
Acting
Katsumi Tezuka
Born — Died
1912-08-31 — 1967-08-31
Place of birth
Tokyo, Japan
Known for
Acting
Credits
53 titles
Katsumi Tezuka (手塚 勝巳, Tezuka Katsumi, August 31, 1912 - unknown) was a Japanese actor and former professional baseball player. He was best known for playing numerous kaiju in several Toho science fiction and horror films directed by Ishiro Honda, as well as various supporting roles. He retired from acting in 1967, with his last film appearance in "Five Gents Prefer Geisha." Tezuka's life and career after this point are unknown, and his date of death has never been publicized.
Known for
7.6Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.
Godzilla
1954
6.5During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
1956
6.0Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.
Godzilla Raids Again
1955
6.8A re-edited Italian-language dubbed version of the original Godzilla, using as a basis the U.S. version, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), plus WWII newsreel footage and clips from other science fiction films. The re-edited film was then colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70" consisting of applying various colored gels to the black and white footage. The film's opening and ending also features new music composed by musicians Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vince Tempera (under the pseudonym Magnetic System).
Godzilla
1977
6.8The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.
King Kong vs. Godzilla
1962
7.0After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
1964
Film credits
1970s · 2 titles
6.8A re-edited Italian-language dubbed version of the original Godzilla, using as a basis the U.S. version, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), plus WWII newsreel footage and clips from other science fiction films. The re-edited film was then colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70" consisting of applying various colored gels to the black and white footage. The film's opening and ending also features new music composed by musicians Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vince Tempera (under the pseudonym Magnetic System).
Godzilla
1977
9.0A mining community discovers that men are dying from unknown circumstances which leads to the discovery of a giant flying monster vulture by the name of Rodan that promptly attacks Japan.
Bloodthirsty Hawk
1977
1960s · 19 titles
6.8The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.
King Kong vs. Godzilla
1962
7.0After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
1964
7.0Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.
Mothra vs. Godzilla
1964
6.6When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they bargained for when the gigantic ape attacks an unsuspecting village and an enormous octopus.
King Kong vs. Godzilla
1963
7.2Shipwreck survivors found on the presumably uninhabited Infant Island leads to a scientific expedition that discovers a surviving native population along with the Shobijin, tiny twin fairy priestesses of the island's mythical deity called Mothra. After the fairies are kidnapped by an exploitative businessman named Clark Nelson, Mothra sets out to rescue them.
Mothra
1961
7.1After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Chûshingura
1962
6.7Five vacationers and two crewmen become stranded on a tropical island near the equator. The island has little edible food for them to use as they try to live in a fungus covered hulk while repairing Kessei's yacht. Eventually they struggle over the food rations which were left behind by the former crew. Soon they discover something unfriendly there...
Matango
1963
6.6The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense.
Atragon
1963
6.3In 1976, a drifting star named Gorath is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. Although it is smaller than Earth, its enormous mass is enough to destroy the planet totally. A mission sent to observe Gorath is destroyed after the ship is drawn into the star, with a later mission barely escaping the same fate. However, Astronaut Tatsuma Kanai is left in a catatonic state due to his near death experience. Unable to destroy the invading star, Earth's scientists undertake a desperate plan to build giant rockets at the South Pole to move the planet out of Gorath's path before it is too late.
Gorath
1962
7.0Lt. Col. Senda resists the idea of sending Japanese fighter pilots on suicide missions. He believes that what is really necessary for Japan to regain momentum in the war is for the air force to gather its most brilliant pilots into an elite squadron and use the unit to pinpoint attacks on the Americans. Disrespected by the kamikaze pilots who think the "non-suicidal" pilots are afraid, the unit redeems itself by stunning victories. But success leads the military leaders to expect too much of the unit, and new orders portend disaster.
Attack Squadron
1963
4.5In an effort to find an economic means of purifying salt water, a joint U.S.-Japanese military command is set up on an isolated Japanese island where an unusual salt water lake is situated. However, their purifying experiments arouse the prehistoric monster Obaki from hibernation at the lake's bottom, and it proceeds to attack Japan. Although made by a U.S. independent film company, this film was based on a Japanese Toho monster film of 1958, "Daikaiju Varan", from which all of the monster effects scenes and a few incidental dramatic shots were edited into it.
