ATRAGON (1963)

During a nighttime photo shoot on a beach involving a woman in a bikini, a figure in what looks like a scaly diving suit emerges from the water, spooking the model. The thing backs off after which a car goes careening off a dock into the water. Next morning, the car is recovered but with no bodies. It turns out that the car was involved in a string of kidnappings of engineers and geology experts. Next, Makoto, daughter of a Japanese Navy captain who went missing after the war, and her mentor, a shipping magnate named Kosumi, are kidnapped by a man claiming to be Agent 23 of the Mu Empire, a mythic sunken continent, sort of the Pacific Ocean version of Atlantis. They get away but eventually are sent a reel of film explaining that the Muans are planning on attacking Japan and other surface countries with technology they developed thanks to a lost Japanese submarine which was built by Makoto's father, Jinguji. Though assumed dead, we find out that Jinguji has actually been hiding out in a secret location working on a super-submarine (which can fly) called Atragon that he delusionally believes will help Japan's navy regain its lost glory. Jungui is reluctant to help, but when Mu begins its attacks and Makoto threatens to cut all ties with him, he rethinks his position.

From the title, I had assumed that Atragon was another Toho monster like Godzilla or Mothra, so the fact that it was a submarine was a pleasant surprise. There is a monster, sort of, in the form of a sea dragon that the Mu people worship, but it's a very disappointing marionette thing so don't watch for any real J-monster thrills. The narrative beats are similar to those of average Toho sci-fi film of the era, but what I liked best about it are the sets, at two ends of the budget continuum. The cheap miniatures are no better than the juvenile sets of the 1960s Thunderbirds series and movies, but I've always found those sets charming--as a kid, I imagined that I could build sets just as good in my basement with Legos. The Mu sets, on the other hand, look quite elaborate, like something out of a well-budgeted lost kingdom movie like SHE. Unfortunately, not much happens on these sets. Mu has an old evil priest dude and a young orange-haired empress (see above) who ultimately don't have much to do. The acting is also on a par with other Toho films, ranging from adequate (Jun Tazaki as Jinguji, Yoko Fujiyama as the daughter) to bizarre (Kenji Sahara as a reporter with an Amish beard who turns out, to one's surprise, to be another Mu agent). Generally enjoyable for a sci-fi Chiller Theater night. [Amazon Prime]