Godzilla vs. Megalon (lost NBC John Belushi skit bumpers for film; 1977)

Belushi and Radner in the original SNL skit.

Status: Partially Found

In 1977, NBC broadcast nationally and in prime time Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973). It was the only installment of the Japanese Godzilla film franchise that had this privilege.

Since the film had a goofy reputation, bumpers were filmed featuring Saturday Night Live actor and comedian John Belushi in a Godzilla suit.

Description

John Belushi as Godzilla would make snarky - though played straight for the character - remarks about the film and franchise, end up trashing his chair and then biting down on the movie reels.

Belushi had previously played Godzilla in an SNL skit with Gilda Radner as "Baba Wawa" (a broad parody of Barbara Walters), treated as though the fictional monster were an actor in his own films.

Given the amount of classic horror/monster parodies on the first five years of SNL, it seems possible that Belushi was a Godzilla fan.

Availability

These bumpers were only shown along this original broadcast, which was only rerun once or twice soon after the first one, and have not been seen since. Only some of the footage has been found.

Trivia

During those promos/bumpers, Belushi ends up repeating a common Godzilla film fallacy, promising that Godzilla vs. Megalon will not be like his other films. Among the ones he cites is "Godzilla Vs. Rodan." While the pteranodon-like Kaiju and Godzilla have fought several times, there has never been a film by this title, making it seem like a "lost Godzilla film" all by itself.

External Links

• Transcript of a skit
• A gif showing some footage of one of the bumpers