t rex, but still quite impressive at 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:42.880 eight to nine meters or twenty six to thirty feet 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:45.920 in length. It was first described and named by Canadian 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:49.280 paleontologist Lawrence Lamb that's not spelled like my name is 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:53.400 Lambe in nineteen fourteen, and the Gorgo part of the 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:56.320 name fierce is in fact related to the ancient Greek 0:06:56.360 --> 0:07:00.360 word gorgos, which means grim. Or dreadful reflected in the 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:02.080 naming of the mythical gorgons. 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.839 Okay, so at the very least, the real gorgosaurus and 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:08.159 the gorgo of the movie get their name from the 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:08.840 same place. 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:13.240 Yes, And you know, if this strikes a chord with 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:14.640 anyone out there, you're like, where have I heard about 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:18.840 gorgosaurus recently? Well, the gorgosaars actually just made the news 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:22.280 last month. This was reported about in the New York 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:28.520 Times under their Ancient Meat Reporting desk. This concerns a 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:32.640 seventy five million year old Gorgosaurus fossil. It was discovered 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:36.440 with fossilized stomach contents. This was the first, apparently for 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:40.200 a tyrannosaur. It was a juvenile and the stomach contents 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:44.640 were the hind limbs of two small feathered dinosaurs. According 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.480 to Michael Greshkoh in his New York Times article covering 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:52.720 a study authored by Francois Therein, the curator of Dinosaur 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:57.600 paleo Ecology at the Royal Tyreel Museum in Alberta, they 0:07:57.600 --> 0:07:59.600 said that if it had grown to adulthood, it would 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:02.280 have liked we moved on to much bigger prey. But 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.440 as a smaller tritter, it was having to eat the 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:10.360 legs of various bird creatures. So at any rate, gorgosar 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:13.280 is still making the headlines at least, you know, as 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:17.400 far as stories about ancient meat and an ancient chicken 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:18.000 legs ghosts. 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.560 Now you included an illustration from the New York Times article. 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:25.280 It's an artist's impression of what the living juvenile gorgosaurus 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:27.480 would have looked like. And this is a much more 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:30.920 spindly creature than the gorgo of the film, which is 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:35.360 which is very dense and bulky, and apart from its 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:39.560 rat like head, it's got the more classic sort of 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:43.199 storybook illustration of the tyrannosaur that's very sort of bottom 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.880 heavy and has like big legs and lower body parts. 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.360 Right right, But before you gorgo fans look up this 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.760 article and say this is not accurate, let me suggest 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.880 that the gorgo that we see in this movie has 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:01.600 again evolved for life in an aquatic setting over millions 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:03.200 of years. So he has kind of like that whale 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:07.120 body going on. Ah, So, if we're being generous, we 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:09.440 might say, well it kind of makes sense. 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:13.800 That's right, Yes, the gorgo's body has evolved for insulation purposes. 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:17.360 Yeah, so a little science there, but believe me, the 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:21.080 science is not necessary for your appreciation and understanding of 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:21.679 this movie. 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:25.240 Okay, so on. We've talked a little bit before on 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:28.040 the podcast when we've done other Kaiju or giant monster 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:33.360 movies about the various subgenres that these movies fall into, 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:36.920 and I thought it might make sense to try to 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:41.640 figure out where Gorgo fits into that subgenre map. So 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.000 a few of the main types of giant monster movies 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:48.440 are I would say, first of all, Kaiju the destroyer. 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:51.920 An example of this would be the original Godzilla. A 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:55.760 giant beast arrives unexpectedly and brings ruined to humankind, and 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:59.760 the monster must somehow be defeated or driven away. Second 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:04.120 that category, I would call Kaiju the defender. Good examples 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:07.360 here would be the later sequels involving almost any of 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.719 the popular Kaiju monsters, monsters like Godzilla and GAMMERA. This 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:14.559 is a variation that arises in which the giant monster 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:18.600 that was once the destroyer must now defend us from 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:22.640 a more horrible threat, usually either space aliens or a 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:26.000 new giant monster that is meaner and more spiny. And 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.240 I would argue that the emergence of Kaiju the Defender 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.599 as a subgenre of giant monster movies is part of 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:36.200 a broader trend that's not just in giant monster movies. 