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| Gorgo | |
|---|---|
 American theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Eugène Lourié |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
|
| Produced by | Wilfred Eades |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | F. A. Young |
| Edited by | Eric Boyd-Perkins |
| Music by | Angelo Lavagnino |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | British Lion-Columbia Distributors |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Box office | $1.55 million (US rentals)[2] |
Gorgo is a 1961 British[1]science fictionmonster film directed byEugène Lourié and starringBill Travers andWilliam Sylvester. When an undersea volcano sends tremors throughout the Atlantic, a prehistoric creature is unleashed from under the sea. The crew of a salvage vessel capture the gigantic amphibious sea creature and take it toLondon 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.
Captain Joe Ryan is salvaging for treasure off the coast ofIreland when avolcano erupts, nearly sinking his ship. Ryan and his First Officer and friend, Sam Slade, take the ship to Nara Island for repairs. Before the harbourmaster, Mr McCartin, arrives to assist them, the crew meet Sean, an orphan, who assists McCartin: he invites them to see his collection of ancientViking relics. 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 thanarchaeological interest when he shows them his stash of illegally salvagedgold 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, twouniversityscientists arrive to meet Ryan and Slade, hoping to obtain it for scientific study. However, Ryan has already sold the creature to Dorkin'sCircus inLondon.
Dorkin names the creature "Gorgo", after thegorgonMedusa, before transporting it to a large, enclosed pit for public exhibition inBattersea Park. Ryan and Slade meet the scientists again, who inform them the creature is an infant. With its larger mother still out there, theRoyal Navy takes 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.
Gorgo was originally intended to be co-produced with a Japanese company and set in Japan,.[3] The setting was then changed toFrance and then finally to theBritish Isles after the producers chose to make the film atMGM-British Studios inBorehamwood, Hertfordshire.
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 at Coliemore Harbour,Dalkey.[4]
Scenes where Gorgo is driven through the streets of London were shot on a Sunday afternoon, when there was little other traffic.[citation needed]
Gorgo's special effects were achieved bysuitmation and miniaturisation, a technique pioneered in theGodzilla films. 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 shot with high-speed cameras to create a sense of scale.[citation needed]
A reviewer forThe Kensington News and West London Times calledGorgo "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.Gorgo could 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".[5] Arthur Steele of theBirmingham Evening Mail described the film as being "designed for juvenile adults".[6]
Charles Stinson of theLos Angeles Times referred to the film's screenplay as "not unintelligent. But it is entirely routine".[7] 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".[7]
The film opened big at theLondon Pavilion and had good business for a couple of weeks.[8]
James Lowder reviewedGorgo inWhite Wolf Inphobia #56 (June, 1995), rating it a 3 1/2 out of 5 and stated that "Tom Howard's special effects are great, with some spiffy scenes of London getting the big rubber boot. The guy in the Gorgo suit gets to stomp Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Picadilly Circus and lots of row houses. The monster would be more frightening, however, if it didn't keep wiggling its huge, finlike ears."[9]
Gorgo was used by rock bandAsh for the promo video for Ichiban.[10] 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).[11]
Former Maine governorAngus King used a clip fromGorgo in an advertisement for his 2012 run for theUnited States Senate.[12]
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.[13]
Gorgo made a cameo inThe Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat.
