31 Days of Halloween - Poster of the Day - Godzilla Vs Megalon (1973)

All of the best movie posters lie, at least a little. They might show a scene that doesn't take place, promise action that doesn't happen, include hot chicks that don't appear in the film or even just give a movie (particularly a low budget one) the look of something more elaborate than what appears on screen. Of course, there are plenty of movie posters that don't do this. Modern posters, in particular, are usually so boring, reduced mostly to a photo of the actors, that they have no character, no originality. They don't "lie" per se; but they also have little to say except "hey, this guy stars in this movie." Yawn. Hollywood, I demand you lie to me!

Anyway, the Godzilla vs Megalon poster is one big lie. Yes, Godzilla is on the poster and in the movie. So, is Megalon. However, in the US release poster, they are standing on the World Trade Center. The movie doesn't take place in New York. The monsters don't get within 10,000 miles of the World Trade Center. For a young boy who wanted to see some kaiju pounding on each other in an American city, this was a big disappointment, particularly since the actual film involved an annoying child (when I first saw the movie, I wanted the kid to get squashed) and a cut-rate Ultra Man. Yeah, not a fan of Jet Jaguar.

So, why were they on the World Trade Center? That's easy. In 1976, the first remake of King King was released. And, the King Kong poster featured the big ape on the World Trade Center (see below). So, for the US release of Godzila vs Megalon, which was in 1976, the distributors decided to ride King Kong's coattails. This blatant BS is one reason I love the poster, in spite of my youthful dismay at the lack of Big Apple monster action.