DAIKAIJU BARAN (1958/Toho) 87mins. BW. Japan.
Aka: VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE.
Credits: Dir: Inoshiro Honda; Prod: Tomoyuki Tanaka; Sc: Shinichi Sekigawa; Ph: Hajime Koizumi; Sfx: Eiji Tsuburaya; Mus: Akira Ifukube. From a story by Hajime Koizumi.
American version: Prod: Jerry A. Baerwitz; Sc: Sid Harris; Ph: Jack Marquette; Ed: Ralph Cushman & Jack Ruggiero; Sfx: Howard Anderson.
Cast: Tsuruko Kobayashi, Kozo Nomura, Akihiko Hirata, Clifford Kawada, Derick Shimatsu, Ayumi Sonoda, Koreya Senda.
A young boy captures an unearthly butterfly in northern Japan, but the scientists who descend on the area to investigate encounter a monster that kills them and then heads south causing chaos and destruction along the way. Artillery fire fails to stop the monster's onslaught, so the military launch balloons attached to explosives that the creature swallows. The creature goes back into the sea to die.
A typical Japanese rubber monster film with some of the best effects of the genre and footage of crushed tanks and planes from Gojira.
The 1960 American version contains added scenes by producer Jerry Baerwitz for Dallas Productions and Corey Film Company starring Myron Healy. In this version teams led by a commander, (Healy), are trying to desalinise a salt lake in Japan and cause Varan, a giant flying prehistoric reptile, to be brought back to life. The creature runs amok in Oneida City before being injured with explosives.

DAIKAIJU GAMERA (1965/Daiei/World Entertainment) 88mins. BW. Japan.
Aka: GAMERA THE INVINCIBLE; GAMERA.
Credits: Dir: Masaichi Nagata; Prod: Yonejiro Saito; Sc: Fumi Takahashi & Richard Kraft; Sfx: Yonesaburo Tsukiji.
US. version Dir: Sandy Howard.
Cast: Harumi Kiritachi, Eiji Funakoshi, Brian Donlevy, Albert Dekker, Diane Findlay, John Baragray.
An atomic bomb blast releases a giant fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle bent on destruction that can fly by pulling itself into it's shell and spinning. Scientists collaborate to try and avoid worldwide destruction by enacting "Plan-Z", that traps Gamera in a rocket that sends him to Mars.
This was Daiei studio's answer to the success of Toho's GODZILLA films. The photography and effects make this one of the best rubber monster films made by either studio. For the American market the original story was severely altered and footage was added featuring Donlevy and Dekker.
Sequel: Gamera Tai Barugon.

DAIKAIJU NO KAITEI NIMAN MARU (1954) see Gojira

DAIKOESU YONGKARI (1967/Kuk Dong/Toei) 100mins. S.Korea/Japan.
Aka: YONGARY-MONSTER FROM THE DEEP; GREAT MONSTER VONGARI.
Credits: Dir: Kiduck Kim; Sc: Yungsung Suh; Ph: K. Nakagawa & I. Byon.
Cast: Yungil Oh, Chungim Nam, Soonjai Lee, Moon Kang, Kwang Ho Lee.
A nuclear explosion causes an earthquake in China that releases a petrol-drinking monster that stomps on Seoul to the incessant beat of Korean rock music. When scientists realise the creature is vulnerable to the chemical X-2 found in ammonia, the monster is covered with the substance and dies.
A well constructed film even though the title role is portrayed by an actor in a rubber monster suit.

DAIKYJAU GAPPA (1967/Border Films/Manson Corp./Nikkatsu Corp.) 81mins. Japan.
Aka: GAPPA, FRANKENSTEIN FLIEGEND MONSTER; MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET (US); GAPPA--THE TRIPHIBIAN MONSTER.
Credits: Dir: Haruyasa Noguchi; Prod: Mideo Koi; Sc: Iwao Yamazak & Ryuzo Nakamishi; Sfx: Akira Watanabe.
Cast: Tamio Kawaji, Yoko Yamamoto, Tatsuya Fuji, Koji Wada, Yuji Okada.
A young prehistoric bird creature is taken from his isolated native island and brought to Tokyo by scientists for the new Playmate Land theme park. However, the creature's parents arrive to reclaim their offspring, destroying most of the city in the process.
A better than average Japanese monster film similar to the plot of Gorgo made the previous year in Britain.

