Robot Monster

it could.

Robot Monster 1953.

This classic here is a good one.

Features alien invader that is literally a man in a gorilla suit.

Yeah,

because the design of the costume is kind of brilliant, except kind of like Robot Monster.

Good luck fucking moving in that thing.

And he does kind of okay on land, but not great.

designed so that it would actually do that effect.

Don't get me wrong.

Unlike Robot Monster, I think this was filmed over more than four days.

Yeah.

[ominous music] [lasers firing] [woman screams] What astounding technical developments are being made to protect mankind.

Robot Monster brings you an actual preview of the devastating forces of our future.

Unsuspected revelations of incredible horrors that will terrify you with their brutal reality.

There is no escape from me.

... ah, we are capping off the last month on Earth-

Oh

... with 1953's Robot Monster.

[laughs]

...

this is true of, uh, like Robot Monster and, and a lot of other films at the time.

It, it, there's supposed to be cataclysmic effects happening around the world, but you just see the one set, the one, you know, cabin or Bronson Canyon where they're filming, and that's very much in effect here too.

They add a few useless stock footage scenes in Zontar, in the remake, that were not here in this one, just, uh, you know, showing you a glimpse of oil derricks wi- winding down and, and buses stopping in their tracks and, and stuff like that, which are not in this film.

We're going to 1953, and we're gonna get kinda ridiculous here.

I went with Robot Monster.

Ooh.

Have you seen it?

I have not seen it.

I bet if you looked it up, you would immediately recognize who I'm talking about, though, because this movie is called Robot Monster, but when you see the, uh, essentially robot, it's a gorilla suit with a spaceman helmet.

It looks incredible.

Mm-hmm.

Use that footage for the hungry beast to kind of entertain himself with.

And, you know, Robot Monster was like one of the stupidest horror movies that I ever saw.

So I had to put that in, you know.

So basically it is a love letter to those movies and to Invaders from Mars, you know, which was one of those movies that just haunted my childhood because sort of, you know, had the expressionistic, production design that kind of came out of, you know, like cabinet of Dr. Caligari, you know, and which all those movies were just, I knew them from famous monsters of film land magazine and never saw them until I got to, to the university of Texas.

On today's show, Jeff Schuster and I commence our annual Schlocktoberfesting.

This time, we discuss two science fiction films from 1953, Robot Monster and The War of the Worlds.

Robot Monster was recommended by listener DJ Round.

Now, I was familiar with Robot Monster because I'm a fan and also a scholar, swear I'm not making this part up, of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Robot Monster appeared almost in full on episode 107 of MST3K.

I do have to say the story feels radically different without Joel, Crow, and Tom Servo mocking the Robot Monster.

DJ seems fascinated by the Freudian overtones of Robot Monster.

I see it mostly as a nihilistic examination of souls in bondage to television and a tantalizing exploration of the psychology of the Cold War.

Yeah.

Oh, the movie's just called Robot Monster.

That's funny.

And I think it's like not supposed to be very good at all, but it's just like an indie horror movie where that's the costume.

Yeah, I mean, I'm going to next be at an event on October 30th.

For anybody who's listening to this fairly early, at the Mahoney Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, they're showing Robot Monster, the movie, in 35mm.

Not in 3D, it was a 3D movie, but you're going to get to see a 35mm print of it on the big screen.

And I will be there signing my books and stuff.