January 6 - 12, 2024

 

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

Which Italian stunt man and actor did Richard Harrison frequently employ but complained that the man never told him "thank you"?

It was Goffredo (Freddy) Unger.

What film did John Steiner make that was so popular in Italy that producers started to hire him in Italian movies?

Angel Rivera knew that it was MARAT/SADE, aka THE PERSECUTION AND ASSASSINATION OF JEAN-PAUL MARAT AS PERFORMED BY THE INMATES OF THE ASYLUM OF CHARENTON UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MARQUIS DE SADE.

Which Italian director did John Steiner think really helped him to have a career in Italy?

No one answered this question yet.

Which Spanish actress who made Westerns was born in Almeria?

Tom Betts, Angel Rivera, George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Nieves Navarro.

Which Spanish actress was married to an Italian producer who was born in Rome in 1929?

Tom Betts, Angel Rivera, George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Nieves Navarro, who was married to Luciano Ercoli.

Which Spanish actress made five movies with Giuliano Gemma?

Tom Betts, George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Nieves Navarro.

And now for some new brain teasers:

What character was played by both Lex Barker and Giacomo Rossi Stuart in different movies?

Which Italian actor played a character called "Angel Face"?

By what name is Hally Hammond better known?

Name the movies from which these images came.

Tom Betts, George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's frame grab of Nieves Navarro and Antonio Casas in UNA PISTOLA PER RINGO, aka A PISTOL FOR RINGO.

Above is a new photo.

Can you identify from what movie it came?

Bertrand van Wonterghem and Angel Rivera identified last week's photo of Pedro Armendariz in ARRIVANO I TITANI, aka SONS OF THUNDER, aka MY SON THE HERO.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's frame grrab of Luciano Catenacci and Nello Pazzafini in L'ULTIMO GUAPPO.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

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I am interested in knowing what movies you have watched and what you enjoyed or not. So please send me an email at scinema@earthlink.net if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:

Mildly enjoyed:

I AM BURT REYNOLDS (2020) - This follows a series of documentaries written and directed by Adrian Buitenhuis such as I AM HEATH LEDGER (2017), I AM SAM KINISON (2017), I AM PAUL WALKER (2018) and I AM PATRICK SWAYZE (2019). I had not heard of those previous films, but the one on Reynolds popped up on the CW last night so I saw it. Making documentaries purporting to be first hand accounts of a dead celebrity's life is only possible when the subject of the film isn't around to argue about its content. While this program is coherent and well informed, it also seems like a promotional film for THE LAST MOVIE STAR with that film's director, Adam Rifkin, frequently appearing to talk about his star. The film also seems like a corrective to Burt Reynolds' autobiography MY LIFE in which he spewed a lot of vindictive towards his ex-wife Loni Anderson. Here, Anderson frequently appears to talk about their life, putting the blame for the breakup of their relationship on his health problems. There is no mention of the very public affair Reynolds had with Pam Seals. Naturally, there is a montage of clips showing Reynolds bad-mouthing NAVAJO JOE, though there is much of his career that isn't mentioned. And there was no mention of Judy Carne or Dinah Shore.

MOTHERING SUNDAY (2021) - In the U.S., Mothering Sunday is called Mother's Day. Graham Swift's novel was published in 2015, and like a lot of English novels it is set in the period after World War 1, when U.K. society was in an upheaval. While the film pretty much starts with the on screen legend telling us that the date is March 30, 1924, the film jumps back and forth in time so the viewer needs to pay close attention in order to know what and when things are going on. Ultimately, the film tells a simple story in a complex manner, and the languid pacing requires patience from the viewer. An orphan, Odessa Young has a job as a maid in Colin Firth and Olivia Colman's home. As it is Mother's Day, the servants get the afternoon off, and Young bicycles over to Josh O'Connor's estate. His parents are having lunch with Firth and Colman, so he can bring his illicit lover over to his home while they are away. It turns out that the lunch is partly to celebrate O'Connor's engagement to Emma D'Arcy, who was to marry Firth's son before he was killed in the War - so it has now become O'Connor's duty to be her groom. Both of O'Connor's brothers were also killed in combat. Eventually, O'Connor gets dressed to go to the lunch, leaving Young alone in his home to wander about naked. During this we flash forward to find out that Young became the very celebrated writer Glenda Jackson. We also see the beginning of Young's writing career after she left service to work in a book shop. And her romance with a Black man, Sope Dinsu, who was a philosopher who died of a brain tumor. Meanwhile, when Young returns to Firth's home, he finds the man stunned while sitting in his car. O'Connor never made it to the lunch, as he was killed in a car crash. Later, while helping a despondent Colman undress, Young is told that she is lucky to have been an orphan and to not see all of her family die off. It seems ironic that such a female-centric story, which was turned into a movie by a female screenwriter, Alice Birch, and female director, Eva Husson, began with a novel by a man. But, perhaps, only a female director could have gotten away with so much of the running time being filled with images of the naked Odessa Young wandering around a very large house - stealing a book from the library, smelling her lover's clothes in the closet and taking an orchid from a flower arrangement.

