Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) Saturday Monster Movies

The next Godzilla film is one of my favorites. Most Godzilla films do concentrate on human drama and don’t simply rely on monster fights. This one, “Invasion of Astro-Monster”, is particularly plot-heavy. King Ghidora returns, but this time he is part of a ploy by an alien race from a mysterious Planet X, which is actually a moon of Jupiter. (The science and cosmology in this film is silly.)

The aliens ask for help from earth to fight off Ghidora. They need Godzilla and Rodan to fight Ghidora as they did in the last film. Ghidora appears to be run off (with a wonderfully silly celebration dance by Godzilla.) In exchange, the aliens offer a cure for cancer.

The film's real heroes are two astronauts, Glenn and Fuji, along with Fuji’s sister and her fiancée Tetsuo, an inventor. Fuji does not like Tetsuo because he thinks that he can’t provide for Haruno. Of course, Tetsuo’s invention will ultimately be the key to saving Earth.

By this point, the franchise has stopped trying to deliver much of a message. Godzilla is now a hero and not a monster to be feared. We are simply appealing to children and children at heart. However, there is something to be said for the warning not to trust people that you do not know, especially when they are blatantly suspicious and too good to be true.