Number 7 in the Godzilla series is Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas or Godzilla Vs The Sea Monster as it was released here in the US. It's a 1966 movie that was directed by Jun Fukuda. He had directed many movies before he got his first crack at the Godzilla series. He would direct 4 more Godzilla movies before the long break in the series. He does an ok job, the movie moves along pretty briskly, things happen and there's danger and excitement even before the monsters appear. The first half of the movie seems more like crime or spy genre. Ebirah appears briefly but the big G doesn't show up until the 45 minute mark. He's sleeping in a cave and they still have to wake his ass up with a bolt of lightning before he starts rampaging around. Sadly, being as they are on an island, there are hardly any buildings for him to trash. I miss the buildings going down and bursting into flames. I have the Sony/Columbia TriStar DVD of the uncut Toho International version from 2005. It's got a nice letterboxed picture and it's in Japanese with English subtitles. Or you can listen to the fairly typical English dub track which changes tiny bits of the dialog. The pan and scan 
version of the movie hosted on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is 4 minutes shorter than the 87 minutes of the Sony DVD and that version has a different dub of the movie. I also have a Video Daikaiju bootleg that came to me on vhs tape. It has some slightly different subtitles. The picture is letter boxed, and the movie is uncut, but it doesn't look nearly as good. Some guy's brother disappears at sea and an old lady who talks to the spirits of the dead tells him that his brother is still alive. He steals a boat with the help of a couple of tired marathon dancers and a thief with a brief case full of stolen cash. Everyone has a story, huh. Their new combined story gets worse as a storm strands them on a deserted island that isn't so deserted. It contains a secret lab run by the Red 
Bamboo. They are a bunch of crazies who have captured the islanders from Infant Island and are making them work as slaves in their heavy water factory. The stranded guys team up with an islander woman to wake Godzilla and set him against the giant crab Ebirah. The islanders call up Mothra for added fire power. The island is destroyed and the good people mostly escape. The effects had a different guy working them and they are pretty entertaining but there just aren't enough monsters. Godzilla doesn't finally appear until the 55 minute mark. There is a giant condor tossed in to take a turn against Godzilla but he's soon roasted. Originally the script was written for a King Kong movie but it was changed to Godzilla without enough rewrites. That's Toho for ya. It's not a bad movie, fun in fact, but the movies start changing here under new leadership, becoming more kid friendly.
You can really see that change in Son Of Godzilla a 1967 movie again directed by Jan Fukuda. Titled Monster Island's Decisive Battle: Godzilla's Son in Japan the movie opens with some reporter washing up on a small south seas island where some science guys are conducting a weather experiment. There are several large critters on the island and a pretty girl. The giant praying mantis, the pretty girl, and the giant spider are entertaining but baby Godzilla, man o' man, a face only a mother would love! Minilla looks pretty poorly sculpted and people complain about the character all the time. I like enough of the other parts of the movie that this small bit doesn't bother me much. The boy and the big guy have some touching moments as Godzilla teaches junior to use his atomic breath. The human story is mostly ok, the scientists are having their problems, especially after the first big test. The giant praying mantis gets larger and there are three of them now. The people are in jeopardy, as is 
Minilla, lucky for him his cries attract Godzilla. He raises up from the sea and tramples the science camp with a quick dash to junior. He blasts the bugs, the condor and the giant spider before the scientist's weather controller buries the island in ice and snow. Godzilla and son settle down for a snooze until they ware thawed out next year to appear 
in Godzilla's Revenge or All Monsters Attack. SOG isn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, I've seen so many worse, it's just not great but that's ok. Mostly something is happening and it kept my interest, even for the umpteenth time. The music, by Masaru Sato, is pretty good. He did the movie score for Godzilla Vs The Sea Monster and they are fine. These movies are more for the fan of the genre, most people just wouldn't care to see them, but I'm still enjoyin' them.
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