Mosura (1961)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Takehiko Fukunaga (novel)
Yoshie Hotta (story)

Release Date:

10 May 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Incredible! Inconceivable! World wrecked as monster hunts human mates!

Plot:

Shipwreck survivors are found on Beiru, an island previously used for atomic tests. Amazingly free of radiation effects...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Moth | Shobijin | Editor | Monster

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Frankie Sakai	...	Journalist Senichiro 'Sen-chan' Fukuda (AKA: 'Bulldog')
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Dr. Shin'ichi Chûjô
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Photgrapher Michi Hanamura
Ken Uehara	...	Dr. Harada
Emi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Yûmi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Jerry Ito	...	Clark Nelson
Takashi Shimura	...	News Editor
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Nelson's Henchman
Akihiro Tayama	...	Shinji Chûjô
Obel Wyatt	...	Dr. Roff
Akihiko Hirata	...	Doctor
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	General
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Military Advisor
Robert Dunham	...	Rolisican Cop

Also Known As:

Daikaijû Masura
Mothra (USA)

Runtime:

101 min | Japan:62 min (re-issue) | USA:88 min | USA:91 min (re-issue) | Germany:86 min (TV)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:G

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

Jerry Ito and Robert Dunham both spoke their lines in both English as well as Japanese.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Dr. Shinichi is showing the symbols he discovered in the cave to Senchan, you can see someone in black pants and shoes walking down the stairs behind Senchan's head.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (1990)

Soundtrack:

MOSURA NO UTA

For fans of giant bugs only

Fairly poor cousin of Godzilla, with much less fighting and destruction than usual. However, the film is raised slightly above the level of many of its type by the fact that we can actually sympathize with Mothra -- after all, they've busted into the virgin territory of tiki-land and stolen the midget twins -- and therefore we understand why Mothra is doing what she's doing. This is something many of the makers of giant monster movies in the 50s missed, and was a big element in the success of "King Kong", "Mighty Joe Young" and other earlier monster flicks -- if we don't care about the big monster, the movie doesn't matter much.