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Considered by many to be the first successful two-headed monster film, "The Manster" (1959/1960) is a schlock superstar that combines a high creep factor with a number of (inadvertently) comic moments. In it, an American reporter named Larry Stanford gets more than he expects when he visits with Dr. Suzuki deep inside a Japanese volcano. In addition to meeting the doc's beguiling assistant, Tara, Stanford unknowingly begins a transformation into what Suzuki gleefully declares is an entirely new species. Never mind the carousing, the murder spree or the eyeball growing from the poor reporter's shoulder—what's Stanford going to do when his American wife tracks him down?
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The Manster
Considered by many to be the first successful two-headed monster film, "The Manster" (1959/1960) is a schlock superstar that combines a high creep factor with a number of (inadvertently) comic moments. In it, an American reporter named Larry Stanford gets more than he expects when he visits with Dr. Suzuki deep inside a Japanese volcano. In addition to meeting the doc's beguiling assistant, Tara, Stanford unknowingly begins a transformation into what Suzuki gleefully declares is an entirely new species. Never mind the carousing, the murder spree or the eyeball growing from the poor reporter's shoulder—what's Stanford going to do when his American wife tracks him down?
History professor Matt Basso of the University of Utah discusses race and gender in the film "The Manster."
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Listen to the science behind the movie with our special podcast interview.
Listen to the Interview (MP3)
