The Beast from 20,000 (1953) - Newspaper Ad [San Francisco Examiner - June 24, 1953]

I have taken to describing Roland Emmerich's ill-conceived 1998 version of Godzilla as "a bloated and overlong, but nonetheless acceptable, remake of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms."

Movies that had the word "Beast" in their titles were a matter of routine, back in the day. At some point, during any given week, there was bound to be a movie with a titular beast that lurked in some haunted cave, or cellar. One that had five fingers, or a million eyes. That craved blood, or had to die.

But the most coveted beast of them all, for me, was the one that came up from 20,000 fathoms. The infamous moment when a cop gets snatched up and gulped down, while no doubt laughable by today's standards, shook me to my core. Back when I was somewhere between the ages of 5 and 12, that is. 

I have heard and read conflicting stories about this film and its connection, real or supposed, to Ray Bradbury's short story The Fog Horn. Some versions have the filmmakers purchasing the rights to Bradbury's story prior to production. Other versions have the purchasing of the rights occurring during the production, when the similarities between a lighthouse scene and events in Bradbury's story were noticed and/or pointed out.

Here it might be best to invoke what I have come to call The Liberty Valance Rule: Whenever truth contradicts a legend, it might be best to just go with the legend.

Godzilla vs. Megalon [Gojira tai Megaro] (1973) - Newspaper Ad [Oakland Tribune - June 16, 1976]

It took three years, but the film English speaking audiences know as Godzilla vs. Megalon plopped into our local theaters and drive-ins on June 16, 1976.

This would be the first 'new' Godzilla movie I would see on the big screen, but may not have been the very first I would have seen. I know that I sat through a matinee screening of King Kong vs. Godzilla at the Southshore Twin Cinema, at some point. That was one of three Kid's Matinees I remember seeing there. The other two would be the 1966 Batman movie and the first third of 1970's Yog: Monster from Space.

Godzilla vs. Megalon would also serve as a memorable example of bait-and-switch movie marketing, because Godzilla and Megalon did not fight while standing atop the World Trade Center in New York City. Something the advertisement appears to promise.

Adult me knows and understands that the artwork here was designed to resemble the artwork for the remake of King Kong that would be getting a Christmas release that same year. But 10-year-old me wanted and expected to see Godzilla and Megalon duke it out in New York City.

They did not.

The poster also promises something "All new never before seen!" Which is as true as it is false. The movie itself, and the monster it adds to Godzilla's rogues' gallery, are, indeed, new. But a great deal of the film's special effects are not. A lot of its footage is recycled from earlier, and far more generously budgeted, movies.

Something else worth noting is that our downtown theater had Godzilla vs Megalon double-billed with William Castle's production of Bug (1975). I don't remember if we started or finished the double-bill with Godzilla vs. Megalon, but I do remember Bug scaring the ever living crap out of me.

More on that later...

The Whispering Gallery - Newspaper Ad [Oakland Tribune - June 13, 1930]

An article printed in the Saturday, June 14th edition of Oakland Tribune boasts that "thrill succeeds thrill with secret panels, ghostly apparitions, clutching hands and cloaked figures."

Yes, this is yet another "Old Dark House" mystery-comedy for the stage. Written by Percy Robinson and Terence De Marney, The Whispering Gallery is set in an old manor in Cornwall, England that has a murder in its history.

That history appears to be repeating itself when the murderer's son is found dead at a party being held at the manor. I think it would be fair to wager that the "murder" is an elaborate ruse meant to uncover a long buried secret so that the son can unmask the true killer and exonerate his father.