Gojira opens in Japan in 1954. The original uncut Japanese version of Godzilla is an allegory on the ghosts of the A bomb that still lingered over the country. Two years later, the much shorter American cut of the film — released as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! — cut in Canadian actor Raymond Burr to sell it to American audiences of the 1950s. The original Japanese version would not be seen in the U.S. until 2004, when it received rave reviews.
This Day in Halloween: The original uncut Japanese version of "Gojira" -- a.k.a. "Godzilla" -- opens across Japan in 1954. / Illustration by Demarco McKinney