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>> this is tokyo, once a cityof six million people. what has happened here,was caused by a force, which, up until a few days ago,was entirely beyond the scope of man's imagination. tokyo, a smoldering memorialto the unknown. an unknown, whichat this very moment, still prevails and could,at any time, lash out with its terrible destruction,anywhere else in the world. there were oncemany people here
who could have toldof what they saw. now, there are only a few. >> my name is steve martin, i'm a foreign correspondentfor united world news. i was headed foran assignment in cairo, when i stopped off in tokyofor a social call. but it turned outto be a visit to the living hellof another world. emergency hospitals wereoverflowing with the maimedand the dead,
for the living, the horrorof last night was over. the only thought leftwas the paralyzing fear that it could happen againtoday, or tomorrow. everyone who had survivedwithout serious injury, was helping to repairthe human wreckage. one of the survivorswas emiko yamami, the daughter of japan'sfamous paleontologist. for some of the victims,there was hope. for others,there would be no tomorrow.
i don't know howmany hours went by before an auxiliaryhospital unit found me. i knew it was daylight.i was surprised to be alive. the odor of scorched fleshpermeated the air. the sight of all the helplesshuman wreckage snapped me backto stark reality. emiko, emiko! >> steve. steve martin,are you badly hurt? >> after last night,i'm lucky to be alive. >> i guess we're all livingon borrowed time.
oh, steve.what brought this upon us? >> i don't know, emiko.i don't know. your father, is he all right? >> yes, he's meeting withthe security officials now. don't move, steve. i'll try to geta doctor for you. >> it was still hardfor me to believe that i could be lying herein a hospital, alive, when i think of the thousandsof others dead and dying
in the ruins around me. when i think back,only a few days ago, i was en route to cairo, witha few days' layover in tokyo. i was looking forward to a visitwith an old college friend,dr. serizawa, a theoretical scientist who wasgaining great recognition in the far eastfor his unusual experiments. while i was unaware of it atthe time, 10,000 feet below, an incident wasabout to take place that would shake the foundationsof the civilized world.
this morning, it would have beenimpossible for anyone to convince methat i would ever see tokyolike this again. >> pardon, you aremr. steve martin? >> yes? >> i'm shigirioto, assistantto doctor serizawa. >> how do you do?and how is serizawa? >> his health is fine,but he regrets not beinghere to meet you. >> something wrong? >> dr serizawa had to go inand on some field experiments.
he wanted to delay them untilafter your visit, but they weremuch too important. he hopes that you'll understand.>> of course. oh, when's heplanning to return? >> perhaps beforeyou depart for cairo. in the meanwhile,if there's anything i can do, please feel free to call me. >> i certainly will. >> i'm sorry mr. martin,but we must ask you to come to the security officefor questioning.
>> is that a polite way oftelling me i'm under arrest? >> no, no arrest,just questioning, but it is imperativethat you come. >> of course. >> i'll take your bag.hotel mikasa? >> no, still the imperial. >> martins.>> how do you do mr. martin? >> mr. unaga. >> during your flightlast night,
did anything unusual occur? >> well, i didn'tnotice anything. i was busy writingand reading, and the rest of the time,i was sleeping. >> oh, i see.>> i understand you've questioned everyoneon my flight. what is it you'retrying to find out? i representunited world news. >> i don't know, mister martin.
i don't know whetherit should be printed or not. >> i don't follow you. >> you see, we don't knowwhat it is, we're dealing with. at 3:30 this morning,a ship from tokyo was literally wiped fromthe surface of the ocean in a matter of seconds. >> anything fromthe ship's radio? >> it said, there wasblinding flash of light, and the ocean burst into flame.
>> it could've been a mine,or a collision. >> then why wouldthe radio man not report a mineor a collision? >> that's a good point. well, whatever's being done,i'd like to find out about it. >> all right, come with me. this is the chart roomof the nankai steamship company. it was their shipwhich was sunk. >> you mind telling mewhat they're discussing?
