a.k.a. Uchu Daikaiju Girara
company: Shochiku Co. Ltd
year: 1967
runtime: 89′
country: Japan
director: Kazui Nihonmatsu
cast: Eiji Okada, Toshiya Wazaki,
Peggy Neal, Itoko Harada
not on DVD in the USA
“Guilala taught me an important lesson. Now I realize that there is someone who loves Dr. Sano even more than I . . .” -Lisa
Given the rampant popularity of Toho’s Godzilla series among the youth of Japan at the time, it’s totally understandable that Shochiku [one of the oldest film studios in Japan and home to such prominent directors as Yasujiro Ozu] would want to get in on the action and finance a giant monster film all its own. A national contest amongst youngsters decided the name of the giant beast in question – Guilala [or Girara] – and production was begun. That the only discernible meaning to be found in the resulting film is within the line of dialogue shared above should give you an some idea of the overall success of the production.
It seems that the FAFC – whatever that may stand for – has been trying to land a spaceship on Mars for some time with no success. Ship after ship has disappeared, crew and all, for no identifiable reason, leading to suspicions that a UFO may be responsible. Another attempt, this time utilizing the newly-designed Atomic Astro Boat Gamma – AAB Gamma for short – is launched. It becomes obvious early on that Lisa [Peggy Neal] has the hots for Captain Sano [Toshiya Wazaki], who comes across as a pretty big jerk for most of the picture. Communications officer Miyamoto, meanwhile, has the hots for Lisa while Dr. Shioda doesn’t seem to have the hots for much of anything. Shortly after launching, AAB Gamma encounters a mysterious UFO that looks a lot like a glowing apple fritter [comedy relief Miyamoto aptly describes it as an undercooked omelet]. To make matters worse, Dr. Shioda has come down with what is identified as ‘space sickness’, forcing the crew to make a side stop on the FAFC moon base.
