Rodan (1956)

Rodan

Credits
Title:	Rodan
Director:	Ishirô Honda
Writers:	Takeshi Kimura Ken Kuronuma Takeo Murata David Duncan ^[1]
Producers:	Tomoyuki Tanaka Frank King ^[1] Maurice King ^[1]
Composer:	Akira Ifukube
Cinematography:	Isamu Ashida
Editors:	Kôichi Iwashita Robert S. Eisen ^[1]
Production
Distributed by:	Toho Company, Ltd.
Released:	December 26th, 1956
Rating:	Unrated
Running time:	74 min.
Country:	Japan
Language:	Japanese
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Rodan, also known in the United States as Rodan! The Flying Monster!, is a Japanese feature film of the science fiction genre. It is classified as a Tokusatsu of the daikaiju ("giant monster") subgenre. It was directed by Ishirô Honda with a script written by Takeshi Kimura and Takeo Murata based on a story treatment by Ken Kuronuma. In the U.S. version of the film, dialogue sequences were re-written by David Duncan. The movie was produced by Toho Co., Ltd. and premiered in Japan on December 26th, 1956. It was released in the United States on August 6th, 1957. The film introduces the giant flying monster Rodan, who will go on to become a recurring staple in the Godzilla film series by Toho.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Actor	Role
Kenji Sahara	Shigeru Kawamura
Yumi Shirakawa	Kiyo, Shigeru's lover
Akihiko Hirata	Professor Kyuichiro Kashiwagi
Akio Kobori	Police Chief Nishimura
Yasuko Nakada	Female honeymooner
Minosuke Yamada	Colliery chief Osaki
Yoshifumi Tajima	Izeki, reporter of Seibu Nippou
Kiyoharu Onaka	Male honeymooner

Supporting cast[]

Actor	Role
Ichiro Chiba	Chief of police station
Mike Daneen	American soldier typing
Tsurue Ichimanji	Haru, Kiyo's neighbor
Saburô Iketani	News reader
Saburô Kadowaki	Sunagawa's colleague
Tateo Kawasaki	Tsuesan, miner
Kanta Kisaragi	Suteyan, miner
Takuzo Kumagai	Police Tashiro
Saeko Kuroiwa	Nurse
Tsuruko Mano	Osumi, Kiyo's neighbor
Mitsuo Matsumoto	Professor Isokawa
Hideo Mihara	Commander of JASDF
Jun'ichiro Mukai	Military officer
Toshiko Nakano	Kiyo's neighbor
Rinsaku Ogata	Goro, Kiyo's older brother
Keiji Sakakida	Tahei, miner
Yasuhiro Shiegenobu	Sabu, miner
Junnosuke Suda	Coroner
Shigemi Sunagawa	F-86F pilot
Jirô Suzukawa	Yoshizo, miner
Masaaki Tachibana	Policeman
Bontarô Taira	Laborer
Kiyoshi Takagi	Doctor Minakami
Kamayuki Tsubono	Policeman of the crime laboratory
Mitsuo Tsuda	Staff officer Takeuchi
Akira Yamada	Radio operator on jeep

Uncredited cast[]

Note: The following is taken from the full credits list for this entry on IMDB. As it is a website with user-submitted information, some of the data listed here, including character names may be inaccurate.

Actor	Role
Hideo Unagami	Unknown
Paul Frees	Police Chief Nishimura (voice)
Art Gilmore	Narrator
Shôichi Hirose	F-86F pilot
Ren Imaizumi	Engineer Sunagawa
Keiichirô Katsumoto	Employee of the coal mine
Keye Luke	Shigeru (voice)
Fuyuki Murakami	Professor Minami
Haruo Nakajima	Radon
Ichirô Nakatani	Senkichi
Yutaka Oka	Kitahara, F-86F pilot
Tadashi Okabe	Journalist
George Takei	Professor Kashiwagi (voice)
Katsumi Tezuka	Hotel manager
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi	Imamura, F-86F pilot
Kôji Uno	Reporter
James Yagi	Voice
Ren Yamamoto	Soldier in jeep

Notes & Trivia[]

The original Japanese title for the film is Sora no daikaijû Radon. It is also called 空の大怪獣ラドン, which translates as Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky.
In U.S. releases of the film, the title is Rodan! The Flying Monster!.
Rodan is the first and, to date, only film in it's respective solo series.
Rodan is the first movie in the Godzilla film series that was shot in color.
In the United States, Rodan grossed $500,000 at the box office over its opening weekend on August 6th-August 9th, 1957. ^[2]

Fun Facts[]

The man behind the wings and pointy head is actor Haruo Nakajima. Haruo is also known for wearing the Godzilla costume in most of the Shōwa period Godzilla films of this era.