Monday, June 13, 2016
ROBOT MOVIES OF THE FIFTIES!!
Here's a look at the movies from the fifties that have robots in them. Up to that point the robots were more goofy and awkward looking than anything, but, in the fifties that all changed... Thank you lord!
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL from 1951 is our first entry. Gort changed the game, his giant presence and futuristic look was a thrill and a half for all the kids back then!
It's almost unbelievable that ROBOT MONSTER from 1953 was shot in 3-D, it seems that the bubbles from the million bubble machine were the main focus of the 3-D effect! But, there's nothing quite like this movie, wow, what an acid trip!
TARGET EARTH from 1954 was a strange little flick, although there's supposed to be an invasion of robots, they only made one robot for the production! Great poster though.
TOBOR THE GREAT came out in 1954, I love this movie, Tobor was a masterpiece of design by the Republic studios. My favorite part is when the spies try to enter the grounds and our heroes turn on the battle attack soundtrack with strobe lights to disorient the intruders!
DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS also came out in 1954, this time, our invaders land in the English countryside to spread terror. Her robot's name is Chanti, and, it has a penchant for disintegrating things!
GOG come out in 1954 and was shot in color. Gog and Magog were robots like no other, designed to help out in the lab with an array of deadly features!
Ahh, my favorite fifties movie. FORBIDDEN PLANET from 1956 featured the greatest robot, Robby, he was a ton of fun! I saw this and the remaining titles at the theater at the time, how freakin' lucky was I...
KRONOS hit the screen in 1957, I'm telling you that seeing this thing at the time was totally amazing. Everything about the movie kept my interest, and, freaked me out a little, too!
Loved THE INVISIBLE BOY from 1957, they brought back Robby for another exciting kids' movie, this time he's controlled by a machine taken over by aliens!
COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK in 1958 was another terrific movie, man, the robot was mind blowing. Of course, he turns evil and must be destroyed at the end. And, we've also reached the end of the post! Tune in Wednesday for more cool junk from the Dungeon Gang...
Robot Monster is...is...I just don't know what to say about it.
ReplyDeleteThey should do a remake of Devil Girl From Mars, with Charlize Theron, Lucy Lawless, or Sybil Danning as Nyah. In the 1950's, the movie production code required the men to be brave and defiant, refusing to submit. Today, it could be portrayed more realistically. A bunch of guys trampling each other in a stampede to get aboard the Devil Girl's spaceship.
Or maybe a prequel, showing the war of the sexes that depopulated Mars. A Devil Girl shoots a male and then realizes too late that he was the last one. "Oops."
Kronos and Gog were not bad. The Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet deserve credit for trying to do serious science fiction instead of just "monster on the loose" stuff.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is generally seen as some kind of liberal, anti-war statement, but the alien's RX for world peace is downright fascist: a robot police force, programmed to disintegrate anyone who gets a step out of line. At least Robby was programmed according to Asimov's laws, and would not hurt anyone.
Great comment TC - I actually started a script in 2003 called JETTA, THE BAD SPACE LADY for our little movie company that took a big nose dive, I used Nyah for my model, it was a sci-fi comedy that had to do with her sexy power over nerds, yahoos and galoots... Anyway
ReplyDeleteRobby the Robot also made a lot of TV appearances, including episodes of The Twilight Zone and Lost In Space. And even a Charmin toilet paper commercial.
ReplyDeleteYay! Many of my absolute favourites are here (note that I'm not including the absolutely woeful Robot Monster in that category).
ReplyDeleteregards,
Paul from Oz