The H-Man (1958)

Approved   |    |  Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi

The H-Man (1958) Poster

When 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. His disappearance stumps the ... See full summary »

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Cast & Crew

Top Billed Cast

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Takeshi Kimura, Hideo Unagami (story)
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Awards

1 nomination.

Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews
22 August 2004 | stevetowsley-2
Green blob from Japan melts men in sensational style
The early Toho Japanese imports took themselves seriously and so did American kids, who flocked to see THE H-MAN, RODAN, THE MYSTERIANS, and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (despite the dubbed dialogue) during this period.

In my town, the first 50 customers at the box office received an "H-Man" premium -- to this day I don't know what that item was -- green Silly Putty?

An action figure?

The H-Man "himself" was a green (in some cases blue -- the Eastmancolor prints I've seen to date leave some doubt, but he looked green in the "previews" in 1958) blob that ran under its own power through sewer grates, up walls, and under doors to attack people by running up their bodies and melting them down inside their clothes, leaving nothing but a mystery. In fact, the plot is superficially a mystery/crime drama with some silly and cursory science behind the H-Man, but as these films go, THE H-MAN was a minor sensation -- the movie was not too long, dark and moody, with plenty of reasonably convincing effects to recommend it. This was "The Blob" without the teenagers, and the scenes of people dissolving were fairly sensational and pretty scary for its day -- folks being deflated like balloons and melted into puddles of suds.

The theater in my town announced the coming attraction in the lobby by featuring an "actual H-Man victim" on display -- which was a toupee lying on top of a crumpled man's suit, with a pair of shoes underneath. Crude, but effective...

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original Japanese version, after the stock shots of the hydrogen bomb tests, the title, cast and credits are matted over shots of the "ghost ship" in Tokyo Bay. For the U.S. English dubbed version, the title, cast and credits are matted over a shot of an H-Man in the sewer system. Since there are fewer cast and credits on screen in the U.S. version, Masaru Sato's opening score was skillfully edited into a shorter version.

Quotes

Dr. Maki: If man perishes from the face of the Earth, due to the effects of hydrogen bombing, it is possible that the next ruler of our planet may be The H-Man.

Goofs

In the English subtitled version prepared for the 2009 U.S. DVD release, the subtitles give Kenji Sahara's character's name as "Asada" through most of the film. In the final fourth of the film, the subtitles properly give his name as "Masada."

Crazy Credits

In an unusual move, Columbia Pictures did not matte the English "The End" over the final shot. It appears in Japanese as it did in the original Japanese version.

Alternate Versions

The Japanese version shows one of the dancers melt to leave nothing but her G-string, but this was cut from the U.S. version, which is missing several other scenes, including an investigation scene at Uchida's house.

Storyline

Plot Summary

Synopsis (WARNING: Spoilers)

Genres

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Details

Release Date:

28 May 1959

Language

Japanese

Country of Origin

Japan

Filming Locations

Tokyo, Japan

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