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:38.160 But it's this trend where if you have a series 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:42.000 of movies all about the same focal character, that character 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:45.760 will almost always become more friendly and approachable over time, 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.640 even if they began as a villain or an anti hero. 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:53.000 So Gamera goes from being a terrifying pyro turtle on 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:56.880 a rampage to the friend of all children. You can 0:10:56.920 --> 0:11:00.400 look to any Vin Diesel movie series for examples of this. 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.440 The Vin Diesel character will always become nicer as it 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.880 goes on. Even Freddy Krueger goes from being in the 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:10.200 first Nightmare on elm Street movie this grimy, disgusting child 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:13.199 murderer too later on more just kind of like a 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.200 lethal puck in a sweater, Like he does still kill people, 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.840 but he's more kind of a prankster and a jokester. 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:21.160 Yeah, it becomes more of like a pee wee herman 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:24.880 kind of a character as opposed to just a nightmare 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.959 monster from your mind, that sort of thing. 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:31.120 Right, So in the later sequels, in these movies you 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:34.120 often get Kaiju the defender. Next, I would say is 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:37.280 the Pity the Kaiju movie. Great example here is sort 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:40.720 of the original King Kong. Like a dangerous but in 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:44.960 many ways admirable and noble monster is kidnapped or imprisoned 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:48.800 or otherwise exploited by greedy humans, and in the end 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:52.800 you have emotional sympathy for the creature in the way 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.280 that it has been mistreated by humankind. 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:59.520 Yeah, and obviously there are numerous sub classifications that we 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:02.040 could play out here, but well, one that comes to 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:06.000 mind as well as essentially the ware Kaiju option. So 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:09.240 not an amazing colossal situation where just a human gets 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:12.080 big and then does big stuff, but a situation where 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:16.600 a protagonist transforms into a giant monster that is distinct 0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:19.840 from just a giant human. The twenty sixteen film Colossal 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.680 starring Anne Hathaway comes to mind that has a fun 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.959 twist on this concept. And there's also nineteen sixty five's 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.600 Frankenstein versus Beragon that involves something like this as well, 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:33.120 with a small boy transforming into a giant Frankenstein's monster. 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:36.520 MM. I don't think I've seen either of those. I 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:40.000 certainly haven't seen the one with Anne Hathaway. Is Anne 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.720 Hathway the one who transforms into a giant monster? 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:47.040 Yes she is, or it's a spoilers If you haven't 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:49.480 seen this, just skip like you know, a few minutes ahead. 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:52.760 But the basic concept, if memory serves, is that she 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:59.400 has a spells where she becomes the monster or controls 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.600 the monster with her impulses, but is not conscious of 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:06.800 the fact. So it's not a physical transformation. Uh, it's 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.199 it's it's something else, it's it's it's a very fun film. 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:12.760 It's it's it's it's a comedy, but it has a 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.840 giant monster and it has a number of wonderful actors 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:17.400 in it, well worth checking out. 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:20.120 That does sound interesting. I'll have to look that up. 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:24.520 But okay, So where does Gorgo fit into the subgenres? 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:27.320 I would say Gorgo has elements of the first Kausu 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:30.680 the Destroyer, and elements of the third the Pity the 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:34.439 Monster film, less of the second, which makes sense because 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:36.800 this is the first Gorgo movie. This is not like 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:39.640 a later sequel, and usually they don't become defenders of 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:43.720 people or friend to all children until later on, so 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:46.079 it has elements of both I would say, especially in 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:48.720 the first act, the monster really does seem scary and 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:52.640 seem like a threat. But as as the film goes on, yeah, 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:57.559 you really come to sympathize with the monster spoiler monsters 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:03.520 over the I don't know, like gloating egotistical naval commanders 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.480 who think that launching, you know, some more bombs at 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:09.880 them will finally solve the problem. 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:11.120 Right right, It's ultimately going to be a draw, and 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:14.120 you realize, well, we can't really oppose Gorgo anymore, we 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:18.560 must form an alliance with Gorgo. Clearly, if they'd made 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.280 more Gorgo movies, it would have been Gorgo protecting the 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:24.560 British Isles from some other menace. 