The Manster (1959)

Directors:

George P. Breakston
Kenneth G. Crane

Writers:

George P. Breakston (story)
William J. Sheldon (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Half-Man, Half-Monster!

Plot:

An American reporter in Japan is sent to interview an eccentric Japanese scientist working on bizarre experiments in his mountain laboratory...

Plot Keywords:

Experiment | Monster | Japan | Two Headed Monster | Two Headed Man

Cast

Peter Dyneley	...	Larry Stanford
Jane Hylton	...	Linda Stanford
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Dr. Robert Suzuki (as Satoshi Nakamura)
Terri Zimmern	...	Tara
Norman Van Hawley	...	Ian Matthews (as Van Hawley)
Jerry Ito	...	Police Supt. Aida
Toyoko Takechi	...	Emiko Suzuki
Kenzo Kuroki
Alan Tarlton	...	Dr. H.B. Jennsen
Shinpei Takagi
George Wyman

Also Known As:

Nightmare
Sôtô no satsujinki (Japan) (theatrical title)
The Split (Japan: English title) (theatrical title)
The Two-Headed Monster
Doktor Satan (Greece) [el]
Kaksipäinen paholainen (Finland) (informal title) [fi]

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1960)

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Lopert Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Sam Raimi's "ARMY OF DARKNESS" pays homage to this film. When Ash has swallowed one of his little dopplegangers, he then grows an eye on his right shoulder, which results in him splitting into two beings; Good Ash and Evil Ash. In The Manster, the reporter is injected with a serum and later develops an eye, which grows into a head, resulting in him splitting into a good being and an evil one.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Army of Darkness (1992)

monster-movie classic with some unforgettable scenes

I watched this last night for the first time in 30-something years. From childhood, three scenes were indelibly stamped on my memory: the gibbering woman with the nightmarish melting face in a cage, the eye in the shoulder, and the infamous 'separation'. But what also was stuck in memory was the horrible screaming that accompanied some of these (not my own, but that of the characters ;>). Well, the movie's not *quite* as scary to my jaded sensibilities as it was then, but those scenes still had a kick; the unearthly howling, tearing sounds when the Manster 'separates' still chilled.

While it'll never be mistaken for great moviemaking, this film deserves a bigger 'cult' status than it has.