Mothra

Survivors of a shipwreck are found on Infant Island, a remote Pacific location where nuclear testing once took place. The rescued sailors show no signs of radiation sickness, which prompts a joint expedition of scientists to investigate. On the island they encounter a native population and two tiny twin priestesses known as the Shobijin, who serve a giant deity called Mothra.

A ruthless businessman, Clark Nelson, abducts the fairies and brings them to Tokyo to perform in his stage show. Their song carries a telepathic plea for help, drawing Mothra to Japan to recover them. The film stars Frankie Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyōko Kagawa, Jerry Itō and Ken Uehara among a credited cast of 51.

Ishirō Honda directed this ninth of the 25 films he made, following The Human Vapor and preceding King Kong vs. Godzilla, from a screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa with Tomoyuki Tanaka producing. It is the first film built around the Mothra character, released in Japan in mid-1961. The film took in about 2 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.6 from 6,100 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.2 from 195 votes; a critics' score of 5.6 from 15 reviews places it below both audience figures.