Planet Prince


Planet Prince is a 1958 Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series from Toei Films. Created by Masaru Igami and produced by Nippon Gendai and Senkosha, the series aired on NTV from November 4, 1958 to October 6, 1959, with a total of 49 episodes. It was created to capitalize on the success of Shintoho's Super Giant movie series. In fact, the title hero bore a strong resemblance to Super Giant. Planet Prince was filmed in black and white ToeiScope format.
Toei produced two theatrical movies in 1959 that featured the Planet Prince character, but wearing a completely different, more streamlined costume than the one worn in the tv series. The hero in these two movies was played by Tatsuo Umemiya. The movies were released a week apart. The films were titled:
For TV release in America, these two Planet Prince movies were compiled into a 95-minute movie entitled Prince of Space in 1962. It was also called The Star Prince, Planet Prince, or Prince Planet.

Production

The TV version looks very similar to Super Giant, in that both wear cowled costumes and capes. Each character also has super powers and flies. The two-part movie version is different, as Prince of Space wears a streamlined costume, cape, and helmet. In the edited US version he has no superpowers other than the invulnerability of his costume, but in a subplot unique to the Japanese version he is able to revert a man who was brainwashed by the Ginsei aliens back to a peaceful state. He uses a wand-like laser gun and flies a small spaceship.
In the TV version, just like Moonlight Mask, the Planet Prince persona was credited as being played by "?".
In the film, Prince's enemy is Ambassador Phantom of the Silver Planet , while in the U.S. version he is called Dictator Phantom of the Planet Krankor. He wears a prosthetic nose and cowl that gives him a decidedly chicken-like appearance, something that is constantly mocked when the film was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Phantom and his henchmen also don't appear to wear undergarments, as is made painfully obvious in several shots.
A translation error in the English dub has Prince of Space declare "Your weapons are useless against me!", implying he is invulnerable to them. In the Japanese version, this line simply had him implying that their weapons were useless because he was capable of dodging them. The English line leads to confusion as the Prince is constantly shown running away from the lasers in spite of his stated invulnerability.
Prince of Space was also featured on the nationally syndicated television series Cinema Insomnia. On the show, there is a commercial for the album Candles, Krankor and You where the Dictator Phantom sings various cover songs such as "Unforgettable" and "Summer Wind".

Cast of the movie

Theme Song – "Planet Prince Song"