Gorgo had presumably influenced several Japanesekaiju productions, such asGappa: The Triphibian Monster,Spectreman,Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, andGamera the Brave.[14][15]
In 1998, the film was featured on episode #909 of the television seriesMystery Science Theater 3000. The episode premiered on July 18, 1998, airing twice that day on theSci-Fi Channel; because of rights issues, the episode never aired again on television.[16][17] Film criticLeonard Maltin appeared at the beginning of the episode to introduce the film, helping series villainPearl Forrester select a painful movie; he also appeared at the end of the episode. Writer / performerKevin Murphy called Maltin "a charming, affable, thoroughly professional man" who worked well with series performerMary Jo Pehl, who played Forrester. However, he quibbled with Maltin's ratingGorgo—which Murphy termed a "wormy layer of filmic offal"—in hisfilm guide: "Too bad he gaveGorgo three stars, the dope."[18]
Paste writer Jim Vorel ranked the episode #128.[a] Vorel writesGorgo is a pale British knockoff ofGodzilla and does not stand up to the twoMST3K episodes featuring the Japanese monster. Vorel callsGorgo "dour" and dull, complaining, "There’s just no way that a giant monster movie in the vein ofGorgo should be able to be this boring … it’s as if it inherited the stuffy British DNA ofThe Projected Man. At least the Japanese films are colorfully silly."[19] Writer Chris Morgan lists Gorgo as the tenth-worst monster in anMST3K movie because its "utter lack of originality."[20]
Despite the rights issues,Shout! Factory was able to license the film again and release the episode on DVD as part of the box setMystery Science Theater 3000: The 25th Anniversary Edition on December 10, 2013. TheGorgo disc includes the featurette "Ninth Wonder of the World: The Making ofGorgo" and a one-minute bonus feature with Maltin, "Leonard Maltin Explains Something," in which he talks about his affection forGorgo.[21] The disc also includesGorgo's theatrical trailer. Other episodes included in the collection areMoon Zero Two (episode #111),The Day the Earth Froze (episode #422),Mitchell (episode #512),The Brain That Wouldn't Die (episode #513), andThe Leech Woman (episode #802).[22]
In 1984,Gorgo was released onVHS by Memory Lane Video.[23] It was re-released on VHS in 1987 by United Home Video,[24] and again in 1995 byAlpha Video.[25]
In 2013,Gorgo was released onDVD[26] andBlu-ray inRegion A by VCI Video; this release includes a documentary titledNinth Wonder of the World: The Making of Gorgo, directed by Daniel Griffith.[27]That same year,Shout! Factory released the film on Blu-ray as part of theirMystery Science Theater 3000 25th Anniversary Edition collection, featuring an extended cut ofNinth Wonder of the World: The Making of Gorgo.[28]
In 2023, a4K restoration ofGorgo was released on4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray byVinegar Syndrome.[29]
| Gorgo | |
|---|---|
 Cover to issue #4 ofGorgo published byCharlton Comics, art bySteve Ditko. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Charlton Comics |
| Schedule | Bi-monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| 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 | Gorgo |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Joe Gill |
| Artist(s) | Steve Ditko Dick Giordano Rocco Mastroserio |
Anovelisation of the film was released in paperback at the time of its original release, written byBruce Cassiday under thepseudonym Carson Bingham and published byMonarch Books.
From 1961 to 1965,Charlton Comics published 23 issues of the comic bookGorgo.[30] It included work bySpider-Man co-creatorSteve Ditko. The series was renamedFantastic Giants with issue #24,[31] 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,[32] before it was renamedThe Return of Gorgo with issue #2.[33] 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.[34]
In 1990, Steve Ditko illustrated a back-up story inWeb of Spider-Man Annual #6 titled "Child Star".[35] In this story,Captain Universe creates huge versions of toys based on Gorgo andKonga to battle giant monsters that are attacking New York City. For copyright reasons, Gorgo's name was altered to "Gorga".[36] This sequence was Ditko paying homage to his earlier work with these two characters in their 1960sCharlton Comics comic 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.[37]
Some of these issues were reprinted (in black and white) in a trade paperback in 2011 calledAngry Apes n' Leapin Lizards.[38]
In March 2013,IDW Publishing reprinted 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!.[39] In April 2019, IDW published a book calledDitko's Monsters: Gorgo vs. Konga which collected issues #1 and 13 of the series.[40]
In September 2021,Fantaco published all the issuesJoe Sinnott andVince Colletta worked on (issues #5-10 and 12) in a collection calledGorgo Attacks!.[41]
Starting in December 2022, PS Artbooks began reprinting the entire series in a series of hardcover and trade paperback editions.
In Summer of 2025, Titanic Creations, which acquired merchandising rights for Gorgo, released a series of comics placing the film's events within the universe of their original kaiju characters, starting with the prequelGorgo Legacy.[42]
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