Atomic Rulers
Entry updated 27 March 2023. Tagged: Film.
Japanese/US film (1965; vt Atomic Rulers of the World). Shintoho. Directed by Teruo Ishii. Written by Ichiro Miyagawa. Cast includes Ken Utsui. 75 minutes. Black and white.
This film was edited from episodes 1 and 2 of the Japanese Super Giant film series (see Tokusatsu): Super Giant (1957; 49 minutes; original title Sūpā Jaiantsu) and Super Giant Continues (1957; 52 minutes; original title Zoku Sūpā Jaiantsu). They formed a two-part story that was edited and dubbed by Walter Manley Enterprises into Atomic Rulers for American television. The Superman-like hero Super Giant was renamed Star Man; subsequent US television films made from the series were Invaders from Space (1965), Attack from Space (1965) and Evil Brain from Outer Space (1966).
In another galaxy the High Council of the Emerald Planet are concerned that nuclear testing on Earth is "poisoning the distant reaches of outer space" (see Scientific Errors) and should nuclear War break out they believe their atmosphere would be affected ... and war does seems likely, as the country of Merapolia plans to take over the rest of the world: so the Emerald Planet sends Star Man (Utsui) to stop them. Though human in appearance Star Man refers to himself as being created, whilst the narrator describes him as "made of the strongest steel" (see Androids). Strong and impervious to bullets, he wears on his wrist the "globemeter", an invention of the Emerald Planet's Scientists, which enables him fly through space, detect radioactivity and understand all Earth's languages.
Arriving on Earth he confronts a Merapolian agent using a briefcase to smuggle a nuclear device into Japan – but as they fight some mischievous orphans steal the briefcase. Star Man finds them but learns one has been kidnapped by the agent; handing the briefcase to the nun in charge of the children he seeks and rescues the boy, who has already told the Merapolians the orphanage's location; they have recovered the briefcase and taken a woman hostage. The device is taken to a secret base to arm their nuclear Weapons, following which Japan will be blackmailed into surrendering. Star Man, after a fight, recovers it; but the Merapolian leader says the hostage will be executed (with an elaborate but slow-moving, guillotine) if Star Man fails to return it. He does so – and is then locked in a room with the hostage and a nuclear bomb that will explode in 60 seconds. He shelters the woman from the blast with his body, then beats up the leader and his guards.
This era's English dubs of Japanese movies were notoriously bad, usually extinguishing any merits the source material had; with the Star Man films the suspicion must be that not too much damage was done. This is not by any stretch of the imagination a good film and is often dull, but the fight scenes are agreeably silly and Utsui gives a reasonable performance: he also earns the viewers' sympathy for putting up with an unconvincing uniform and a padded crotch. The opening scene on the Green Planet has a nice variety of odd Aliens: it is reused in the other Star Man films. [SP]
links
previous versions of this entry