I MISTERI DELLA GIUNGLA NERA, aka THE MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND, aka KIDNAPPED TO MYSTERY ISLAND, aka SNAKE HUNTER STRANGLER - This 1964 version of the Emilio Salgari novel about Tremal Naik versus the Thugs stars Giacomo Rossi Stuart and is an obvious improvement over the 1954 version starring Lex Barker. The opening musical theme by Carlo Rusticelli is quite lovely, as is female lead Ingeborg Schoner, aka Inge Schoener. On a dark night in India, Ivan Desny leads a group of Thugs into British Captain Peter van Eyck's home and kidnaps his three year old daughter. They take the child through the secret door of a banyan tree into the underground caverns of a Thug temple and hand her to Priest Guy Madison. Before a giant statue of Kali, Madison prays that their efforts please the goddess. 15 years later, the British military has finally decided to back van Eyck's efforts to find his missing daughter. He'll get whatever he desires to investigate Snake Island. Meanwhile, in the Thug Temple, Madison proclaims the now 18 year old Schoener as the "Sacred Virgin" - the incarnation of the goddess Kali. Against Madison's orders, Schoener goes above ground to get some sun and fresh air. Close by, snake hunter Giacomo Rossi Stuart is bagging enough reptiles for him to tell his associate Ferdinando Poggi that they'll be rich. Rossi sends Poggi back to boats, while he looks around. Naturally, he finds Schoener and each feel the spark of love. Will Stuart be able to get his lady love away from Madison? Will van Eyck be reunited with the daughter he's not seen in 15 years? Will Madison succeed in flooding the underground temple and kill all of the invaders? Arpad DeRise and Ottavio Poggi deliver a fairly standard adventure story, which Luigi Capuano directs with admirable efficiency. While this film is nothing special, it is a good example of a competent adventure movie.

TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY (1946) - It is hard to top what Bosley Crowther wrote about this film in the New York Times when it opened in 1946: "Why did Metro... have to cook up a thoroughly phony yarn about the struggles of a chirpy young composer to carry the lovely songs of Jerry Kern? And why did it have to do it in such a hackneyed and sentimental way as to grate on the sensibilities of even the most affectionately disposed?" Pauline Kael called this a "monster thing" which is understandable considering that production started in 1945 shortly before Jerome Kern died. Originally the film was announced to be directed by set designer Lemuel Ayers with Gene Kelly to play Kern. Kelly was replaced by Robert Walker and Ayers replaced by Busby Berkeley. Meanwhile, Vincent Minnelli was directing all of the musical numbers starring his new wife Judy Garland, while Henry Koster replaced Berkeley as the film's overall director. It wasn't long before Richard Whorf replaced Koster and Whorf got the final on-screen credit. Reportedly George Sidney was brought in to direct the "Hollywood Finale" scene. Production took about six months and featured performances by just about every MGM star, with some, like Esther Williams, only making camero appearances. The film portrays young songwriter Robert Walker gaining a mentor and friend in Van Heflin - who is a completely fictional character. Heflin's daughter is also completely fictional, but becomes a major character in the film. Joan Wells is charming as the young daughter, with Lucille Bremer taking on the character as an adult. This entire storyline is movie bullshit as is the portrayal of how Kern met his wife, Eva. In reality, she was working behind the bar of an Inn called Swan into which Kern happened to enter at Walton-on-Thames. The film also fails to mention that Kern and his wife had a daughter named Elizabeth Jane Kern who married Artie Shaw in 1942. In any case, the movie is an excuse to showcase many of Kern's most famous songs performed by MGM most famous talents and that's what is enjoyable about TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY. The film opens with a 15 minute condensation of Act 1 of SHOW BOAT featuring Lena Horne singing "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", Caleb Peterson singing "Ol' Man River" and Virginia O'Brien doing "Life Upon The Wicked Stage". Later, we see Kathryn Grayson singing "Make Believe" with Tony Martin, "How'd You Like To Spoon With Me" by Angela Lansbury, "They Didn't Believe Me" and "The Last Time I Saw Paris" by Dinah Shore, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by Cyd Charisse and Gower Champion, "I Won't Dance" by Van Johnson and Trudy Erwin (being the voice of Lucille Bremer) and "Till the Clouds Roll By", "Cleopatterer" and "Leave It To Jane" by June Allyson and Ray McDonald. Judy Garland performs, in elaborate musical numbers, "Look For the Silver Lining", "Sunny" and "Who?". The film ends with a fantasy montage of Kern songs including Lena Horne singing "Why Was I Born" and Frank Sinatra doing "Ol' Man River".

