Robots in Film

Robots in Film
A Complete Illustrated History

Part 3

Introduction: Throughout cinematic history, especially in science-fiction tales, robots have played a primary role. Throughout history and popular culture, robots have reflected the mood, social and cultural issues, and technology of their times. For example, in the Cold War 1950s, robots were generally viewed as threatening forces, but in later years reflected both the conflict and the continuity between man and machine. Robots have also functioned as both servant-helpers or oppressors of humanity, portraying the good and evil sides.

This compilation is not designed to be too strict in its choices of 'robots'. Herein are examples of various films with robotic characters.

Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star

are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100 Greatest Films.

Film/Year Name of Robot	Description	Example
*Uchu Kaisuko-Sen (1961, Jp.)* (aka *Invasion of The Neptune Men)* Neptune Men	Director Koji Ota's alien-invasion, science-fiction film included robotic alien invaders from the planet of Neptune. The clunky, pointy-headed aliens had bullet-shaped metal helmets with blinking lights. They were thwarted by heroic Space Chief (Sonny Chiba in his feature film debut) wearing a caped jumpsuit and sun visor, and riding in a super-charged rocketship (or vehicle). It was deemed a horrible B-movie when critiqued on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (Episode 819). [Notice a brief appearance in the film of a toy version of Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956).]
*Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)* (aka *Santa Claus Defeats the Aliens*) Torg	In this Christmas movie, often voted one of the worst films ever made, it was nonetheless taglined: "Science-Fun-Fiction at its height!", Martian robot Torg (an anagram of "Gort" from the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still) was a crudely-made robot made of silver-painted cardboard with two painted-on dials in front, glued-on parts, and duct-work arms; in the film, Torg attacked Santa's (John Call) toy-making workshop at Earth's North Pole and was turned into a toy; to aficionados of Mystery Science Theater 3000, this episode (# 321) was one of the most popular.
*Alphaville (1965, Fr./It.)* Alpha-60	French New Wave director Jean Luc-Godard's post-apocalyptic science-fiction film (with gangster and film noir characteristics), a recreation of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, told about American gumshoe detective Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine); he traveled inter-galactically (in a white Ford Galaxy) from the Outlands to the automated city of Alphaville, the capital of a totalitarian state on a futuristic planet; it was led by an almost-human supercomputer called Alpha-60 (with a synthetic voice provided by Godard with a dry, slow, gutteral sound), that caused the dehumanized, tattoo-identified inhabitants to be completely complacent and apathetic, due to mind-altering drugs and the outlawing of emotions, love, crying, and conscience; part of his mission was to bring back and/or kill Professor Von Braun (Howard Vernon) who was responsible for creating the fascist Alpha-60 computer that ruled the state-run technocracy; in one chilling scene, the computer interrogated Lemmy and accused him: "You are not telling the truth."
*Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)* Sexbots or Fembots, including Robot # 11 (aka Diane)	This spy film's farcical premise was that San Francisco mad genius scientist Dr. Goldfoot (Vincent Price) had created an army of gold, bikini-clad robots (or sexbots), such as Robot Number 11 - or Diane (Susan Hart), who were programmed to seek out eligible billionaire bachelors and charm them away from their fortunes through marriage; their assets also included contagious go-go-dancing; the film was a parody of Goldfinger (1964) and other Bond films of the time and Frankie Avalon beach movies; it led to the Italian-made sequel Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966), and to the copycat Austin Powers films
*Dr. Who & the Daleks (1965)* and Dr. Who: Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 (1966) The Daleks	The Daleks were 5 foot tall, pepper-pot-shaped, red/blue/gold-colored robotic monsters from the planet Skaro, a desolate landscape that had suffered from the effects of an ancient nuclear war; Daleks were actually evil mutants that were forced to live inside their protective machine casings due to harsh levels of radiation, with surrounding solar panels (to convert energy) - they could glide along and could fire lethal death rays from protruding gun sticks; their heads (with a pointing eye-stick) and upper body could rotate; they originally debuted in the long-running BBC-TV series Doctor Who, and were adapted for the Technicolored big screen; the warring Daleks with metallic voices patrolled and dominated the planet from their metal city and conducted a reign of terror, as they cried out: "Exterminate!" and "You will obey!"; Peter Cushing starred in the 1965 film as eccentric scientist/grandfather Dr. Who, who traveled to the planet Skaro to help the peaceful race of turquoise-skinned, persecuted Thals overcome the dreaded and oppressive Dalek threat of nuclear attack; in the second film, Dr. Who traveled to a futuristic England and again counteracted the Dalek plan, this time to conquer Earth and subjugate humans as helmeted slaves called "robomen."	(1965) (1966)
*Cyborg 2087 (1966)* Cyborg Garth A7	In this low-budget anti-Communist tale (with a Terminator-like script), Michael Rennie starred as rebellious freedom fighter Cyborg Garth A7, who was time-transferred in a time-machine capsule from the year 2087 to 1966 ("an agent from the world of the future," "half-human, half-machine, programmed to kill"); behind his zippered jacket was an implanted homing device (to allow two killer cyborg tracers with deathly ray guns from the future to follow him back), and his reinforced arm/hand had the strength of five humans; his mission was to alter the oppressive, dystopic future that outlawed free thought and to save the world from a totalitarian state that was ruled by machines, by specifically preventing Professor Sigmund Marx (Eduard Franz) from revealing the secrets of his invention regarding radio telepathy.
*Dr. Satan's Robot (1966)* Steel "Killer" Robot	Republic Pictures' remake of director William Witney's early 1940s film serial (with 15 chapters or episodes), titled The Mysterious Dr. Satan (aka Doctor Satan's Robot) (1940), was released in re-edited form to TV in the mid-1960s as a feature-length film - the plot pitted the hero Bob Wayne (Robert Wilcox) (also known as the chainmail cowl-masked Copperhead, because he left small coiled coppersnakes as his calling card) against mad criminal scientist Dr. Satan (Eduardo Ciannelli) and his mechanical, square tin-canned or steel "killer" robot (Tom Steele), in his plot to take over the world. (Note: The same robot also appeared in Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)).
*King Kong Escapes (1967, Jp.)* (aka *Kingu Kongu No Gyakushû) (aka King Kong's Counterattack, or King Kong Strikes Again*) Mecha Kong (or Mechani-Kong)	In director Ishirô Honda's Japanese-language science fiction film from Toho Studios, the giant ape King Kong (Kingu Kongu) (Haruo Nakajima in a large monster suit) battled in a climactic wrestling match (on the top of Tokyo Tower, instead of the Empire State Building) the evil robot MechaKong, a huge 60 foot tall steel robot replica of the legendary King Kong that was created by evil genius Dr. Who (Eisei Amamoto, voice of Paul Frees in the dubbed US version). MechaKong had a dome on the top of its head with a flashing light. This robotic replica of Kong was the inspiration for MechaGodzilla for Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974).
Barbarella (1968) (aka *Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy)* Robot devil dolls	During Barbarella's (Jane Fonda) mission from Earth to the planet Lythion to find young scientist Durand-Durand (Milo O'Shea), she was attacked by battling mechanical, razor-toothed robot devil dolls.