It was made for somewhere between $15,000 and $40,000 (depending on the source — the theatrical prints probably cost more than the film itself) in the spring of 1953, but after Bayview Entertainment and the 3-D Film Archive (Greg Kintz, Thad Komorowski and Jack Theakston) completed the restoration it looks like a multi-million-dollar film production (OK, that’s a bit over-stated, but it looks GREAT).
What are we talking about? Director Phil Tucker’s 1953 sci-fi thriller, Robot Monster, which is heading home on July 25 as both Blu-ray and DVD 2D/3D product offerings.
Sure, it’s been out before on DVD, which you can now safely retire because you are going to want the Blu-ray that Bayview Entertainment is releasing.
First, you get the 2D version, which every genre-fan on the planet has seen multiple times. But wait, there’s more. You get two 3D viewing options — digital 3D (“Tru-Stereo”) and anaglyph 3D (a pair of glasses is included) … if there were no bonus goodies included, this would be enough, but we are only getting started.
The glory of Robot Monster all begins with a family picnic at Griffith Park, where ten-year old Johnny (Gregory Moffett — Saddle Tramp, Let’s Dance … as Jimmy in the 1956 “Signals from the Heart” episode of Science Fiction Theatre) and his sister, Carla (Pamela Paulson), chance upon two archaeologists at the entrance to the legendary Bronson Caves.
The pair, Roy (George Nader — Sins of Jezebel, Miss Robin Crusoe, Carnival Story, Congo Crossing, etc.) and George (John Mylong — The Falcon in San Francisco, Captain Scarface, The Crooked Web), tell the inquisitive kids that they are investigating prehistoric cave markings. Just about then their mom, Martha (Selena Royle — Branded, The Prodigal Father, Stage Door Canteen, The Fighting Sullivans, etc.), and twenty-something sister, Alice (Claudia Barrett — Night Riders of Montana, Chain of Evidence) come racing up, concerned that the kids have wandered off.
All is well. Johnny, exhausted from the adventure, takes a little nap and when he awakes his Mom, Alice and Carla have all vanished, he’s alone … and the real adventure begins!
Zapped by a lightning bolt — some stock footage of dinosaurs going at it (an insert from One Million B.C.) — and then the infamous encounter with Ro-Man back at the cave entrance (inside that absolute insane costume is George Barrows), who is an alien invader from another world.
It seems that Ro-Man has already exterminated all humans on the planet, save for Johnny and his family. This meeting alerts the robot monster that there are still survivors.
Johnny hustles back to the family compound, where George is now his father (don’t ask) and his sister Alice and Roy are an item. It then becomes a cat and mouse game as Ro-Man hunts down these last Hu-Man survivors — taking a lustful interest in Alice while he’s at it! The world ends! Is this all a dream?
It absolutely doesn’t matter. Robot Monster is sci-fi gold; a treasure.
Bonus features (and this release comes packed) include commentary by the film’s star Greg Moffett, who is joined by author Mike Ballew (“Close Enough to Touch: 3-D Comes to Hollywood”), Erick Kurland (founder of 3D Space) and historian Lawrence Kaufman … and more featurettes, trailers and odds and ends than you can count (on the order of two hours of bonus features).
Do it now, circle July 25 on the calendar. That’s the day the newly-minted Blu-ray and DVD editions of Robot Monster will be available from Bayview Entertainment!!!
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