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:28.560 Right. But Rob, you brought to my attention the fact 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.800 that there was a Gorgo comic series that seems to 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.120 have happened after the movie. So, if I understand correctly, 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.680 the character was created for the film, but then there 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.080 were comics made in the wake of that. And I 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:46.760 haven't read these comics, but just judging by looking at 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:51.000 some of the covers online, Gorgo does appear to go 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:53.560 through the exact same like heel to face turn we 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.080 see in these other monsters. Because in the first issue, 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.640 he's just yeah, like, you know, looming over London opposing 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.040 some kind of threat. But by the last issue it 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.120 looks like he's the only thing that can save the 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:05.840 world from communism. 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.640 Yeah. Yeah, these covers are definitely worth looking up. I 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.480 was surprised because I think I'd run across the idea 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:15.000 before that there was some sort of a comic book adaptation, 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:17.920 and that alone is not surprising. I was thinking, oh, 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:19.400 it's a one off, you know, they did a comic 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:22.120 book adaptation of the movie. But no, it's like it's 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:28.280 a whole run with Gorgo fighting various threats, including communism 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:31.160 and giant squidsed it, you know, it's that sort of thing, 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:37.600 big furry monsters with horns on their head, cyclopses, you 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:37.960 name it. 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:41.840 Yeah. So for a brief survey, issue number one, Rob 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:44.320 I've added these images to the outline so we can 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.440 comment on them as we look. Issue number one is 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:49.880 just Gorgo standing. There's London in the background because he 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:52.280 big ben. You see the tower and the clock, and 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.960 then some guys on the ground with flame throwers blasting 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:59.160 up at Gorgo's hands, and Gorgo just looks done. He's 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:01.760 got a kind of like grinning through the pain look 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:02.480 on his face. 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.320 Yeah, yeah, And I assume this one is basically an 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:09.320 adaptation of the picture, or you know, an abbreviation of 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:10.200 it anyway. 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:13.080 Right, But then by issue number three, we see a 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.880 cover that is some kind of mad scientist trying to 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:18.920 harness Gorgo's power. Gorgo looks different now by the way. 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:22.520 He's kind he's got a different shape, and he's kind 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:25.160 of bubbly all over in a lighter shade of like 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:28.520 yellow green. But he's standing there and he's sort of 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.840 reeling back. Gorgo looks like it's a more defensive posture, 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:34.960 and this mad scientist is poking at him with this 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.120 shock ray, and the mad scientist is saying, I can 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.520 control you. With you at my command, I will rule 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:42.160 the world. 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.960 Yeah. Like, clearly, Gorgo is a force of nature that 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:51.440 is going to be potentially exploited by bad actors in 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.760 the human realm, and therefore that the real villains are 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:55.520 the mad scientists. 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:58.760 That's right. So that's three. By issue number five we've 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:03.760 got the tide Gorgo clashes with the sea beast, where 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.120 he's just it's an it's a Kaiju meet slam. Now 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:09.439 he's just wrestling with another giant monster. This looks like 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:14.199 some kind of octopus inspired type creature, though. I have 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:16.560 to say the illustration is funny because it looks like 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.240 they're about to kiss. Doesn't it like Gorgo's even sort 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:21.680 of holding the back of the octopus's head like he's 0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:23.080 gonna dip him for a kiss. 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:24.399 Yeah. Yeah. 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:26.560 It says Gorgo clashes with the Sea Beast and the 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:30.800 Unforgettable the day Manhattan died, which raises all sorts of questions. 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:33.080 Why is Gorgo going over to Manhattan? Is like, is 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:37.719 there like a Gorgo sharing program or treaty between the 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:39.920 UK and the United States At this point, I'm not sure. 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.359 Oh, you know, they do invoke NATO later in the 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.199 uh oh it's in the movie. Yeah, And then it 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.200 goes on. So, like I included issue number ten, there's 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:52.800 more fighting that looks kind of like kissing. This is 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:56.360 where Gorgo is fighting the Venusian Terror. It says they 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:59.560 came from an alien world bent on destroying Earth and 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:03.120 it's an inhabitants. Could even the mighty Gorgo stop them? 