Varan the Unbelievable
1962
8.4In 1943, the Aleutian island of Kiska was fortified by a small contingent of Japanese soldiers. When word arrived of an impending attack by an overwhelming force of Americans, the Japanese Navy attempted one of the most daring and unlikely evacuations in military history. This is that story.
The Retreat from Kiska
1965
7.0Desperate to escape her grueling life caring for her paralyzed husband, Tamiko murders him and burns down their home to start anew. She is soon entangled in the dark web of an influential, elderly power broker, becoming his mistress and a pawn in his political schemes. As she descends further into a downward spiral of moral decay, Tamiko realizes that the freedom she sought is merely a new form of entrapment.
Beast Alley
1965
7.5During the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei (whose family has been completely decimated) is recruited by Toyotomi to overcome the seat of power, Osaka Castle. Mohei's daredevil skills will be put to severe tests.
Daredevil in the Castle
1961
5.9When the only son of a working class woman is fatally struck by a car driven by the adulterous wife of a company president in a hit-and-run, the victim's mother changes her identity and infiltrates the couple's home to work as their maid, plotting to murder their similarly-aged son.
Moment of Terror
1966
7.0Narcotics officer Matsumoto’s investigation into a drug smuggling ring leads him from Tokyo to Hong Kong, where personal ties and painful secrets unravel a complex web of betrayal. As love, family, and justice collide, Matsumoto must face a truth too deep to escape—and a loss too great to mend.
The White Rose of Hong Kong
1965
8.0As Marukyū Department Store plans its Hawaii expansion, company executives become sidetracked by local pleasures and personal entanglements. By the time they resume business, the target property is lost to a rival—forcing an abrupt return to Japan with both deals and relationships unresolved.
Aloha 3 Gents
1963
NRA short compilation film made to be shown at Takarazuka Family Land which takes footage from several Showa era Godzilla films.
Do Your Best! Godzilla
1967
8.0A film produced by Toho and Watanabe Productions as part of the Crazy Movie project featuring The Crazy Cats comedy group and jazz band members. It is the sixth film in the Crazy Operation series where the lead role was handed over from Eikichi Ueki to Kei Tani. According to the plot, Planet Alpha Secretary severely worried by the effects of the Earth's atomic bomb experiment and sent Mistake 7 and Zero 8, as a watchers to Earth for a nuclear disarmament.
The Man from Planet Alpha
1966
1950s · 30 titles
7.6Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.
Godzilla
1954
6.5During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
1956
6.0Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.
Godzilla Raids Again
1955
6.5Mining engineer Shigeru investigates the disappearance and death of his fellow coworkers when prehistoric nymphs are discovered emerging from the mines. After an attack on the local village, Shigeru heads deeper into the mines only to make a more horrifying discovery in the form a prehistoric flying creature. Soon a second monster appears as the two converge in Fukuoka.
Rodan
1956
7.2A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
1956
5.9In 1965, the space station JSS-3 is destroyed by a fleet of UFOs, which then begin a global siege on Earth, using rays to manipulate gravity and control the minds of men. In response, a global council meeting is held to determine the source of the attacks and prepare a rocket ship armada for a counter-attack, a true battle in outer space. . . The film is a sequel of sorts to Toho's THE MYSTERIANS in the reprise of the Etsuko Shiraishi character of that film as its heroine. It was edited to 74 minutes for its American release.
Battle in Outer Space
1959
5.5The legend of the birth of Shintoism. In Fourth Century Japan, the Emperor's son Ouso expects to succeed his father on the throne, but Otomo, the Emperor's vassal, prefers Ouso's stepbrother, and conspires to have Ouso die on a dangerous mission he has contrived. But Ouso prevails in the mission and returns to his father's castle under a new name, Prince Yamato Takeru. Otomo plots to have the Prince sent into even greater danger, but Otomo is unaware that the gods have favored the Prince and the outcome is far from what any of them expected.
The Three Treasures
1959
6.3In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry earthling women, claiming to be pacifists. Mankind must decide whether to capitulate or to resist.
The Mysterians
1957
5.8When a narcotics deal goes sour and a suspect disappears, leaving only his clothes, Tokyo police question his wife and stake out the nightclub where she works.
