Gorgo(film)

Gorgois a 1961 Britishscience fictionmonster filmdirected byEugène Louriéand starringBill TraversandWilliam Sylvester.The story of Gorgo is about a ship's captain and his pearl diving crew who, with other fishermen on an island and an orphaned boy, discover and capture a gigantic amphibious sea creature and take it to London for public exhibition. It results in the creature's much larger mother invading London in search of her offspring, causing catastrophic destruction across the city.

Gorgo
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Eugène Lourié
Screenplay by	John Loring Daniel Hyatt
Story by	Eugène Lourié Daniel Hyatt
Produced by	Wilfred Eades
Starring	Bill Travers William Sylvester Vincent Winter
Cinematography	F.A. Young
Edited by	Eric Boyd-Perkins
Music by	Angelo Lavagnino
Production company	King Brothers Productions
Distributed by	British Lion-Columbia Distributors
Release dates	29 March 1961(1961-03-29)(United States) 27 October 1961(1961-10-27)(United Kingdom)
Running time	78 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$650,000
Box office	$1.55 million (US rentals)

Plot

Captain Joe Ryan is salvaging for treasure off the coast ofIrelandwhen a volcano erupts, nearly sinking his ship. Ryan and his First Officer and friend, Sam Slade, take the ship to Nara Island for repairs. Before the Harbour Master, Mr McCartin, arrives to assist them, the crew meet Sean, an orphan, who assists McCartin: he invites them to see his collection of ancientVikingrelics. Ryan finds himself intrigued by a relic bearing the image of a creature that Sean calls "Ogra, the sea spirit".

Joe and Sam consult the surly McCartin and discover he has more than archaeological interest when he shows them his stash of illegally salvaged gold relics from the harbour. Ryan warns him to stop being unhelpful or else he will call the police. As Ryan's divers check the harbour for other divers who mysteriously disappeared, one of them emerges and dies from "fear". That night a group of fishermen goes out to check the water. They are attacked by a gigantic creature, but successfully drive it off with firebrands.

After meeting the fishermen and with help from McCartin, Ryan and his crew manage to capture the creature and haul it onto their ship. Sean warns them that they have made a mistake, but the crew ignores him. Hearing of the creature, two university scientists arrive to meet Ryan and Slade, hoping to obtain it for scientific study. However, Ryan has already sold the creature to Dorkin's Circus in London.

Dorkin names the creature "Gorgo", after thegorgonMedusa,before transporting it to a large, enclosed pit for public exhibition in Battersea Park. Ryan and Slade meet the scientists again, who inform them the creature is an infant. With its larger mother still out there, theRoyal Navytakes charge of the operation. Later that night Gorgo's mother emerges from the sea and attacks Nara Island in search of her offspring before leaving. When she attacks again in the morning, a Royal Navy destroyer intercepts her, but she proves immune to their weapons and sinks it, killing all aboard.

The mother later attacks London. The military intervene, but fail to stop or destroy her. Ryan and Slade split up to find Sean, with the former finding the boy and keeping him safe. Gorgo's mother is eventually reunited with her offspring and frees him from the pit before they both return safely to the sea.

Cast

• Bill Traversas Captain Joe Ryan
• William Sylvesteras First Officer Sam Slade
• Vincent Winteras Sean, the orphaned village boy
• Christopher Rhodesas Kevin McCartin, the Harbour Master
• Joseph O'Conoras Professor Leroy Hendricks
• Bruce Setonas Professor Marius Flaherty
• Martin Bensonas Andrew Dorkin, the circus owner
• Basil Dignamas Admiral Hugh Brooks
• Barry Keegan as First Mate Harry
• Dervis Ward as Bosun Mike
• Mick Dillon as Gorgo and Ogra

Production

Gorgowas originally intended to be co-produced with a Japanese company and set in Japan,seemingly as an homage toGodzilla.The setting was then changed toFranceand then finally to theBritish Isles.According toBill Warren's film bookKeep Watching the Skies,southern Australia was also considered for a locale, but the producers supposedly decided that audiences "wouldn't care" if a monster attacked Australia; its alleged lack of worldwide recognisable landmarks for Gorgo to destroy was also cited as a consideration.

The location where Gorgo first appears, the fictional Nara Island, is an anagram of theAran Islands,off Ireland's west coast. The exterior scenes set in Ireland were filmed atBulloch Harbourand Coliemore Harbour, both near the County Dublin town ofDalkey.Other scenes were filmed at theMGM-British StudiosinBorehamwood,Hertfordshire.

Scenes where Gorgo is driven through the streets of London were shot on a Sunday morning, when there was little other traffic. The film studio wanted Gorgo to fight the military, despite director Eugène Lourié's objections.

Gorgo's special effects were achieved bysuitmationand miniaturisation, a technique pioneered in theGodzillafilms. The younger Gorgo was smaller than most giant monsters, so the sets around him were built to a larger scale, leading to an enhanced sense of realism. The creatures were also shot with then-pricey slow-motion cameras to create a sense of scale.

Reception

A reviewer forThe Kensington News and West London TimescalledGorgo"a sad waste, not of talent, but of opportunity. Some of the effects are very convincing, but these are offset by the general tone of the film. It is a satire on monsters.Gorgocould have been a fine film. It could have preached motherly love, the vanity of humanity, mankind's true weakness or it could have been purely terrifying. Unfortunately it doesn't do anything ".Arthur Steele of theBirmingham Evening Maildescribed the film as being "designed for juvenile adults".

Charles Stinson of theLos Angeles Timesreferred to the film's screenplay as "not unintelligent. But it is entirely routine".Stinson also lamented the camerawork as unimaginative, yet added: "The color is true and rich, though, and the special effects fairly skillful. The British do things tidily".

