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...