Did not enjoy:

THE AVIARY (2022) - Malin Akerman and Lorenza Izzo set out into the desert, seemingly to escape a cult retreat called The Aviary. They work with a map which seems to indicate that a town is only two or three days away. Both women begin to have both sleeping dreams and waking dreams involving the cult leader, Chris Messina. Are they operating under Messina's mind altering techniques or are they just crazy? Did one or the other murder Sandrine Holt? Writer/directors Chris Cullari and Jennifer Raite came up with a perfect low-budget project to make their debut feature - two actors mostly gabbing as they walk around an outdoor location. There are a limited number of night shoots and a limited number of interiors featuring only two other cast members. To make this work, they needed to write a compelling script with interesting characters. They failed to do this - substituting ambiguous situations and unrelatable people. Just to make it all the more irritating, they give this a "non-ending" which explains nothing. Supposedly this was inspired by NXIVM and Theranos.

COPPER BILL (2020) - Thomas Hallum owes Arthur RedCloud money, so he convinces Dustin Rhodes to go in with him in raiding the ranch which once belonged to a member of the Texas Mafia. 80 million dollars is reportedly hidden there. Inside the house, they find mute girl Kitty Harris, whom they proceed to torture to find out where is the money. Soon Hallum double-crosses Rhodes, RedCloud turns up and Harris turns out to be part of a nefarious plot. This is just one of the 46 credits Brett Bentman has on the IMDb, with none of which I am familiar, and 15 have yet to be released.  I guess that is the advantage of making them cheap through his own company - B22 Films.

DEAL (2008) - I was nine years old when I saw THE CINCINNATI KID with Steve McQueen, and aside from director Robert Altman's CALIFORNIA SPLIT, I've found movies about gamblers irritating and dull. Bret Harrison is quite the winner at poker among his college roommates. This leads to his participation in a tournament, where he loses to Jennifer Tilly. Burt Reynolds used to be a professional poker player, but he lost just about everything and was only able to keep his wife by promising to stop playing. Of course, Reynolds secretly watches poker on TV and sees potential in Harrison. Acting as Harrison's mentor, Reynolds gets his protege to big time card playing in Las Vegas. After finding out that his new girlfriend, Shannon Elizabeth, is actually a prostitute hired by Reynolds to help him relax, Harrison leaves Reynolds behind. Reynolds' wife discovers that her husband is in Las Vegas again, but Reynolds' friend Charles Durning convinces her that the old man needs to play again for his self-respect. Naturally, the film climaxes with Harrison playing Reynolds for the World Poker Tour championship. Gil Cates Jr., the son of the director of I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER, used what he learned directing this movie to make the documentary PASS THE SUGAR.