>> they're at a lossto explain how the ship coulddisappear so suddenly. >> any survivors?>> no, not yet. they're in direct contactwith a rescue ship now. it should arrive at the sceneof the sinking in a few hours. >> that's it operator. mr. george lawrence, unitedworld news, chicago, usa. japanese ship disasterhas puzzled world. eight ships obliteratedby mysterious blinding flash of fire,no survivors found.
radio reports from strickenships gave same message. that's right, "terrible seaof fire engulfs all." staggering death toll forces allshipping schedules be cancelled. will remain tokyo unless wordfrom you. sign it steve martin. you got it, thanks. >> like a creeping illness,panic began to spreadall over japan. the nankai shipping companyswarmed with distraughtfamilies, pleading for news of lost crews. >> the few survivorswho had been found,
died in a matter of minutes,from shock and strange burns. >> with disaster followingdisaster, the terror-stricken peopledemanded action be taken. security officials andscientists were called together. doctor yamani, japan's leadingpaleontologist, was among the top scientistsinvited to the meeting. i had met doctor yamanithrough my friend serizawa,several years ago. if there was to be an answer tothese mysterious ship disasters, it would come from these men.
>> i'm afraid my japaneseis a little rusty. >> dr. yamani is suggestingto the officials that they question the nativesof a small island. he says that odo islandis close to the area where the disastersare taking place. >> odo island, a bleak spotof land in the pacific. populated with severalhundred natives, who are now halfparalyzed with fear. >> these people were the onlythe ones who had seen some ofthe fires at sea.
>> they were also the onlyones who saw a survivorof the sinkings, and his visit was a short one. >> the next morning,a helicopter was dispatchedfrom tokyo. the security officer,mr. iwonaga, had arranged for me to join thegroup of officials, who were to questionthe natives of moto island. while various natives of theisland were being interrogatedby the officials... ...yomo and i wentout among the natives. >> hey, tomo,we make him mad?
>> he's frightened,he's terribly frightened. >> must have seen something. >> he claims he saw a monster,a horrible monster. >> if he saw no monster,he's had too much sake. >> oh no, mister martin, these island peopleare very superstitious. >> well, let's seewhat else we can find out. it was decided that we wouldspend the night, and it gave me an opportunityto witness a rare ceremony.
one that was all but forgotten. >> the island people arebeset by many dangers, steve. some real, some imaginary. this ceremony is dedicatedto one such danger. there's a legend among theisland people that somewhereoff their shores, there exists a monster,too terrible for a mortalto conceive. many centuries ago, they used tosend a young girl out in a raft, each year, as a sacrifice. >> what's the nameof this monster?
>> godzilla, godzilla. >> did you hear that?godzilla. >> they believe theirgodzilla is responsible for all these ship disasters? >> they're certain of it. >> it was more than wind,rain, and lightning. it was much more,i wasn't just sure what it was. no one was sure. no one, exceptfor the natives,
and they were positive.they said it was godzilla. the next morning,the officials broughtsome of the islanders back to tokyoto make a direct report. >> each of the natives of odoisland told his own storyof the sudden turbulence. >> and had his own ideasof its cause. they were all of the opinionthat the destruction was brought aboutby a living creature. >> i have not beento the island myself, but the world today is filledwith many mysteries.
in the himalayas, footprintsof snowmen have been found. no one knows anythingabout them, so there's no one who canexplain the phenomenon at the top of the world. is it not possible that someother unexplainable phenomenon might exist at thebottom of the ocean? a research partyshould be organized to make a scientific surveyof odo island. >> i'm going to catch dr.yamane, i'll see you later.
it seems to me that there arestill forces left in this world that none of uscan understand. oh, excuse me. doctor yamani. >> steve martin,it is good to see you. >> do you take this monstertalk seriously? >> who can tell? >> i understand you'reheading the researchgroup to odo island? >> yes, we leave this afternoon.
>> with your permission,i'd like to come along. i've been clearedby the security office. >> of course,pier j at two o'clock. >> see you there. pier j swarmed withwell wishers for dr. yamaniand his project. but there was still a feelingof anxiety among us all. for every ship thathad taken this course had vanished fromthe face of the earth. yes, there wasa feeling of anxiety.
but perhaps the twoexceptions were emiko and a youngmarine officer named ogata. at the moment, they seemedmore interested in each other. when i'd last seen emiko,she had just become engagedto dr. serizawa. it was the usual triangle,only this time, it was to playan important part in the lives ofmillions of people. >> this well is contaminated.please stay back. this ground is dangerous.
