This Frankenstein grows out the Hiroshima bombings. It involves a boy who ingests radioactive material and who begins to grow dramatically. He is a sad figure who is left to fend for himself, and, of course, bothers the locals. Nick Adams (Johnny Yuma, the Rebel) is the only American actor and finds his talents wasted. I have a feeling he was a decent actor who had to grab on to junk like this so he could keep eating. I believe he eventually took his own life. He isn't asked to do much and doesn't. It's not an awful movie, but it isn't really very memorable.

I had a feeling that making this my first Frankenstein movie was going to be a mistake and I was very right. The premise of a giant Frankenstein in Japan isn't too far fetched but the story is very weak and there's lots of plot holes. First of all, I have never seen a Frankenstein movie and I immediately recognize the monster but for some reason the people in the movie don't. They claim he's been running wild in Hiroshima for 15 years but all of a sudden he's very easy to catch. At first he's the size of a regular teenager but a day later he's 5 stories tall and he manages to escape. The guys sent to investigate how he got free decide that normal size handcuffs are too big for a 5 story monster.WHAT?!?!!?!? They employ all the usual Toho staples including using ancient camera tricks to get us to believe he's a giant, but he just looks like a scrawny teenager no matter what they do. To top it all off, they have one American and every one else is dubbed.Why?? My favorite part is that when the other monster shows up, people just call it "another monster". I always hated when a new monster showed up in Godzilla and all the people knew it's name. If you like Godzilla you will like this movie.

My rating is 2.5 points higher than the current average, and here's why: The title, premise, and most of the goings-on are a total hoot. The 'creature' is almost hilarious to look at and his antagonist in the picture is like a hungry dog-reptile hybrid. Both are giants and the battle scenes are like a WWE Wrestling match. Nick Adams is a doctor who lends some 'credibility' (tongue-in-cheek) to this unintentionally funny Manga-style monsterfest. If you accept this flick for what it is and just sit back, you could feel as entertained as I was. An ominous musical background score was provided by the late, great Akira Ifukube, of Godzilla movies fame (the better Japanese ones, of course!). Give FCTW a shot. You might just enjoy it, despite yourself.

"Frankenstein Conquers the World" was a one-shot attempt by Toho Studios (the same company that gave us Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, etc.) to re-invent the Frankenstein monster. It's easy to see why there weren't any sequels. While the opening sequences set in Nazi Germany are intriguing (if you've always wondered what Japanese actors look like playing Germans, here's your chance!!) and Nick Adams gives a fine performance as the token American (a role he was to reprise in "Godzilla v. Monster Zero") the sad fact is that Frankenstein just doesn't work in a Japanese setting. The movie becomes progressively sillier until it turns into a complete travesty. Even Inoshiro Honda, who directed the original "Godzilla," couldn't save this turkey. As late night horror movies go, this one's not too bad, and it has a certain campy appeal, but the more you see it the less there is to like about it. See it when it comes on TV, but don't waste your money on the DVD if there is one.