The Volcano Monsters (1957) — The Lost Film That Became Godzilla Raids Again | Godzilla Island Archive

Note: This article is from 2013 transfered from GodzillaIsland.com

This marks the first entry in a new recurring feature here on GodzillaIsland.com, where I’ll be exploring Toho’s “Lost Projects” — films that were planned, rewritten, or abandoned entirely. This list, originally documented by the legendary fan site Toho Kingdom, includes everything from early drafts of beloved kaiju movies to mysterious scripts that never made it past the planning stage. Be sure to read

Each article in this series will follow the same format as my reviews: first, I’ll summarize the story, and then I’ll share my thoughts on what could have been.

Let’s kick things off with one of the most fascinating examples The Volcano Monsters a project that was ultimately reworked into Godzilla Raids Again.

The Plot

The story follows an American paleontologist named Roy who discovers two perfectly preserved dinosaurs an Ankylosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex encased in magma. The creatures appear to have died while battling one another. Excited by his discovery, Roy arranges to have the dinosaurs shipped back to San Francisco for study and then travels to Tokyo to present his findings at a scientific conference.

However, during transport, it’s revealed that the dinosaurs are not actually dead they’re alive, merely dormant. Once they arrive in San Francisco, they break free and resume their ancient battle in the streets of the city.

When Roy learns what’s happening, the shock causes him to suffer a stroke, leaving him hospitalized. His assistant, Marge, pleads with him to authorize killing the creatures, but Roy refuses his doctor warns that destroying the dinosaurs could crush Roy’s hopes of winning the Nobel Prize, and even kill him from the emotional toll.

Meanwhile, the chaos continues. The Tyrannosaurus ultimately kills the Ankylosaurus and continues its rampage through San Francisco. Determined to stop it, Marge begins developing a formula that mimics the volcanic gases which originally preserved the monsters. The T. rex soon attacks the university where she’s working, reducing it to rubble.

The military intervenes, but conventional weapons have no effect. Eventually, the T. rex retreats into the sea, pursued by the Navy and Air Force. The chase leads to a polar island, where the dinosaur intends to lay eggs. The military considers using a nuclear strike but decides against it killing the last dinosaur might also doom the fragile Roy back in the hospital. Instead, they devise a plan to blow up the ice surrounding the creature’s cave, freezing it once again.

The plan succeeds. Roy now has the opportunity to study the frozen creature for the rest of his life. The film ends where it began at the original discovery site as a mysterious claw reaches out from the cave, teasing a possible sequel.

My Thoughts

First off, can you believe this bizarre story nearly replaced Godzilla Raids Again? If The Volcano Monsters had been made instead, we might never have met one of my favorite kaiju, Anguirus.

To be fair, the premise starts off decently frozen dinosaurs thawed out and unleashed on modern civilization is classic monster-movie fun. But the moment Roy suffers a stroke and everyone becomes more concerned about his Nobel Prize dreams than the destruction of San Francisco… things go off the rails fast.

A giant T. rex is demolishing the city, people are dying in the streets, and yet the big dilemma is, “We can’t kill it — Roy might get depressed!” Really? If this took place in real life, the response would be: “Sorry, Roy, but we’re nuking the dinosaurs.” Priorities, people!

That said, I’m genuinely glad this movie never got made and was instead reimagined as Godzilla Raids Again a film that introduced Anguirus and helped solidify the Godzilla franchise in its early years. Still, it’s fascinating to imagine what The Volcano Monsters might have looked like — a purely American-produced kaiju movie before King of the Monsters (1956) even hit theaters.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more What Could Have Been articles where I’ll explore Toho’s other lost and forgotten projects. And keep an eye out for my upcoming review of Godzilla Raids Again the movie that The Volcano Monsters could have been.