DAIMAJIN (1966/Daiei) Japan.
Aka: MAJIN; MAJIN, MONSTER OF TERROR (US-tv.); MAJIN, THE HIDEOUS IDOL.
Credits: Dir: Kimiyoshi Yasuda; Prod: Masaichi Nagata; Sc: Teteuo Yoshida.
Cast: Miwa Takada, Yoshihiko Aoyama, Tatsuo Endo.
A 300-foot stone statue of a samurai warrior named the Majin comes to life to help a prince and princess regain their throne from a tyrannical warlord. After the tyrant has been skewered to a wall with a spike, the Majin turns back into a statue again.
A worthwhile film with superb production values and effects from a rival of the famous Toho studios.
Sequel: Daimajin Ikaru.

DAIMAJIN IKARU (1966/Daiei) Japan.
Aka: THE RETURN OF GIANT MAJIN; MAJIN STRIKES AGAIN (US-tv.).
Sequel to: Daimajin.
Credits: Dir: Kenji Misumi & Yoshiyuki Kuruda; Prod: Masaichi Nagata; Sc: Teteuo Yoshida; Sfx: Yoshiyuki Kuruda.
US. version Ed: Eli Haviv & Emil Haviv.
Cast: Kojiro Hongo, Shiho Fujimura, Taro Marui, Takashi Kanda.
The 300-foot statue of a samurai warrior named the Majin stands on an island in the middle of a huge lake. Lady Sayuri pleads for the statue to help the poor peasants subjugated by a tyrannical warlord. When the warlord destroys the ancient statue the head rolls into the lake and the Majin rises to save Lady Sayuri from crucifixion, destroys the warlord's armies and then evaporates when Lady Sayuri's grateful tears touch the ground.
The excellent effects and creative use of sound highlight this interesting sequel and the Majin's last appearance.

THE DAMNED (1962/Hammer/Columbia/Swallow Prod.) 87mins. (77mins. US.) BW. UK.
Aka: THESE ARE THE DAMNED (US).
Credits: Dir: Joseph Losey; Prod: Anthony Hinds; Ex.Prod: Michael Carreras; A.Prod: Anthony Nelson Keys; Sc: Evan Jones; Ph: Arthur Grant; Ed: James Needs & Reginald Mills; Art: Don Mingaye; Des: Bernard Robinson; Mus: James Bernard.
Based on "The Children of Light" by H.L. Lawrence.
Cast: MacDonald Carey, Shirley Ann Field, Viveca Lindfors, Oliver Reed, Alexander Knox, Rachel Clay, Walter Gotell, James Villiers.
A secret military project involves children who are being raised in an isolated, artificial and radioactive environment to test the effects of living in a post nuclear war situation. An American couple fleeing from a sinister bike gang attempt to free the children, but discover that the children are so radioactive that their presence will kill others.
Knox plays the cold-blooded scientist in charge of the project, Lindfors is sculpturing mutants and Reed is a Teddy-boy thug. The whole is a mix of confusing science fiction and 60's youth culture.

DANCE OF DEATH (1968) see Macabre Serenade

DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES (1967/Cadre/MGM./Filmways) 107mins. UK.
Aka: THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, OR PARDON ME BUT YOUR TEETH ARE IN MY NECK (US).
Credits: Dir: Roman Polanski; Prod: Gene Gutowski; Ex.Prod: Martin Ransohoff; Sc: Gerard Brach & Roman Polanski; Ph: Douglas Slocombe; Ed: Alistair McIntyre; Des: Wilfred Shingleton; Mus: Krzysztof Komeda.
Cast: Roman Polanski, Terry Downes, Ferdy Mayne, Sharon Tate, Jack MacGowran, Jessie Robbins, Alfie Bass, Iain Quarrier, Fiona Lewis, Ronald Lacey, Sydney Bromley, Andreas Malandrinos.
Scholars of vampirism Professor Abronsius, (MacGowran), and his assistant Alfred, (Polanski), arrive at Count von Krolock's, (Mayne), castle in Transylvania to prove their occult theories and witness a vampire's ball during which the undead formerly rise from their coffins and dance stately minuets with each other. The ball is brought to an abrupt halt when the two interloping humans are the only ones visible in the large panoramic mirror.
The film has a haunting quality although it doesn't quite manage the parody it intends. The humour is slapstick and typically Continental, however there are some precious moments. The sets are beautiful and inherently horrific which tends to nicely contradict the light nature of the film. The production is exquisitely photographed with crisp mountain scenes actually shot at 6000 feet in the Alps.
A credit appears for "Fangs: Dr. Ludwig von Krankheit".
For American release the film was cut by 10 minutes, re-edited, re-dubbed and given a new animated title sequence. Polanski asked for his name to be removed from the credits of this new version.