THE DEVIL WITHIN HER, aka I DON'T WANT TO BE BORN (1975) - I saw this when it first came out and didn't like it. Seeing it again, I dislike it even more. The idea that this has become a "camp classic" is nauseating. I can't believe that the final film is what writer Stanley Price and director Peter Sasdy  had in mind. The plot structure is a mess, the attempts at suspense are ludicrous and the moments of Horror are dull. Are all of the "touristy" shots of London added to pad out the running time? Possibly inspired by ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE EXORCIST, the film's original title is echoed by dialogue throughout the movie, so it seems that the original intent had something to do with a monster baby not wanting to leave Joan Colins' womb. Why would a monster baby not want to be born if it was possessed by an evil dwarf intent on killing his parents? Did the filmmakers change their minds at some point and decided that they had to have an exorcism at the end? And so then they had to come up with a villain and decided that everything was the fault of a dwarf who worked at a strip joint? Why do we not see the dwarf exercising some power to be able to curse a stripper who wouldn't sleep with him? Reviewers at the time wondered why expert performers like Donald Pleasence and Eileen Atkins agreed to appear in this flick, as if Joan Collins, Ralph Bates, Caroline Munro, Hilary Mason, Janet Key and John Steiner deserved what they got. Not only does Sasdy fail to tell a good story, he also fails to prevent his cast from looking bad.

THE EYE (2008) - In 2002, the Pang Brothers made the Chinese chiller THE EYE, which spawned two sequels in China as well as three remakes; two in India - one in Tamil and one in Hindi, and this one in the U.S. from Cruise/Wagner Productions. The film opens with a young woman being pelted by rocks thrown by boys in the night. They call her "Bruja". Running inside the basement of an house, the young woman fashions a noose out of electrical cords, ties the cords around a water pipe and stands on a chair to hang herself. She hesitates, but a spectural being appears and knocks her off the chair. So, naturally, the dead woman's corneas are transplanted into the eyes of a blind classical violinist played by Jessica Alba. Alba is certainly pleasing to my eyes, but the filmmakers do a good job of creating an annoying film by having every spooky image punctuated by exaggerated sound effects and music. When Alba starts seeing things that aren't there, neither her sister, played by Parker Posey, or her therapist, played by Alessandro Nivola, believe her. After a frustrating hour of screen time, Nivola takes Alba to Mexico where they find out that the young woman, played by Fernanda Romero, was plagued by being able to see death coming to collect spirits. She tried to warn the workers at a factory about a coming disaster, but they didn't listen, and after the fiery explosion, the superstitious people accused her of causing it. They get this information from Romero's mother, played by Rachel Ticotin, who, of course, dies soon after talking to them. Naturally, as Alba and Nivola get caught in traffic trying to cross the border back into the U.S., she foresees disaster. They are able to get most of the other people stuck in the traffic jam out of their cars and to safety, but the exploding gasoline tanker truck causes Alba to be blind again. Luckily, these survivors weren't in a FINAL DESTINATION film where they would have learned that Death can not be cheated. Sebastian Gutierrez is credited with adapting the Chinese original into this American remake, with David Moreau and Xavier Palud as directors. A very young Chloe Grace Moretz appears as a patient in the hospital where Alba has her surgery. Tamlyn Tomita also has a small role.

THE NARROWS (2008) - Are you looking for another movie about a guy in Brooklyn being tempted into a life of crime? Kevin Zegers is showing off the pictures he took for an NYU photography class when he suddenly has to rush out, confusing his fellow student Sophia Bush and teacher Roger Rees. A driver for local gang boss Titus Welliver, Zegers has to drive Welliver's brother Louis Mustillo to a spot. When Mustillo finds Zeger's friend Eddie Cahill, thug Tony Cucci gets out of the car and sets Cahill on fire. Zegers jumps out of the car with a pistol that he points in Cucci's face. The gun fires, the bullet morphs into a football, and Zegers remembers how Cahill was so good at throwing a football everyone expect him to go pro. Instead, after 9/11, he joined the Army and went to Afghanistan. Zeger only got a partial scholarship to attend NYU, so he agrees to work for Welliver to make some money. Zeger's father, Vincent D'Onofrio, warns his son about drifting into a life of crime, even though he is supplementing his disability income with working a numbers game. Like John Travolta in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, our hero yearns for a life beyond the old neighborhood, so even though his old girlfriend Monica Keena gives him blow jobs in the front seat of his car, he really wants the girl he meets at school - Bush. Tatiana Blackington is credited with the screenplay based on Tim McLoughlin's novel HEART OF THE OLD COUNTRY. French director, who had been working on U.S. television, Francois Velle directs without being able to make this material compelling. And it has an ambiguous ending.

