Gorgo!

If you don't know the general story of Gorgo either as a film or as the comics story adapted by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko for Charlton Comics way back in 1961, it's a classic tale of giant monster terror. Two likeable but tough-minded salvage divers find themselves stranded off Nara Island and after some bother about treasure and such find that a monster called "Ogra" by the little boy who attaches himself to them might make a pretty good penny for them back in civilization. They capture the critter, bigger than several elephants and haul him back to London where he's put on display for all to see. 

There's some angst about what's right and all that, but before anything really can happen, Gorgo's mother who is ten times his size shows up looking for her baby and crushes Nara Island before heading off the London to get back her boy. The British military has no chance, and she demolishes lots of landmarks like the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and more. People die like crazy in this one as debris falls on crowd after crowd. Eventually she gets to her baby, frees him and they walk off into the sea and the movie is over just like that. It's a spectacle!

Gorgo was promoted with great vigor by the King Brothers. After securing the services of Eugene Lourie who was working on his third giant monster movie in a row after The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and The Giant Behemoth, the producers wrought more than a few changes to the story. But everyone knew a new monster was on the block with scuds of money going into the advertising, not the least of which was getting Gorgo a cover on Famous Monsters of Filmland, rendered by the great Basil Gogos. 

And then there's Waiting for Gorgo. This 2010 short film is a hoot. Imagine how the British military might have responded to the threat of giant monsters long ago. They might set up a Department of Monsters and Over-Sized Animals or DMOA for short. They might staff it well at first but over the decades, things might fall off. To learn more, check out the link below. 

Waiting for Gorgo | Award-Winning Monster Short Film

More Gorgo to come. 

Rip Off