Legacy

In 1998, the film was featured on the television seriesMystery Science Theater 3000with film criticLeonard Maltinappearing at the beginning of the episode to introduce the film. The rights quickly expired and the episode only had two airings, both on the same day.Shout! Factorywas able to license the film again and release the episode on DVD as part of the box setMystery Science Theater 3000: The 25th Anniversary Editionin 2013.

Gorgo was used by rock bandAshfor the promo video for Ichiban.It was the seventh release of theirA to Z singles series,a year-long 26-single subscription. Using a copy of the DVD and free movie editing software, the video allegedly only cost $8.00 to produce.

In 2010, a short comedy film,Waiting for Gorgo,was produced by British production company Cinemagine. The film was directed by Benjamin Craig and written byM. J. Simpson.The plot focuses on the D.M.O.A., a top secret British government agency charged with preventing the return of the monster Gorgo. Between 2010 and 2012, the film screened at over 26 international film festivals, includingClermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival,Seattle International Film Festival,andStrasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival.The film was awarded a Special Jury Prize at Festiwal KAN (Festiwal Kina Amatorskiego i Niezależnego KAN) (Poland) and FILMCARAVAN International Film Festival (Italy), and Best Short Film at Cantoo Film Festival (USA).

Former Maine governorAngus Kingused a clip fromGorgoin an advertisement for his 2012 run for theUnited States Senate.

In the Disney remakeFlubber,Flubber was seen flicking through television channels when it had separated into several versions of itself. Scenes of Gorgo's mother rampaging through London could be seen flashing on the screen as Flubber is switching channels.

Gorgo made a cameo inThe Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat.

Home media

In 1984,Gorgowas released onVHSby Memory Lane Video.It was re-released on VHS in 1987 by United Home Video,and again in 1995 byAlpha Video.

In 2013,Gorgowas released onDVDandBlu-rayinRegion Aby VCI Video; this release includes a documentary titledNinth Wonder of the World: The Making of Gorgo,directed by Daniel Griffith. That same year,Shout! Factoryreleased the film on Blu-ray as part of theirMystery Science Theater 3000 25th Anniversary Editioncollection, featuring an extended cut ofNinth Wonder of the World: The Making of Gorgo.

In 2023, a4Krestoration ofGorgowas released on4K Ultra HDand Blu-ray byVinegar Syndrome.

Other media

Novel and comic book adaptations

Gorgo
Cover to issue #4 ofGorgopublished byCharlton Comics,art bySteve Ditko.
Publication information
Publisher	Charlton Comics
Schedule	Bi-monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Fantasy
Publication date	Gorgo: 1961 – Sept. 1965 Gorgo's Revenge(vol. 2): 1962 The Return of Gorgo(vol. 3): summer 1962 – fall 1964
No.of issues	Gorgo: 23 Gorgo's Revenge(vol. 2): 1 The Return of Gorgo(vol. 3): 2
Main character(s)	Gorgo
Creative team
Written by	Joe Gill
Artist(s)	Steve Ditko Dick Giordano Rocco Mastroserio

Anovelisationof the film was released in paperback at the time of its original release, written by Carson Bingham (real name:Bruce Cassiday) and published byMonarch Books.

From 1961 to 1965,Charlton Comicspublished 23 issues of the comic bookGorgo.It included work bySpider-Manco-creatorSteve Ditko.The series was renamedFantastic Giantswith issue #24,which turned out to be the last issue of the series.

Gorgo also appeared in a three-issue miniseries that started off asGorgo's Revenge,before it was renamedThe Return of Gorgowith issue #2.The series ran from 1962 to 1964.

In 1967, after the licence to Gorgo expired, Charlton Comics featured a modified version of the character called "Junior" in issue #41 of the seriesFightin' Five.

In 1990, Steve Ditko illustrated a back-up story inWeb of Spider-Man Annual#6 titled "Child Star".In this story,Captain Universecreates huge versions of toys based on Gorgo andKongato battle giant monsters that are attacking New York City. For copyright reasons, Gorgo's name was altered to "Gorga".This sequence was Ditko paying homage to his earlier work with these two characters in their 1960sCharlton Comicscomic book series.

In 1991, A-Plus Comics reprinted issues #1 and 3 in the one-shot comicAttack of the Mutant Monsters.Owing to copyright issues, Gorgo's name was changed to Kegor.

Some of these issues were reprinted (in black and white) in a trade paperback in 2011 calledAngry Apes n' Leapin Lizards.

In March 2013,IDW Publishingreprinted all the issues that artist Steve Ditko worked on (Gorgo#1–3, 11 and 13–16 andThe Return of Gorgo#2–3) as a deluxe hardcover collection calledDitko's Monsters: Gorgo!.In April 2019, IDW published a book calledDitko's Monsters: Gorgo vs. Kongawhich collected issues #1 and 13 of the series.

In September 2021,Fantacopublished all the issuesJoe SinnottandVince Collettaworked on (issues #5-10 and 12) in a collection calledGorgo Attacks!.

Starting in December 2022, PS Artbooks began reprinting the entire series in a series of hardcover and trade paperback editions.

In Summer of 2024, Titanic Creations, which acquired merchandising rights for Gorgo, will begin releasing a series of comics placing the film's events within the universe of their original kaiju characters, starting with the prequelGorgo Legacy.

See also

• List of films featuring dinosaurs

External links

• GorgoatIMDb
• GorgoatAllMovie
• Waiting for Gorgo- official site for the short film
• GorgoatDon Markstein's Toonopedia.Archivedfrom the original on August 29, 2016.
• Rerecording ofGorgosoundtrack