>> mr. ojihara... ...these are footstepsof a living creature. they're also radioactive. >> this ground is dangerous.everybody, please stay back. >> emiko, a trilobite. a three-ringed worm whichwas thought to be extinct. >> don't hold itin your bare hands. >> what does that mean? >> it's a fabulous discovery.
>> trilobite, isn't that a... >> godzilla. >> it's safer up on the hills. >> look at the sizeof those footprints. >> it can safely be assumedthat two million years ago, this brontosaurus andother ancient reptilesroamed the earth. it was knownas the jurassic age. during this period,there was another species, which we may callthe intermediary animal.
a cross between the land-livingand the sea-living animals. let us call thiscreature "godzilla," according to the legendof odo island, and judging fromthis photograph, this creature isover 400 feet tall. of course, the question we areasking ourselves is, how this animal happenedto re-appear, after all these centuries, and so near tothe coast of japan?
one answer could bethat some rare phenomenonof nature allowed this breedof the jurassic age to reproduce itself,and for a long span of time, it had no reason to reappearto the world. but now that analysison radioactivity of thecreature's footprint, shows the existence ofstrontium 90, a product of the h-bomb. it is my belief that godzillawas resurrected due to the repeatedexperiments of h-bombs.
>> hello.>> can you hear me okay, george? >> you're coming in clear.now let's have it steve, what about thismonster story of yours? >> well, it's bigand terrible. more frightening thani ever thought possible. >> do you realize your story'sfront page all over the country? we wanna know what's being doneabout this monster. >> well, here's your headline. "security decides to usedepth bomb on godzilla."
>> oh, that's fine.but how can they use depth bombs against somethingthey can't even see? >> same way they lookfor a submarine, sonar. oh, they'll find him,all right. the big question is,will they kill him? >> well, stay on it, steve,and keep us posted. >> i will. so long, george. >> hello. >> steve! you are a betternewspaperman than a linguist.
it is good to hear from you. >> i just got the messagethat you called. did you finishwith your experiments? >> yes, i finished. >> good, let'shave dinner tonight. >> steve, make it tomorrow. emiko is comingover this evening, and she said it was important. >> all right,i'll check with you tomorrow.
>> that will be fine, steve.>> sayonara. the marriage between emikoand doctor serizawa had been arranged whenthey were both children. and while emiko wasn't in lovewith the great scientist, she had great respectand admiration for him. it proved difficult for herto tell him that she wasgoing to marry ogata. >> it... it's goodto have you home,doctor serizawa. >> it is goodto be back, emiko. >> i'm glad we hadthis time together.
there is somethingimportant i must tell you. >> but there is somethingfar more important whichi must show you. >> huh?>> come with me. >> stand back. >> emiko, the world must notknow of this. promise to keep my secret. >> i won't even tell my father. >> what happened? >> nothing, nothing.
father, what is it? >> they are so wrong. godzilla shouldnot be destroyed. he should be studied. emiko, please, leave me alone. >> hai. >> by the end of the day,it was generally assumed that the underwater demolition had ended the short butterrible reign of godzilla.
there was a feelingof relief throughout tokyo. even celebration. but both the hope andcelebration were short-lived. within minutes, the citywas aware that godzillawas inside tokyo harbor. among the people, therewas a state of panic. the military used every manand machine available, in an effort to stemthe oncoming terror. >> has emiko returned?>> hai. >> i couldn't telldr. serizawa about us.
>> i understand, emiko. >> let's go up on the hill. >> he's leaving,but he will be back. >> the damage had been severe,but fortunately, confined to the dock sectionof the city. godzilla was still in tokyo bay and there was every reason tobelieve he would return, unless some meanswas found to stop him. >> steve? hey, steve?>> hi tomo.