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.800 Don't miss the Venusian Terror? What is the Venusian Terror? Well, 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.119 you see a couple of flying saucers in the background 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:11.399 that almost kind of look like they have eyes, like 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:15.280 they're kind of placid, smiley faces. But then the Venusian 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:19.760 Monster is a cyclops being with a long yellow snake tongue, 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:22.520 one big eye, and one big horn on the top 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:23.040 of his head. 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.440 Yep, and he's licking Gorgo in the face. It really 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:31.440 seems like maybe this is a big misunderstanding. The Venusian 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.760 Tear doesn't really want to hurt anyone. He just wants 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:37.560 a little snuggling, a little little face licking. 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:41.720 That's it. Yeah, he is cute. And then, like we said, finally, 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:44.359 by like the end of the series, we've got Gorgo 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:46.040 in one of them. I don't know what's going on here. 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:50.040 He's fighting a giant guy, just like a guy who 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:53.040 kind of looks like Dracula, but he's Gorgo sized. I 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:55.959 think they must have blown him up with mad science somehow. 0:18:56.000 --> 0:19:00.520 He's fighting Gorgo. And then also Gorgo is fighting somebody 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:03.800 called General Thung, and we see General Thung saying that 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:09.560 with uh together, we will destroy all imperialistic nations. UH 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:12.920 and Gorgo, I guess, is gonna gonna prevent that. 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:18.080 Yeah, Gorgo's politics are fully explored in this this particular issue. 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:19.480 I'm sure, yeah, but. 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.480 All of that comes later. This movie is about then 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:24.960 this would be my my elevator pitch. It's the British 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:29.760 Isles versus giant monster, that is exactly it. All right, well, 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:32.280 let's go ahead and have that trailer audio so everyone 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:37.440 can hear some of the destruction that's coming their way. 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:47.240 Foh, a picture of our time? How's ever unleashed? Shut 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:50.720 spectacle of such scope? But realism? How's up from the 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:58.399 depths of prehistoric mystery? Rages gorgo? The headlines of the 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:02.080 world plays the fabulous star, this monster from another age 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:05.120 can pull it drops up the mass subutionan cavern by 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:09.560 unprecedented volcanic action, and the headlines screamed the story of 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:12.600 the reckless skin divers who capture the monster and put 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:13.400 it on exhibition. 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:19.440 Sam hop their nets. You're doing they take it easy. 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.120 I can't do. Then go back to see way belongs? 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:28.560 Why maybe to see they're silly skins for you? Hoorray Gorgo. 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:31.560 But the headlines do not record the story of the 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:35.040 little boy who had a curious sympathy and understanding for 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:39.480 the fantastic creature. What strange secret. Does he know that 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.080 scientists only suspect you're. 0:20:41.920 --> 0:20:43.359 Trying to say, there may be a fully grown one 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:45.159 of these things around somewhere, Hobbig. 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:49.600 Would a full grown one be an approximate guess? The infant. 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:54.520 The adult that'll make it eighty two hundred feet tall, 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:58.960 wreaking terrible nance against the civilization that has captured its offspring, 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:02.840 ring over the cities of the world, has millions flee. 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:20.240 It's awesome, terry. Nothing can summit defying the porce of 0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:23.399 the army, the might of the navy. 0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:36.280 Man of Momotari, ready to or from Father file Man, even. 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:44.640 The fury of the jets, and rising crescendial sights never 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:48.880 before beheld by human eyes, and adventures never before experienced 0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:50.760 by any man or woman. 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:09.520 All right, Well, if you want to go out and 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:12.840 watch gorgo before proceeding with this episode. It is widely 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:16.840 available in physical and digital formats and on multiple streaming platforms. 0:22:17.040 --> 0:22:19.120 You can even grab it on Blu Ray and again. 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:22.000 The film was also covered by Mystery Science Theater three 0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:24.440 thousand in a nineteen ninety eight episode, and I think 0:22:24.440 --> 0:22:36.080 that's available in different formats as well. All Right, let's 0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:38.639 talk about the people behind this film, starting at the 0:22:38.680 --> 0:22:42.359 top with the director, Eugene Lourie born nineteen oh three 0:22:42.640 --> 0:22:47.239 died nineteen ninety one, Russian born French art director and 0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:50.159 ultimately director. His production design work goes back to the 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:54.119 early nineteen thirties, but his first directorial credit was nineteen 0:22:54.200 --> 0:22:58.040 fifty three's The Beast from twenty thousand fathoms. This one, 0:22:58.080 --> 0:23:01.679 of course, has a an X ray Harry Housen lizard 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:04.680 in it, giant lizard monster the terrorizes the city and 0:23:04.720 --> 0:23:07.080 in one memorable scene, eats a cop. 0:23:07.480 --> 0:23:10.080 Is this one attacking New York or somewhere else? 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:12.360 I think it's New York. This is what I've never 0:23:12.359 --> 0:23:16.040