Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

In 1964, Toho Co., Ltd. produced and distributed *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster*, a Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the fifth entry in the Godzilla series and the second Godzilla film released that year, coming after *Mothra vs. Godzilla*. The cast includes Yosuke Natsuki, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Akiko Wakabayashi, with Haruo Nakajima portraying Godzilla, Masanori Shinohara as Rodan, and Shoichi Hirose as King Ghidorah. In the story, an extraterrestrial from Venus takes over a princess’s body to warn humanity about King Ghidorah, a three-headed golden dragon from space. Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra become humanity’s only hope for survival.

The film was rushed into production to replace *Red Beard*, which had fallen behind schedule, for Toho’s New Year’s holiday lineup. The Godzilla suit and Mothra larva prop were reused from the previous film with some modifications, while new suits were built for Rodan and Ghidorah. The Ghidorah suit caused difficulties on set because of the many wires attached to it. Principal photography began and ended in 1964, taking place at Mount Aso, Yokohama, Gotenba, and Ueno Park.

*Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster* opened in Japan on December 20, 1964, and in the United States on September 29, 1965, under the title *Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster*, distributed by Continental Distributing. It earned ¥375 million (over $1 million) in Japan and $1.3 million in the United States. Early and contemporary American critics generally gave it positive reviews. The sequel, *Invasion of Astro-Monster*, followed on December 19, 1965.

The plot follows reporter Naoko Shindo, who attends a UFO society communications session for her TV program, but it fails because of her skepticism. A meteor shower hits Japan, with the largest meteor landing on Mount Kurodake. Naoko’s brother, Detective Shindo, is assigned to guard Princess Salno of Selgina during a secret visit to Japan, protecting her from assassination. On the way, an alien entity makes Salno jump from her plane before it explodes. Professor Miura leads a team to investigate the meteor at Mount Kurodake, finding it emits random magnetic waves. Naoko is sent to interview a prophetess who claims to be from Venus and predicts that Rodan, a Pteranodon-like creature, will emerge from Mount Aso.

The prophetess catches the attention of both Shindo and Salno’s uncle, who recognize her as the supposedly dead Salno. The uncle, responsible for the assassination plot, sends the assassin Malmess to kill her. After appearing on a TV program, the Shobijin, Mothra’s twin fairies, prepare to leave but are warned by the prophetess not to sail. Naoko takes the prophetess to a hotel for an interview, and the Shobijin follow, heeding the warning before Godzilla sinks their ship. After confirming the prophetess is Salno, Shindo finds her at the hotel and saves her from Malmess. They evacuate as Godzilla and Rodan converge on the city and battle in the countryside.

Psychiatrist Dr. Tsukamoto concludes the prophetess is human, and she predicts the arrival of King Ghidorah, the alien dragon that destroyed her home on Venus. Miura and his team see the meteor explode, releasing the golden three-headed space dragon, which attacks Matsumoto. Authorities ask the Shobijin to summon Mothra for help, but the fairies warn that Mothra alone cannot defeat Ghidorah; only Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra together can succeed. Under hypnosis, the prophetess reveals that some Venusians escaped to Earth and assimilated with humans, losing most abilities except prediction.

Malmess overhears Tsukamoto recommending shock therapy and increases the voltage to a fatal level, but fails when Godzilla destroys the power lines. After stopping Malmess and his crew, Shindo evacuates to the mountains with the prophetess, Tsukamoto, Naoko, Miura, and the Shobijin. Mothra tries to convince Godzilla and Rodan to set aside their differences and save the planet, but both refuse because of past human harassment. However, when Mothra fights Ghidorah alone, Godzilla and Rodan change their minds and join her. The prophetess wanders off and regains her memories after Malmess nearly kills her. Shindo protects her just in time, and Malmess falls to his death. The three monsters overwhelm Ghidorah and force it to flee into space. Before leaving, Princess Salno tells Shindo she has no memory of being the prophetess but remembers the three times he saved her, thanking him and Naoko. Godzilla and Rodan watch as Mothra returns home with the Shobijin, who say farewell.

The cast is taken from *Japan's Favorite Mon-star*. Production crew includes director Ishirō Honda, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, assistant director Ken Sano, production manager Shigeru Nakamura, art director Takeo Kita, special effects photographer Sadamasa Arikawa, special effects art director Akira Watanabe, and optical effects artist Hiroshi Mukoyama, all sourced from *Japan's Favorite Mon-star*. Toho originally planned to release *Red Beard*, produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, for the New Year holiday, but when it fell behind schedule, Tanaka rushed *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster* into production to fill the slot. After the success of crossover films like *King Kong vs. Godzilla* and *Mothra vs. Godzilla*, Tanaka decided to create a film featuring Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra together. The new monster King Ghidorah was designed as an h.