The Human Vapor

Infobox Film
name = The Human Vapor


image_size =
caption = "Human Vapor" (1960)
director = Ishirô Honda
producer = Tomoyuki Tanaka
writer = Takeshi Kimura
narrator =
starring = Tatsuya Mihashi
Kaoru Yachigusa
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Keiko Sata
Hisaya Ito
Yoshifumi Tajima
music = Kunio Miyauchi (Japanese)
cinematography = Hajime Koizumi
editing = Kazuji Taira
distributor = Toho
released = flagicon|Japan December 11, 1960
flagicon|USA May 20, 1964
runtime = 92 min.
81 min. (USA)
country = JPN
language = Japanese
English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0053853

"The Human Vapor", known in Japan as nihongo|"Gas Ningen dai Ichigo"|ガス人間第一号|Gasu Ningen dai Ichigo|lit. "First Gas Human", is a tokusatsu film produced and released by Toho Studios in 1960. The film was made by Toho's legendary Godzilla directing/special effects/producing team of Ishirô Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Tomoyuki Tanaka.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of Mizuno (Yoshio Tsuchiya), a librarian at a sanatorium (implicitly for cancer), who has been given the ability to become vapor after a scientist does an experiment on him. Mizuno uses this power to engage in criminal activities, robbing banks to give the money to his dancer girlfriend (Kaoru Yachigusa). Tatsuya Mihashi is the police inspector after them. The film was recut by Brenco Pictures in 1964, changing the premise from mystery to being told from Mizuno's point of view. Even though this version is dubbed, Tsuchiya has stated that he prefers this cut of the film, which he considers to feature his finest performance. [Guy Marriner Tucker. "Age of the Gods"]

Cast

*Kenji Okamoto, Assistant Inspector - Tatsuya Mihashi
*Fujichiyo Kasuga, Master of Japanese dance Nichibu - Kaoru Yachigusa
*Mizuno, Gasu ningen - Yoshio Tsuchiya
*Kyouko Kouno, woman journalist - Keiko Sada
*Dr. Tamiya - Hisaya Itou
*Tabata, Inspector - Yoshihumi Tajima
*Inao, Detective - Yoshio Kosugi
*Dr. Sano - Fuyuki Murakami
*Old Japanese Tsutsumi dram player - Bokuzen Hidari
*Metropolitan Police Department executive officer A - Takamaru Sasaki
*Metropolitan Police Department executive officer B - Keisuke Yamada
*Metropolitan Police Department executive officer C - Akio Kusama
*Hayama - Minosuke Yamada
*Ikeda - Tatsuo Matsumura
*Bank manager - Youyou Miyata
*Fujita, Detective - Kou Mishima
*Hotta, Detective - Yukihiko Gondou
*Oosaki, Detective - Kamayuki Tsubono
*Kawasaki, journalist - Kouzou Nomura
*Nishiyama - Ren Yamamoto
*Mondayuu - Somemasu Matsumoto
*Aizawa, policeman - Yasuhisa Tsutsumi
*Nakaya, policeman - Rinsaku Ogata
*Journalist - Masaaki Tachibana
*Prison guard of a detention center A - Keiji Sakakida
*Prison guard of a detention center B - Syouichi Hirose
*Tobe - Tetsu Nakamura
*The man who eats bread in a library - Akira Yamada
*Satoyo（Mondayuu's Wife） - Toki Shiozawa
*Kajimoto - Jirou Kumagai
*Kamata, Discernment of the police - Mitsuo Matsumoto
*Spectator of a theater　A - Yutaka Oka
*Spectator of a theater　B - Kouichi Satou
*Spectator of a theater　C - Tadahiko Kuroda

Trivia

*Along with Matango and The Mysterians, this ranks as one of Ishiro Honda's favorite movies that he directed.
*A sequel to this film was planned called "Frankenstein vs. the Human Vapor" in which the Human Vapor survives the climax and goes to find a doctor who brought Frankenstein's monster to back to life, in hopes of finding a way to bring back his girlfriend who didn't survive the climax leading to battle between the two. This was dropped in favor of "Frankenstein vs. Baragon" (the 1957 film "Tomei-Ningen To Hae-Otoko" or "Invisible Man vs. Fly Man" is available in North America under the title "Vapor Man meets the Human Fly" but it is not related).
*The surf rock group "Man or Astro-Man?" took its name from the American poster for the film.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0053853
* Scheib, Richard. [http://www.moria.co.nz/sf/humanvapor.htm "THE HUMAN VAPOR (Gas Ningen Daiichigo)"]
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