**May Contain Spoilers**
A plane carrying atomic materials is shot down in the Arctic; the crash splits open the ice and out comes Gamera the giant fire-breathing turtle for the first of many adventures. (The special effects here are some of the hokiest ever and believe it or not, the picture only gets goofier from here). The characters are all nitwits, especially a moronic reporter and an annoying young boy who's fascinated by turtles. The usual amusement is provided by bad English dialogue poorly lip-synched to Japanese actors but the American actors playing military top brass and speaking in their own language are even funnier. Albert Dekker and Brian Donlevy became embarrassed-looking guest stars when the usual re-editing for U.S. release was done. Gamera, lest I forget, does a considerable amount of damage to human life and real estate. Laying waste to a city in one scene, he stands on his rear legs next to a tall building which explodes; this scene is so poorly edited that it looks like Gamera breaks wind and knocks the building over. He flees one confrontation with the army by shooting fire out of holes in his shell and soaring away "like a flying saucer." On his off-time he retreats to a coal-burning plant to eat flames"his favorite food"and replenish his energy. In one sickening sub-plot Gamera rescues the aforementioned boy who tries to convince everybody that Gamera is good-hearted. The allegedly gentle giant fights a few more battles with his tormentors before falling victim to "Plan Z" and being launched to Mars in a spaceship. That should have been the end of him but Gamera the flatulent turtle became such a big hit in Japan that he was back again the following year.
A plane carrying atomic materials is shot down in the Arctic; the crash splits open the ice and out comes Gamera the giant fire-breathing turtle for the first of many adventures. (The special effects here are some of the hokiest ever and believe it or not, the picture only gets goofier from here). The characters are all nitwits, especially a moronic reporter and an annoying young boy who's fascinated by turtles. The usual amusement is provided by bad English dialogue poorly lip-synched to Japanese actors but the American actors playing military top brass and speaking in their own language are even funnier. Albert Dekker and Brian Donlevy became embarrassed-looking guest stars when the usual re-editing for U.S. release was done. Gamera, lest I forget, does a considerable amount of damage to human life and real estate. Laying waste to a city in one scene, he stands on his rear legs next to a tall building which explodes; this scene is so poorly edited that it looks like Gamera breaks wind and knocks the building over. He flees one confrontation with the army by shooting fire out of holes in his shell and soaring away "like a flying saucer." On his off-time he retreats to a coal-burning plant to eat flames"his favorite food"and replenish his energy. In one sickening sub-plot Gamera rescues the aforementioned boy who tries to convince everybody that Gamera is good-hearted. The allegedly gentle giant fights a few more battles with his tormentors before falling victim to "Plan Z" and being launched to Mars in a spaceship. That should have been the end of him but Gamera the flatulent turtle became such a big hit in Japan that he was back again the following year.