SAVING CHRISTMAS, aka THE SANTA FILES (2017) - I am not the intended audience for this movie, but the premise of three boys, and a tag along little sister, using Ghost Hunters, or X-Files, gear to determine if Santa Claus exists is not a bad one. Widow Brooke Langton fears that the death of his father will cause son Jack Brunault to stop believing in Santa Claus. Meanwhile, Brunault and his buddies decide to trace where "letters to Santa Claus" go in the townof Norpole, Maine, while the school bully intends to thwart them. Everything converges on the town toy factory run by Edward Asner, whose long white beard inspires employee Patrick Muldoon, who wants to impress Langton, to have Asner appear as Santa during a wrestling match. Little girl Lindsey Blanchard, who previously appeared in director Tom DeNucci's ARLO THE BURPING PIG, is so appealing that I hope she can continue her career as she gets older. 

YELLOWSTONE KELLY (1959) - Under the name Clay Fisher, Heck Allen wrote the novel that this film is based upon. Ostensibly based on the true life of Luther Kelly, this movie is highly fictionalized. In the movie, Clint Walker, as Kelly, refuses to scout for the Army planning on moving the Sioux out of the area. In fact, Kelly joined the Army under General Cook and Colonel Nelson Miles in pursuit of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse after the defeat of General Custer. In the movie, Walker has been living as a fur trapper for seven years in the land of the Sioux and warns Major Rhodes Reason that his plan to surprise the Sioux is suicidal. Perfering to live alone, Walker takes on Edd Byrnes as a partner after Byrnes leaps into a fight to help Walker being harressed by a group of solders lead by Sgt. Claude Akins and Corporal Warren Oates. On the way to his cabin in the woods, Walker and Byrnes are captured by a band of Sioux warriors led by Ray Danton. Danton's uncle, John Russell - whom Walker once saved after finding him dying from a gunshot, requested Danton bring Walker to their camp to help heal a wounded Arapaho woman. Both Danton and Russell want the woman, Andra Martin, as a wife, probably because she has such bright blue eyes. Walker does what he can, and he and Byrnes leave. Not too long later, it turns out that Martin has escaped from the Sioux and finds her way to Walker's cabin. Walker convinces her Sioux suitors that the woman is too sick to go with them and that they should return in the Spring. Meanwhile a dead soldier is found floating in the river, so Walker sets out to see what's what. While he is away, Martin convinces Byrnes to let her run away back to the Arapaho camp. But Danton shows up, mortally wounds Byrnes and kidnaps the woman. When Walker returns after another futile attempt to dissuade Reason for his unreasonable plan, he finds his cabin on fire and a drying Byrnes urging our hero to let Martin go back to her people. Walker rather efficiently kills Danton and his raiding party, and begins to take Martin to the Arapaho camp. On the way, they run into what remains of the Army troop, and are quickly surrounded by the Sioux. Russell tells Walker that if he surrenders Martin to him, Walker can leave, but the soldiers must die. Walker refuses, but when the Sioux launch their second attack, Martin grabs an horse to surrender herself, but the gunfire causes her horse to throw her to the ground. Seeing that the woman has chosen the White man, Russell hears Walker's message about moving away because the land was no longer good for his people. The film ends with the suggestion that Walker and Martin are going to live happily ever after - which again has no basis in the real life story of Luther Kelly. Directed by Gordon Douglas, the action in YELLOWSTONE KELLY is well staged, but the screenplay by Burt Kennedy in completely unconvincing. Reportedly, this production was originally planned to star John Wayne with John Ford directing, but they decided to make THE HORSE SOLDIERS instead. When this movie was released, much was made of the fact that Warner Bros. cast the stars of their TV shows Cheyenne, 77 Sunset Strip, Lawman and The Alaskans in it.

                                                        

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David Deal Enjoyed:

TERROR IN THE DARK (72) - I hang onto my VHS tape, and my hopes for a proper release on disc.

