The Invisible Boy (1957)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Herman Hoffman

Writers:

Cyril Hume (screenplay)
Edmund Cooper (story)

Release Date:

October 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The science-monster who would destroy the world!

Plot:

A ten-year-old boy and Robby the Robot team up to prevent a Super Computer from controlling the Earth from a satellite.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Robot | Robby The Robot | World Domination | Invisibility

Cast

Richard Eyer	...	Timmie Merrinoe
Philip Abbott	...	Dr. Tom Merrinoe
Diane Brewster	...	Mary Merrinoe
Harold J. Stone	...	Gen. Swayne
Robert H. Harris	...	Prof. Frank Allerton
Dennis McCarthy	...	Col. Macklin
Alexander Lockwood	...	Arthur Kelvaney
John O'Malley	...	Prof. Baine
Robby the Robot	...	Robby
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rayford Barnes	...	Capt. McLaren (uncredited)
Gage Clarke	...	Dr. Bannerman (uncredited)
Helen Kleeb	...	Miss Vandergrift (uncredited)
Alfred Linder	...	Martin / Computer (uncredited) (voice)
Marvin Miller	...	Robby the Robot (voice) (uncredited)
Michael Miller	...	MP at gate (uncredited)
Alvy Moore	...	Scientist #4 (pranks scene) (uncredited)
Jefferson Dudley Searles	...	Prof. Foster (uncredited)
Gary Vinson	...	Young soldier (uncredited)
Ralph Votrian	...	MP at gate (uncredited)
Than Wyenn	...	Prof. Zeller (uncredited)

Directed by
Herman Hoffman

Writing credits
Cyril Hume		(screenplay)
Edmund Cooper		(story)

Produced by
Nicholas Nayfack	....	producer

Original Music by
Les Baxter

Cinematography by
Harold E. Wellman		(as Harold Wellman)

Film Editing by
John Faure		(as John D. Faure)

Art Direction by
Merrill Pye

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera

Production Management
Gus Schroeder	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Chervin	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Fred Lau	....	recording supervisor

Special Effects by
Irving Block	....	special effects
Louis DeWitt	....	special effects
Jack Rabin	....	special effects

Casting Department
Lynn Stalmaster	....	casting supervisor

Music Department
Les Baxter	....	conductor

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Pan Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

S.O.S. Spaceship

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:G (re-rating) (1973) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #18712)

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Robby the Robot's appearance in the film was partly because it was so expensive to build him for Forbidden Planet (1956) that MGM felt obliged to use him in another project.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Dr. Bannerman pronounces Colonel Macklin dead, tape marks denoting the actors' positions are clearly visible on the floor as the camera pulls out and the cast members obligingly stand up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Tom Merrinoe: General Swayne! Certainly didn't expect to see you in person.
Gen. Swayne: Thought I'd be my own messenger boy this time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Troldspejlet: (#1.3)" (1989)

Grown-ups just don't understand

This little picture has its moments of pulp poetry. There are not one, but two intelligent machines. One is a supercomputer that's been biding its time for decades, waiting for an opportunity that arrives one day in the form of a lonely little boy. He is invisible in the sense that the grown-ups pay no attention to him, condescend to him, or talk over his head--they just don't understand! When he becomes literally invisible later, it's just a way of literalizing what the movie has already been saying.

Anyway, the computer hypnotizes the boy and gives him instructions about putting together a robot that's lying disassembled in a workroom. It's all part of the evil plan to use boy and robot in a plot to take over the world via satellite.

The best moment comes when the insidious computer, invented by the boy's father, flashes all his lights and promises that they can explore the universe together. "Dad--" the boy starts to complain. "Just be quiet, son," says Dad, "and look at all the pretty lights." Man spellbound by his own invention, even unto his own destruction, and taking his future generations with him . . . .