History Film / GiantMonsterGamera

* EarlyInstallment: So far, this is the ONLY film in the franchise where Gamera is an antagonist all the way through.

* ImportationExpansion: Much like ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', new U.N. scenes were shot for the altered 1966 American release, ''Gammera, the Invincible''. Notable for having Brian Donlevy of ''[[Film/TheQuatermassXperiment Quatermass]]'' fame among the cast.

* WalkingSpoiler: Since one of Gamera's defining characteristics is his ability to fly, it's clear from the start for many viewers what the UFO really is.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Toshio. He seems to have a great deal of difficulty relating to other human beings, tends to fixate on things, lacks any real sense of self-preservation, and overall seems to have a somewhat shaky grasp on reality. As a result, he has social problems at school, he's obsessed with turtles, he carries around a backpack full of rocks ''the size of his own head'' in order to "build a house for Gamera," he makes multiple attempts to get close to Gamera despite the obvious danger in doing so, and he continues to insist that "Gamera is a good turtle" despite the mounting property damage and human death toll resulting from the creature's actions.

* TurtlePower: Gamera.

* AdjectiveNounFred

* StalkerWithACrush: Mr. Aoyagi. He admits (casually, repeatedly, and without much prompting) that he's following Dr. Hidaka around solely to stay close to his daughter, Kyoko -- and that's about the extent of their romantic interaction throughout the film, as Aoyagi never flirts with, attempts to charm, or even really has a proper conversation with Kyoko herself. Apparently that's enough, however, as Dr. Hidaka still suggests at the end of the film that Kyoko should give up whatever scientific aspirations she might have and stay with Aoyagi.
** This whole subplot is removed in the ''Gammera'' cut.

--> "''Gamera is a good turtle!''"\\
~ Toshio, after Gamera has ''destroyed Tokyo'' and killed ''hundreds of thousands of innocent people''.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gamera_1965_gamera_the_giant_monster_1965_jpeg_178422.jpg]]

There are two different English dubs of the film, the U. S. cut ''Gammera the Invincible'', which included additional footage and also cut many sequences, and the later "Sandy Frank" or international dub, which follows the Japanese storyline closely, with only a few changes.

''Giant Monster Gamera'', also known as ''Gammera the Invincible'' during its North American release, is a 1965 film that marked the beginning of the Film/{{Gamera}} franchise. It is directed by Noriaki Yuasa and written by Niisan Takahashi. The film originally started life as a story about giant rats, but when the rats that were going to be used ended up being unusable due to fleas and other reasons, the filmmakers retooled the script changed the monster(s) into a giant turtle. The film was one of the last giant monster films to be shot in black-and-white.

There are two different English dubs of the film, the U. S. cut ''Gemera the Invincible'', which included additional footage and also cut many sequences, and the later "Sandy Frank" or international dub, which follows the Japanese storyline closely, with only a few changes.

* DubNameChange: Most of the main characters names were changed in the '80s dub used for Sandy Frank's version, Toshio rather infamously being given the moniker of Kenny.

The film stars Eiji Funakoshi as Professor Hidaka, Michiko Sugata as Nobuyo Sakurai, Harumi Kitaichi as Kyoko Yamamoto and Junichiro Yamashita as Cameraman Aoyagi.

* {{Atlantis}}: The stone tablet that Dr. Hidaka looks at implies that Gamera lived on the lost continent. It's mentioned that the continent extended to the arctic circle at one point (i.e. the ''Hyperborea'' myth), on which multiple Gamera specimens inhabited, before becoming frozen in glaciers at one point.

The film was released on November 27, 1965. Its story is followed by ''GameraVsBarugon''.

''Giant Monster Gamera'', or ''Daikaiju Gamera'', was produced and released in Japan by Daiei Motion Picture Company in 1965. The film originally started life as a story about giant rats, but when the rats that were going to be used ended up being unusable due to fleas and other reasons, the filmmakers retooled the script changed the monster(s) into a giant turtle. The film was shot in black and white, one of the last giant monster movies to be filmed like this, and is one of only two movies to portray '''Film/{{Gamera}}''' in a villainous manner, with the other one being its immediate sequel, ''Film/GameraVsBarugon''. Giant Monster Gamera was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, who also directed the special effects.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Toshio. He seems to have a great deal of difficulty relating to other human beings, tends to fixate on things, lacks any real sense of self-preservation, and overall seems to have a somewhat shaky grasp on reality -- hence his social problems at school, his obsession with turtles, his carrying around a backpack full of rocks ''the size of his own head'' in order to "build a house for Gamera," his multiple attempts to get close to Gamera despite the obvious danger in doing so, and his continued insistence that "Gamera is a good turtle" despite the mounting property damage and human death toll resulting from the creature's actions.

--> "''Gamera is a good turtle!''"
--> ~ Toshio, after Gamera has ''destroyed Tokyo'' and killed ''hundreds of thousands of innocent people''.

''Giant Monster Gamera'', or ''Daikaiju Gamera'', was produced and released in Japan by Daiei Motion Picture Company in 1965. The film originally started life as a story about giant rats, but when the rats that were going to be used ended up being unusable due to fleas and other reasons, the filmmakers retooled the script changed the monster(s) into a giant turtle. The film was shot in black and white, one of the last giant monster movies to be filmed like this, and is one of only two movies to portray '''Franchise/{{Gamera}}''' in a villainous manner, with the other one being its immediate sequel, ''Film/GameraVsBarugon''. Giant Monster Gamera was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, who also directed the special effects.

* GratuitousEnglish: Dr. Hidaka and the Eskimo village chief speak to each other in English as a ''lingua franca'', and since neither are fluent speakers, it's...rather poor.

''Giant Monster Gamera'', or ''Daikaiju Gamera'', was produced and released in Japan by Daei studios in 1965. The film originally started life as a story about giant rats, but when the rats that were going to be used ended up being unusable due to fleas and other reasons, the filmmakers retooled the script changed the monster(s) into a giant turtle. The film was shot in black and white, one of the last giant monster movies to be filmed like this, and is one of only two movies to portray '''Franchise/{{Gamera}}''' in a villainous manner, with the other one being its immediate sequel, ''Film/GameraVsBarugon''. Giant Monster Gamera was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, who also directed the special effects.

* TurtlePower: Gamera.

* GratuitousEnglish: How do I put this...yes, however, when the actors speak in short sentences, their English is rather good. It's when they speak in really long sentences that things get...iffy.

* {{Atlantis}}: The stone tablet that Dr. Hidaka looks at implies that Gamera lived on the lost continent...somehow.