Gamera: The Giant Monster opens in Japan in 1965. A re-cut English-dubbed version would open in the U.S. a year later. The schlocky low-budget – and non-Toho Studios – kaiju movie about a giant, flying, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle becomes enough of a success with kids in Japan and the U.S. to launch a franchise that rivals Toho’s Godzilla, and would be followed by comics, magazines, cartoons, video games and more.
This Day in Halloween: The schlocky, low-budget rival to Godzilla "Gamera: The Giant Monster" opens in Japan in 1965. / Illustration by Sarah Ryan