Robot Monster (1953)

The monstrous Ro-Man attempts to annihilate the last family alive on Earth, but finds himself falling for their beautiful daughter.

Director:

Phil Tucker

Writer:

Wyott Ordung (original screenplay)

Stars:

George Nader, Gregory Moffett, Claudia Barrett

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Nader	...	Roy
Claudia Barrett	...	Alice
Selena Royle	...	Mother (as Selena Royale)
John Mylong	...	The Professor
Gregory Moffett	...	Johnny
Pamela Paulson	...	Carla
George Barrows	...	Ro-Man the Monster / Great Guidance
John Brown	...	Ro-Man / Great Guidance (voice)

Storyline

Ro-Man, an alien that looks remarkably like a gorilla in a diving helmet, has destroyed all but six people on the planet Earth. He spends the entire film trying to finish off these survivors, but complications arise when he falls for the young woman in the group. Love that bubble machine!

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | stock footage | b movie | brontosaurus | woolly mammoth | 

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Taglines:

Moon monsters launch attack against Earth! How can science meet the menace of astral assassins? New Science Fiction Thrills!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reportedly, the film was shot entirely outdoors, without sets, in four days.

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Goofs

When the Professor tells Roy and his daughter that he would be happy to perform their marriage ceremony, he is holding a book in his right hand. In the next shot, the book is nowhere to be seen.

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Quotes

Great One: Have you made the correction?
Ro-Man: I need guidance, Great One. For the first time in my life, I am not sure.
Great One: You sound like a hu-man, not a Ro-Man. Can you not verify a fact?
Ro-Man: I meshed my LIP with the view-screen auditor, and picked up a count of five.
Great One: Error! Error! There are eight!
Ro-Man: Then the other three still elude me. Is it possible they have a counterpower?

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Crazy Credits

Automatic Billion Bubble Machine by N.A. Fisher Chemical Products, Inc.

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Alternate Versions

The version released to television by Medallion TV adds an unrelated pre-credits sequence with battling dinosaurs (actually stock footage from One Million B.C.). This version was released on home video in the 80's by Admit One Video Presentations, and runs 66 minutes.

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Connections

Featured in Monsters, Madmen & Machines: 80 Years of Science Fiction (1984)

User Reviews

1+ hour advertisement for the billion bubble machine

It's an old theme, and one particularly pertinent to the cold war. Aliens conquer the earth, and earthlings are too small minded to put aside their grievances, so all is lost. However, in the case of Robot Monster, the aliens are big guys in ape suits and old-school scuba gear (odd concept of a robot, IMO), and all the action in the film appears to be either stock warfare footage or scraps of bad sci-fi films found on the cutting room floor, spliced in with some pathetic burning miniature rocket ships, and all not even loosely tied into the "plot".

George Nader, who helped Frankie Avalon ruin the masterpiece of garbage cinema "Million Eyes of Sumuru", is the star, but the only people who act in this film are Claudia Barrett and John Brown (the Ro-Man), and even so, they're not very good at it. As a man well aware of his limits, Nader doesn't usually bother with acting. Like most of the cast members of Robot Monster, he simply recites his lines and adds a smile, a chuckle, or a gesture here and there.

It gets worse. I am a professional archaeologist, and though I appreciate the credit this film gives my profession, I sincerely doubt that any archaeologist will ever develop a serum that makes humans immune to every possible form of disease. Furthermore, I have ethical concerns about the fact that he tests it on HIS ENTIRE FAMILY, even if doing so allowed them to be the only survivors of the alien holocaust brought about by Ro-man! I guess this makes Robot Monster a pioneering cyberpunk film since the entire plot takes place after the destruction of most of earth's life. Most of the plot is incoherent, utterly ridiculous and unexplained.

You continue to watch because, despite the mediocre cinematography, worse than mediocre directing and script, you want to see just how much worse it can get. In that sense, this film is no disappointment. It gives Manos a run for its money, but in the end does no harm, and its a lot more fun, so I gave it a two (the extra star is for being harmless). This is an amazingly goofy and silly film, comparable in its absurdity to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Go for it if you're into that kind of thing, or if you harbor a secret desire to see George Nader get married without a shirt in a ceremony performed by a German archaeologist.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 June 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monsters from the Moon

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Three Dimension Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1