COBRA WOMAN (43) - These Technicolor adventures are hokey, yes, but they're also quite fun, in their way.

RIDE LONESOME (59) - Probably my favorite of the Randolph Scott/Bud Boetticher westerns.

GIANTS OF THESSALY (60)

THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (62) - I'm a fan of the half-dozen 1960s German Dr. Mabuse movies. To me, they hold the same time-defying fascination as the series' criminal mastermind does.

TWINS OF EVIL (71)

INVASION OF THE VAMPIRES (62)

Mildly enjoyed:

MAROONED (69) - John Sturges' space epic is too long and too slow but it is not uninteresting. Richard Crenna is especially good, as is Gene Hackman who appears anxious in every scene. Gregory Peck is a solid pillar amongst the panic of the fate of astronauts marooned in space. I watched the whole thing.

CAMELOT (67) - The only joy I got out of this oddly remote production was watching Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave knowing they are together today.

PLANET EARTH (74)

OUR MAN IN JAMAICA (65) - Consult The Eurospy Guide book on amazon for a complete review of this Brad Harris entry.

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:

Gisaengchung / Parasite (2019, Bong Joon Ho)

Dongnesaramdeul / The villagers (2018, Jin-soon Lim)

La cloche tibétaine (1974, Michel Wyn & Serge Friedman) – episode 1

Himssenyeoja Kangnamsoon / Strong girl Nam-Soon (2022) – episodes 13 to 16

Mildly enjoyed:

Monarch: legacy of monsters – season 1 – episodes 6 to 8

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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:

The TCM cable channel on Monday, January 1st, New Year's Day from 6:00am to 8:00pm ran a "Godzilla" marathon starting with the original 1954 Japanese version with English sub-titles. For those in the know, the original film was released to US theaters in 1956 in edited form with footage added in featuring actor Raymond Burr (pre-"Perry Mason" TV show) as a reporter narrating the story of the attack of Godzilla.

The original Japanese version centers around a love triangle: between Emiko and her love interest, Ogata and her arranged marriage/fiancee, Serizawa when Godzilla attacks. Serizawa is a renowned scientist whose research creates a weapon known as "the oxygen destroyer" which is eventually used to kill Godzilla. At the same time, in order for the weapon to be used properly, Serizawa sacrifices himself, so that he takes himself out of the running for Emiko. Emiko's father is a famous paleontologist played by super star Japanese actor, Takashi Shimura, known for his roles in the films directed by renowned Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa.

The other films shown in order were: "GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN" (1955) [Originally released in the US under the title "GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER" in an English-dubbed version in 1959 by Warner Brothers.]

"MOTHRA VERSUS GODZILLA" (1964) [Originally released in an English dubbed version several months later in the US in 1964 as "GODZILLA VS. THE THING"]

"GHIDORAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER" (1964) [Released in the US in an English dubbed version in 1965 as "GHIDRAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER"]

"INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER"(1965) [Here shown in English on the TCM channel, (although the credits were shown in Japanese), probably because for the first time an American actor (Nick Adams, who dubbed his own voice for the English language release) was featured as one of the human stars. The film was released in the US as "MONSTER ZERO", but did not reach US theaters until 1970]

"EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP"(1966) [Released directly to television syndication in the US in an English dubbed version as "GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER" in 1968.]

"SON OF GODZILLA" (1967) [Also originally released to US television in an English dubbed version in 1969.] and

"DESTROY ALL MONSTERS" (1968) [In the US, the film was released in 1969 by AIP in an English dubbed version with the dubbing done by Titra Studios. Toho Studios which manufactured and released all of the Godzilla films had what they called their International releases; an English language version where Toho Studios hired their own English language dubbers and then released the films to English language speaking countries other than the US. I mention this because the original English language version that was distributed in the US by AIP has been replaced in all airings in the US and on home video by Toho's International release.]

All of the films were shown in their original Japanese versions with English sub-titles with the exception of "Invasion of Astro-Monster" which starred Nick Adams and was shown in English..

I had seen some of these films when they were originally released to US theaters and/or TV syndication. I also have some of these films in my DVD collection (in English, of course.) Watching some of these films in their original Japanese versions was interesting, especially the original 1954 "Godzilla" (which I do own on DVD.)

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