>> what'd you runout of the meeting for? >> gotta get this storyoff to the paper. anything happen after i left? >> yes, they're making onelast big effort to stop him. >> and what's that?>> come here, i'll show you. tokyo is surrounded byhigh-tension electrical towers. to get to the heart of the city, godzilla would have tobreak through 300,000volts of electricity. the officials are trying to haveeverything ready by nightfall.
now i must reportback to my station. >> all right and thanks, toma.>> so long, steve. >> sayonara. the security officialsordered a general evacuation of all non-essential personnel. it was a monumental job,but a job which had to be done. >> by nightfall,everyone was off the streets. the news office commanded agood view of tokyo, and was receiving allreports directly fromsecurity headquarters.
this tape recording isfor george lawrence, united world news, chicago, usa. everyone remaining in the city,was on a watch and wait basis. the wait was not a long one. george, here in tokyo,time has been turned backtwo million years. this is my report as it happens. a prehistoric monster,the japanese call godzilla, has just walkedout of tokyo bay. he's as tall asa 30-story building.
now he's making his way towards the city's main line of defense,300,000 volts of electricity, strung around the cityas a barrier. a barrier against godzilla. i can hardly believewhat has just happened. now it seems,tokyo has no defense. they're moving an entiretank corps to point-blankfiring range. i'm saying a prayer, george,prayer for the whole world. george, the tanks have beenwiped out by a wall of flame.
neither man nor his machinesare able to stop this creature. >> godzilla has turnedthe heart of tokyointo a sea of fire. beneath the flames,thousands lie dead or dying. >> nothing cansave the city now. this is it george, steve martinsigning off from tokyo, japan. >> watch it. hi, emiko. >> you've been sleepingvery nervously. >> hello, ogata.>> hello, steve.
>> anything new develop? >> nothing newwill develop unless...>> unless what? >> i was showna terrible secret, which is probablythe only weapon whichcould destroy godzilla. >> what is it? >> i promised dr. serizawa neverto reveal his secret to anyone. >> emiko... emiko last nighttokyo was destroyed. tomorrow it might be osakaor yokohama. if you can help, you must.
>> when i wentto see dr. serizawa, i had intended to tell himabout ogata and me, but there was something hewanted to show me first. >> dr. serizawa had beenexperimenting with oxygen, when he came upon a terriblechemical discovery. a way to destroy alloxygen in water, thereby disintegratingall living matter. an amount no largerthan a baseball, could turn tokyo bayinto a graveyard.
>> serizawa had found aterrible, destructive power. and until he could finda counteracting good that will comefrom this discovery, he didn't want the worldto know his secret. he made me promise,never to tell what i had seen. >> emiko, we needserizawa's help. there's no other way. >> if i could only see him,just talk to him. >> perhaps i canchange his mind.
ogata will go with me. >> whatever you do emiko,you mustn't fail. sit down. >> doctor, i knowof your oxygen destroyer. we must have it. >> i don't know whatyou are talking about! >> i broke my promise, serizawa.i told steve martin and ogata. they both agree,you must use your oxygendestroyer against godzilla. >> no.
>> we must have the formula,we must! >> let go!>> please stop! >> i'm sorry, ogata, the oxygen destroyercannot be used. >> if we don't defendourselves from godzilla now,what will become of us? and what will become of usif a weapon such as i now have falls into the wrong hands? >> look, then you havea responsibility no man has ever faced.
you have your fear,which might become reality and you have godzilla,which is reality. >> attention!attention people of japan! at this moment,a nationwide prayer is being observed for thesurvivors of devastated tokyo. the voices of ourchildren are raised in a prayer for the courage to surmountthe destruction of today, and look forward, with hope,for peace and light. >> have you decided?
>> yes, but thismust be the only time the oxygen destroyerwill be used. >> the boat, findingthe location of godzilla, the oxygen destroyer... all these havebeen accomplished. serizawa insisted upon helpingogata place the weapon. >> and now,the divers are descending, and ask the whole worldto stand by. >> they have reachedthe bottom.
>> one diver is up.it is ogata. doctor serizawa has notyet started his ascent! >> ogata, it is working! live happily with emiko.goodbye. >> serizawa,pull the line up! answer me! serizawa! >> serizawa. >> people of the world,godzilla is dead. give us strength to rebuildour beloved land.
>> he said be happy together. >> the menace was gone.so was a great man. but the whole worldcould wake up and live again.