The H-Man
1958
5.8When a rare species of butterfly is found in a mysterious valley in Japan, a pair of entomologists go to investigate and find more. They discover Varan, a giant monster, who decides to leave the valley and head straight for Tokyo.
Varan
1958
6.4A prehistoric monster called Gigantis emerges alongside another creature named Angurus.
Gigantis, the Fire Monster
1959
8.6Obscure French version of the original Godzilla. The film combines elements of the original Toho version and the American King of the Monsters! in a unique assemblage exclusive to the Francophone market. Released by Les Films du Verseau.
Godzilla, the Monster of the Pacific Ocean
1957
7.8Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a brilliant tactician, is a loyal subject of the emperor, despite his grave misgivings about leading Japan's navy into war with the United States. He opposes the attack on Pearl Harbor, but, overruled, he leads his forces to the best of his ability.
The Eagle of the Pacific
1953
5.6Ryukichi, the pampered heir to a cosmetics wholesaler, abandons his wife and child to pursue a scandalous affair with a famous geisha named Choko. This betrayal leads his father to disown him, leaving the unskilled Ryukichi with no way to earn a living. To keep them afloat, Choko is forced to continue working as a geisha while secretly scraping together a nest egg to start their own business. However, Ryukichi remains trapped in his hedonistic lifestyle, eventually squandering Choko’s hard-earned savings on his own self-indulgence.
Marital Relations
1955
9.0A young country boy leaves his village for Tokyo, where he begins to work as a stock trader. First part (of four) of the film adaptation of Bunroku Shishi's novel, Oban.
Ôban
1957
9.0No synopsis available yet.
Her Captive Gamblers
1953
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Utsukushiki taka
1954
NRA college football star gets caught in a scandal involving a geisha teacher, endangering his team’s season and his family’s honor—until a last-minute comeback restores both.
A Young Boss Tries Really Hard
1959
9.0A film by Hiroshi Inagaki.
Rebels on the High Sea
1956
8.0No synopsis available yet.
Shanghai Rose
1952
10.0Yukiko Nogami is rescued during a mountain blizzard by handsome forester Shinkichi, and the two subsequently fall in love. But when Shinkichi dies in an avalanche, Yukiko leaves the mountains in despair and takes a job in a bar where she becomes deeply involved in the personal lives of several of the patrons. One day she thinks she sees Shinkichi alive, but it turns out to be a gangster named Hayakawa, a man on the run who bears an astonishing resemblance to Yukiko's lost love. Against her better judgment, she is drawn to help Hayakawa, though clearly danger follows him.
The Last Embrace
1953
NRA Filipino re-edit of the original Godzilla. Appears to have been edited in a similar fashion to the American King of the Monsters!, with the use of Filipino actors. No footage of this version has ever surfaced.
Tokyo 1960
1957
8.0An Ishiro Honda film.
The Story of Iron Arm Inao
1959
NRCrime melodrama has young Kijima (Takarada) working at a successful cabaret, actually a front for drug dealing. Initially unaware of this, he falls in love with the daughter (Shirakawa) of one of the club owners (Ozawa). However, the other owner, Takagi (Kawazu), also has designs on her, leading to the inevitable showdown.
Reign of Terror
1957
10.0A Japanese artist (Ikebe), who had won the favor of the Cambodian royal family when he rescued their daughter during World War II, returns and falls for the now-grown princess, though neither realizes the other's identity.
Angkor Wat Story - Beautiful Sadness
1958
8.0Jidai-geki by Kiyoshi Saeki
Forty-Eight Man
1952
NROlympic gymnast Yukiko resists marriage plans, stumbling into a newspaper job under reporter Tsubasa. Amid comic mix-ups with a fake fortune teller, jealous suitors, and her eccentric boss, she finds herself and finally chooses love with Tsubasa.
Tomboy Daughter Diary
1955
9.0No synopsis available yet.
I Was a Prisoner in Siberia
1952
NRIn this sequel to Three Dolls in College, the three friends continue their adventures and get into a rockabilly club in Ginza.
Three Dolls in Ginza
1959
NRRookie reporter Yukiko helps save the failing Miyako Times with her friends, while romance and comic chaos unfold around her and fortune-teller Ishibashi.
Bridal Candidates
1955
