From the Vault: Robot Monster

A movie from the Golden Age of monster movies.  Made in 1953, Robot Monster is widely considered one of the worst monster movies ever made.  It's full of terrible acting, dreadful dialogue, a convoluted story, and one the single worst "don't do that" ending in all of storytelling.  And to top it all off, the monster looks rediculous!

The story is that this robot like being named Ro-man came down from space.  Ro-man kills everyone on the planet except for a handful of survivors.  The rest of the movie Ro-man is trying to kill them while also questioning the morality of it all.  While a very goofy movie, it does try to make a good point about blind loyalty and the critical failures of communism. 

To describe this as a cheesy B movie is the understatement of the century.  The killer death ray is a flashing light, the communications machine makes bubbles, it was shot in 3D, and of course the monster is a gorilla costume with a diving helmet.  Yes.  I said a gorilla costume with a diving helmet.

The movie was shot solely on location in the Bronson Caves, one of the most famous places in Griffith Park in Los Angeles.  The Bronson Caves were used in over 80 movies and several different TV series.  Such movies as Zorro Rides Again, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Batman: The Movie, Star Trek VI, Army of Darkness, and The Scorpion King were all movies made in the Bronson Caves.  

Even upon release, the movie was considered a complete embarrassment.  Rumor has it, the director, Phil Tucker, tried to kill himself after the horrible reviews.  (Others more knowledgeable say it was due to not being paid for making the movie)

The movie has found a weird measure of success.  In 1988, Robot Monster was featured on the comedy cult classic "Mystery Science Theater: 3000" providing new interest in the movie.  Today, it's still one of the worst movies ever made, but among B-movie enthusiasts it's a cult hit still viewed today.

My advice: watch it if only to see how bad it is and just what can be done with almost no money and a little enginuity.