Delightfully AWFUL!

Robot Monster (1953) – Aliens from Outer Space have destroyed almost all human life on Earth. There are eight survivors who must hang on against Ro-Man, whose task is to exterminate the final remnants of humanity.

Director – Phil Tucker

Starring – George Nader, Gregory Moffett, Claudia Barrett

Why I Liked It – An iconic monster makes up for a lot.

First things first: This is a TERRIBLE movie!

A Sci-Fi apocalypse with dashes of King Kong and, bizarrely, the TV show “Dallas”.

It’s not surprising, really. Shot in four days with a budget of $20,000 (approximately $230,000 today), the movie is rough in every aspect. The script is poor, as is the acting. Originally released in 3-D, which must have chewed up a good segment of the budget. There is an inexplicably recurring appearance of a huge bubble machine. It even gets a production credit. It is as “B-movie” as a B-movie can be.

Oh, but the monster!

Ro-Man is part gorilla suit and part diving helmet/space helmet with an enormous antenna. This is one of the all -time great low-budget movie monsters. He ranks up there with Tor Johnson created in “Plan 9 From Outer Space”. Add in a musical score by Elmer Bernstein. Yes, the Elmer Bernstein, who was nominated for fourteen Oscars, and received at least one nomination in six consecutive decades (1950s-2000s). Plus, there’s a twist ending that I should have caught, but overwhelmed by the amazing awfulness of it all, I missed it.

Rating this one is hard. So let me put it this way. It’s an iconic, 1950s B-Movie, science fiction flick. If you’re into delightfully awful movies, then it’s Worth A Look. And that’s the official rating I’m giving it. On the other hand, if you’re not into any of those categories above, you can probably skip it.

Rating *** Worth A Look (for some movie fans)