On November 3, 1954, Toho Studios in Japan released a monster movie that was an allegory of the atomic bombings and fire raids visited upon the Japanese during the closing months of the Second World War. Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, directed by Ishiro Honda, with special effects supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya and scored by Akira Ifukube, this grim, powerful, and moving film — known as "Gojira" — was seen by over nine million moviegoers and was one of the top-ten money grossing films of that year. Now considered a classic, the film also ushered-in Toho's Golden age of Fantasy Films.
The following year, "Gojira" screened at the Toho Theater in Little Tokyo, where it attracted the attention of American film distributor Edmund Goldman, who later paid $25,000 for the theatrical and television rights to the film. To increase its appeal for American audiences, Terry Morse was hired to direct new footage to be inserted into the original Japanese film. The footage starred actor Raymond Burr and was filmed over a five day period at the studios of Visual Drama, Inc., located at 129 North Vermont Avenue. The completed film, now called "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" was released on April 4, 1956, by Trans World Pictures and introduced Japanese science-fiction films into popular western
culture.
As the Americanization of Godzilla took place at this location in 1956, this plaque commemorates the 50th anniversary of a milestone in motion picture history.
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