TobortheGreat

Tobor the Great (1954)

So there is this scientist guy who doesn’t like how the space program is going. See he thinks that sending people into space is way too dangerous because of all the unknowns that could possibly kill them. He gets really cranky about it and quits the program, only to be recruited by this old scientist guy. The old scientist guy agrees with the first scientist guy and has a secret that he wants to share. So they fly back to his house, meet his grandson and his super hot daughter. This makes the first scientist happy, especially after he finds out her husband died in Korea, so she is available. Well anyway the old scientist has invented a robot named Tobor that he keeps in his basement. Since this is a secret lab and project they decide to have a bunch of people over to check it out. But before that happens some spies show up to steal the plans. They fail, but end up kidnapping the grandson and the old scientist. Not to worry Tobor is able to find them and kick some butt. The end.

I like old science fiction and horror movies, but this one is terrible. The story is stupid and boring. Huge parts of the movie are filled up with stock footage, including the same damn rocket exploding over and over again. I swear that this movie had to be written for kids in mind, because it plays out like an old Saturday morning show. Really I had a terrible time staying awake thru this and was forced to watch it twice for the review, which let me tell you wasn’t fun. I won’t rip on the cast, though the performances leave a lot to be desired. But then given the shoddy dialogue they were forced to deliver I’m not sure what anyone could have done to make the thing worth watching. If you are over the age of 7 then I think this one isn’t going to hold any interest for you.

The movie itself is shot fairly well and was clearly handled by a crew with some skill. The director Lee Sholem, was primarily know for his TV shows like Superman and for getting things done on time. The might account of the professional, yet wholly unoriginal feeling that this movie has. Remember I said it felt like a Saturday morning kids show, and this might account for it. For me the only thing that could have saved the movie would have been a kick ass robot. The titular Tobor is a very sad movie robot from the 50s. In the 50s you either had a robot that looked awesome with all sorts of gears and such, like Forbidden Planet’s Robby or you went with the cardboard and tinfoil look. Here they managed to end up somewhere in between with a design that again is boring, but well enough done that it doesn’t have any cheesy appeal at all. I was terribly disappointed.

So by now it should be no surprise that I’m not recommending this movie at all. It is one of the most boring films I’ve ever sat thru, and I’ve seen most of the Mexican Masked Wrestler movies from the 50s and 60s! Not worth a purchase or a rental, avoid this one.

½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer