Half Human

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Half Human

Theatrical poster for Half Human (1955)
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Kenneth G. Crane (US release)
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Robert B. Homel (U.S. release)
Written by Takeo Murata
Starring Momoko Kōchi
Akira Takarada
Akemi Negishi
Sachio Sakai
Nobuo Nakamura
John Carradine (US scenes)
Russell Thorson (US scenes)
Robert Karnes (US scenes)
Morris Ankrum (US scenes)
Music by Masaru Satō (Japanese version)
Cinematography Tadashi Iimura; Lucien N. Andriot (U.S. scenes)
Editing by Kenneth G. Crane (U.S. version)
Distributed by Toho
Distributors Corporation of America Inc. (DCA) (1958 US release)
Release date(s) 1955 (Japan)
December 1958 (USA)
Running time 63 min. (USA)
Language Japanese
English
IMDb profile

Half Human (獣人雪男 Jū jin yuki otoko ?), is a tokusatsu film produced and released by Toho Studios in 1958. The film was made by Toho's legendary Godzilla directing/special effects/producing team of Ishirō Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Tomoyuki Tanaka. This was Honda's second venture into the kaiju (or monster) movie genre, after the original Gojira (1954). Reportedly one of Honda's better efforts, the film has been unavailable for public viewing for decades because the film's depiction of a native tribe with similarities to the minority Ainu and burakumin peoples is felt to be offensive by today's standards.

Contents

The story concerns the discovery of a giant prehistoric snowman in the Japanese Alps. When an expedition attempts to capture the monster, they capture the monster's son instead. They use the young snowman as bait for the adult, but the larger snowman attacks the expedition. Eventually both snowmen fall into a crater.

Lobby card to the 1958 US release of Half Human
Lobby card to the 1958 US release of Half Human

The 1958 U.S. release of this film was extensively cut and re-edited. New scenes with actors John Carradine and Morris Ankrum were shot and inserted into the film. However, the U.S. edition of this film is the only version that has been made available for home video, due to the reported banning of the original Japanese film. In this version, the American stars reveal elements of the plot before they are shown occurring. It runs a mere 63 minutes, even with all the American padding.

Famous Monsters of Filmland. November 1982 (#189), p.56.

The Godzilla Franchise
The Godzilla film series: Godzilla/Godzilla, King of the Monsters!  · Godzilla Raids Again  · King Kong vs. Godzilla  · Mothra vs. Godzilla  · Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster  · Invasion of Astro-Monster  · Ebirah, Horror of the Deep  · Son of Godzilla  · Destroy All Monsters  · All Monsters Attack  · Godzilla vs. Hedorah  · Godzilla vs. Gigan  · Godzilla vs. Megalon  · Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla  · Terror of Mechagodzilla  · The Return of Godzilla  · Godzilla vs. Biollante  · Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah  · Godzilla vs. Mothra  · Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II  · Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla  · Godzilla vs. Destoroyah  · Godzilla  · Godzilla 2000: Millennium  · Godzilla vs. Megaguirus  · Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack  · Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla  · Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.  · Godzilla: Final Wars
Other Toho Science Fiction Films: Tomei Ningen  · Half Human   · Rodan  · The Mysterians  · Varan  · The H-Man  · Battle in Outer Space  · The Secret of the Telegian  ·The Human Vapor  · The Last War  · Mothra  · Gorath  · Atragon  · Matango  · Dogora  · Frankenstein vs. Baragon  · War of the Gargantuas  · King Kong Escapes  · Latitude Zero  · Fancy Paradise  · Space Amoeba  · Japan Sinks  · Prophecies of Nostradamus  · ESPY  · Visitor to the Pupil's Center  · The War in Space  · Blue Christmas  · Deathquake  · School in the Crosshairs  · All Right, My Friend   · Sayonara Jupiter  · Portrait in Prussian Blue  · Nineteen  · Tokyo Blackout  · Princess from the Moon  · Zeiram  · Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Discoclub Layla  · Supergirl Reiko  · Nostradamus: The Prophecy  · GUNHED  · Rebirth of Mothra  · Rebirth of Mothra II  · Rebirth of Mothra III  · Japan Sinks
Television: Zone Fighter  · The Godzilla Power Hour  · Godzilla Island  · Godzilla: The Series


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