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| Planet Prince | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 遊星王子 | ||||
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| Directed by | Eijirō Wakabayashi | ||||
| Screenplay by | Shin Morita | ||||
| Story by | Masaru Igami | ||||
| Produced by | Walter Manley, Toei Company | ||||
| Starring | Tatsuo Umemiya Joji Oda Hiroko Mine[1] | ||||
| Cinematography | Masahiko Iimura | ||||
| Music by | Katsuhisa Hattori | ||||
| Distributed by | Toei Company | ||||
Release date |
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Running time | 57 minutes (Part I) 64 minutes (Part II) | ||||
| Country | Japan | ||||
| Language | Japanese | ||||
Planet Prince (遊星王子, Yūsei Ōji) is a 1958 Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series created by Masaru Igami and produced by Senkosha, the series aired on NTV from November 4, 1958 to October 6, 1959, with a total of 49 episodes (comprising four separate adventures). It was created to capitalize on the success of Shintoho's Super Giant (Starman) movie series. In fact, the title hero (whose alter-ego was Waku-san, played by Toshio Mimura) bore a strong resemblance to Super Giant (known as "Starman" in the U.S.). The pair of Planet Prince theatrical featurettes, adapted from the Senkosha TV series, were produced by Toei Studios and filmed in black and white ToeiScope format.[1]
Toei produced two theatrical movies in 1959 that featured the Planet Prince character, but wearing a completely different, more streamlined costume (and goggled helmet) 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:
- Planet Prince (遊星王子, Yūsei Ōji) Released: May 19, 1959
- Planet Prince - The Terrifying Spaceship (遊星王子 - 恐怖の宇宙船, Yūsei Ōji - Kyōfu no Uchūsen) Released: May 25, 1959
For TV release in America, these two Planet Prince movies were compiled into an 85-minute, English-dubbed movie entitled Prince of Space that was first shown in 1965.[1]