THE DANCER AND THE VAMPIRE (1961) see L’Amante del Vampiro

DANGER DIABOLIK (1967) see Diabolik

DANGEROUS CHARTER (1964) see The Creeping Terror

DANS LES GRIFFES DE DRACULA (1970) see Noche de Walpurgis

DANS LES GRIFFES DU MANIAQUE (1965) see The Diabolical Doctor Z

LA DANZA MACABRA (1963) see La Lunga Notte del Terrore

DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE (1959/Disney) 90mins. US.
Credits: Dir: Robert Stevenson; Sc: Lawrence Edward Watkin; Ph: Winton C. Hoch; Ed: Stanley Johnson; Des: Carroll Clark; Sfx: Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett & Joshua Meador; Mus: Oliver Wallace. From stories by H.T. Kavanagh.
Cast: Albert Sharpe, Jimmy O'Dea, Sean Connery, Janet Munro, Kieron Moore, Estelle Winwood, Walter Fitzgerald, Denis O'Dea, J.G. Devlin, Jack MacGowran.
On an Irish estate, caretaker Darby O'Gill, (Sharpe), has weaved so many tales to his friends that they don't believe him when he tells them that he fell down a well and encountered the King of the Leprechauns who granted him three wishes with which he attempts to ensure his daughter's, (Munro), happiness with her lover, (Connery). When the Death Coach arrives to collect one of the young lovers, Darby takes their place accompanied by the Leprechaun King, (O'Dea). The little folk follow the coach to rescue them both.
A delightful fantasy with some good special effects work that includes an imp on horseback and the arrival of the ghostly death coach with a headless driver.

THE DARK (1969) see The Haunted House of Horror

DARK INTERVAL (1950Present Day) 60mins. BW. UK.
Credits: Dir: Charles Saunders; Prod: Charles Reynolds; Sc: John Gilling; Ph: E. Lloyd.
Cast: Zena Marshall, Andrew Osborn, John Barry, John Le Mesurier, Mona Washbourne, Wallas Eaton.
A young bride, (Marshall), returns from her honeymoon to a creepy household and discovers that her husband, (Osborn), is insane. Members of the household include an all-knowing family doctor, (Barry), and a sinister butler, (Le Mesurier), who kills his master before poisoning himself.
A poorly made amateurish affair with a familiar "the-butler-did-it" plot. Interesting mainly for John Gilling's script.

DARK INTRUDER (1965/Universal) 59mins. BW. TVM. (Released Theatrically).
Credits: Dir: Harvey Hart; Prod: Jack Laird; Sc: Barrè Lyndon.
Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Werner Klemperer, Judi Meredith, Mark Richman Gilbert Green, Charles Bolender.
At the turn of the century, an occult investigator, (Nielsen), discovers that an ugly Sumerian demon from Hell is responsible for a series of deaths in San Francisco. The culprit is a man versed in the art of witchcraft who is trying to trabsfer his soul into another person's body.
An intricately plotted supernatural thriller that manages to maintain tension within a good period setting.
Originally intended as a pilot film for a never made television series titled "Black Cloak", but was then released theatrically in America.

DARK STAR (1974/Jack H. Harris) 83mins. US.
Credits: Dir., Prod. & Mus: John Carpenter; Ex.Prod: Jack H. Harris; A.Prod: J. Stein Kaplan; Sc: John Carpenter & Dan O'Bannon; Ph: Douglas Knapp; Ed. & Des: Dan O'Bannon; Sfx: Dan O'Bannon, John Wash, Bob Greenberg, Greg Jean, Harry Walton & Ron Cobb; Vis.Fx: Bob Taylor. From an idea by John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon.
Cast: Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dre Pahich, Dan O'Bannon, Joe Saunders, Miles Watkins, Cookie Knapp, Andreijan Patrick.
"The mission of the Strangelove generation."
The spaceship Dark Star has been in space for nineteen long years on a mission to identify and destroy planets which may supernova and damage surrounding stable planets. The mission is mind numbingly boring for the crew, and to add to their problems, an alien they took on board as a mascot has now become intent on killing them.
Carpenter originally shot this semi-professional project on 16mm while attending the University of Southern California. The original footage made up the first 45 minutes and producer Jack Harris, who was so impressed with this parody of 2001, A SPACE ODESSEY, funded the film's completion. The plot and casting hold up extremely well while displaying Carpenter's early suspense techniques found in his later films.

THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR JEKYLL (1957/Film Venture/A.A. Association) 71mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer; Prod. & Sc: Jack Pollexfen; Ph: John F. Warren; Ed: Holbrook N. Todd; Art: Theobald Holsopple, Mus: Melvyn Leonard.
Cast: Gloria Talbott, John Agar, Arthur Shields, Mollie McCart, John Dierkes, Martha Wentworth, Barry Fitzgerald.
"Blood-hungry spawn of the world's most bestial fiend!"
Janet, (Talbott), is blamed for the strange werewolf killings that are plaguing the area because she is the daughter of the infamous Doctor Jekyll. The real culprit and sole inheritor of the doctor's secrets, is the daughter's guardian, (Shields), who is promptly staked through the heart by the alert villagers when they discover the truth.
A cheap and derivative mixture of several myths, giving the impression that the makers were not quite sure what to do with the plot.
On American tv. some of the frames were double-printed to increase the running time, and Janet's nightmare sequence was increased with footage from Frankenstein 1970.
"Anyone who loves the cinema, must be moved by Daughter of Doctor Jekyll, a film with a scenario so atrocious that it takes forty minutes to establish that the daughter of Doctor Jekyll is indeed the daughter of Doctor Jekyll". - Andrew Sarris. "The American Cinema" 1967.

DAY OF THE NIGHTMARE (1965/Screen Group) 89mins. BW.
Credits: Dir: John Bushelman; Ph: Ted V. Mikels.
Cast: John Ireland, Elena Verdugo, John Hart, Liz Renay, James Cross.
An artist is accused of murdering a woman even though no body can be found. The artist's wife also suspects her husband, however, it is revealed that the supposed victim is very much alive and is in fact a homicidal maniac dressed as the artist.
     A poorly developed and badly acted psycho-thriller.

THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1963/Yordan/Allied Artists) 95mins. UK.
Credits: Dir: Steve Sekely (& Freddie Francis-uncredited); Prod: George Pitcher; Ex.Prod. & Sc: Philip Yordan; Ph: Ted Moore; Ed: Spencer Reeve; Sfx: Wally Veevers; Mus: Ron Goodwin. From the novel by John Wyndam.
Cast: Howard Keel, Nicole Maurey, Mervyn Johns, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, Janina Faye, Alexander Knox, Ewan Roberts, Alison Leggatt, Geoffrey Matthews, Gilgi Hauser, Carol Ann Ford.
American sailor Bill Masen, (Keel), recovering from eye surgery in a London hospital is prevented by his bandages from witnessing the spectacular meteor storm that has rendered the world's population without sight. He awakes in the hospital to find a world of chaos in which he seeks out other survivors and meets a young girl, (Faye), who also slept through the storm. Meanwhile it becomes evident that the meteor shower was just a prelude to an invasion by man eating plants named Triffids. Civilisation has ended, but Bill and a small group of survivors battle on, each in their own turn finding a way to control and defeat the plant creatures.
A classic tale transformed into a film that sacrifices psychological horror for more formula methods.
Packets of seeds were given to cinema patrons to grow their own Triffids.
Freddie Francis was responsible for directing the lighthouse scenes with Moore and Scott that many feel are more impressive than the rest of the film.

THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (1962/Pax/British Lion) 99mins. BW. (tinted with filters). UK.
Credits: Dir. & Prod: Val Guest; Sc: Wolf Mankowitz & Val Guest; Ph: Henry Waxman; Ed: Bill Lenny; Art: Tony Masters; Sfx: Les Bowie; Mus: Monty Norman & Stanley Black.
Cast: Janet Munro, Leo Mckern, Edward Judd, Michael Goodliffe, Bernard Braden, Reginald Beckwith, Peter Butterworth, Ian Ellis, Jane Aird, Robert Hawdon, Jean Anderson, Arthur Christiansen, Austin Trevor, Renée Asherson, Charles Morgan, Edward Underdown, John Barron, Geoffrey Chater.
When both America and Russia conduct similar nuclear weapons tests, the earth is thrown off it's axis into an orbit closer to the sun. As the tempreature rises and all life is threatened. A Newspaper journalist, (Judd), is one of many who prepare for what seems the inevitable. The governments of the world decide to fire other nuclear weapons to try and rectify the earth's course. The final scene shows the world waiting for the outcome of the launching. Two newspaper headlines are prepared, one announcing certain doom, the other announcing that the Earth is saved.
A genuinely frightening science fiction film told through the eyes of London journalists and heightened by the able cast. Christiansen was a former editor of the "Daily Express".
Watch for a young Michael Caine as a policeman directing traffic.