Tobor the Great

TOBOR is one of the handful of familiar 50s sci-fi titles I had never seen. Didn't seem to get much airplay for whatever reason.

The film has an interesting angle with the discussion of whether the space exploration should begin with manned missions or not. And, here the concept of going with a robot is pretty forward looking, to boot. Of course, much of the deeper exploration of this theme is brushed aside once it becomes apparent that this is kiddie matinee stuff featuring a boy and his 'bot (foreshadowing THE INVISIBLE BOY by three years).

The design of Tobor is pretty cool. A definite step up from the usual Tin Man approach with some sleek lines and other interesting design elements. For some reason, they had to add in a form of ESP into its operating system (COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK went one step further and even made that 'bot psychic!). I guess one could be charitable and consider it an early A.I. form of machine learning. Not much really happens once Tobor is introduced, and the main conflict revolves around the old commie spies routine. The elderly scientist's (Taylor Holmes) security is so tight that he can't remember if he invited 12 people or 13 to the unveiling! Thank god for the kid, Brian (Billy Chapin) - aka Gadget - and his gun! The nefarious Russkies are then scared off by a sound effects record! Once the spies are introduced, it's pretty clear what the climax will be, although the sight of Tobor in a jeep and then applying a knuckle sandwich to one of the baddies are pretty amusing. It's also a tad surprising that for a juvenile oriented film that the kid has shirt torn off and threatened with a blow torch.

Veteran writer Philip MacDonald (REBECCA, THE BODY SNATCHER) keeps the plot moving within the confines of the story (Carl Dudley). Lee 'Roll 'Em' Sholem's direction is plain and straightforward. The art direction by Gabriel Scognamillo (also credited with Tobor's basic design) is good for the budget. Howard Jackson's score is standard stuff and falls prey to the old 'lite-hearted' sit-com like backing when the kid is introduced.

TOBOR is average 50s fodder, but, it does have an intriguing notion or two. And, the ending is really fantastic and lifts the whole film up a notch. Tobor into the great beyond!

I'm sure surprised to see that this film only has an overall IMDb score of 4.7--talk about a tough audience! Sure, by today's standards the film might seem dated or even quaint, but in its day it was a dandy little sci-fi yarn--and is still pretty entertaining today.

The film is about a really cool elderly scientist. His home is an amazing compound complete with traps and high-tech gadgets and he is working on a robot (named 'TOBOR' in his hidden basement lab--a place even Batman would be proud to own). Charles Drake is a younger scientist of like mind who comes to work with him on TOBOR. The idea is to have a robot that can be controlled from Earth and used to safely explore space. Unfortunately, the evil Commies (though they are never explicitly called 'Communists' in the film) want the plans for TOBOR and will do anything to get it--anything.

The film was obviously meant to appeal to children as well, with young Billy Chapin playing the scientist's precocious grandson--a kid who is as smart as many adult scientists. But I never found the kid as annoying or cloying as precocious kids in some movies. Oh, and by the way, Billy is Lauren Chapin's real-life brother. Fans of "Father Knows Best" may remember her as the youngest in the family, 'Kitten'.

Overall, highly entertaining and fun despite some limitations imposed by a lower budget. Yes, the Earth does NOT revolve the wrong direction in space nor is it surrounded by space clouds! And, the stars look fake because they are all the same brightness. But, even with these minor problems, the film is well worth seeing and is among the better sci-fi films of the day. Clever and cool.

First, let me say that I am very, very sorry if this movie is not up to some reviewers' standards for 50-year-old movies. I don't really think we need to compare this to "Bicentennial Man" (what a hunk of junk and an embarrassment for Robin Williams!) or "The Iron Giant" (an animated film made 45 years later with the aid of computer graphics).

Second, let me say that I'm also sorry that this film may occasionally give the impression that there might be some negative or dangerous aspects to space travel or the space program. Other than three Apollo crew members perishing in a fire on the pad, and the near-tragedy of Apollo 13, and two space shuttle crews...but I digress.

This movie is about a robot and some bad guys. There's a kid, too. The bad guys lose and the kid and robot win. Plus, the robot has a neat name.

The end.

(BTW, this movie has what is by far my favorite "robot driving a jeep" scene of all time. This is not quite as impressive as a mad snowman driving a car, but it's pretty darn close.) Enjoy it!

Baby boomers of a certain age may recall being entertained, back in 1965, by the latest Japanimation product at that time, a TV program called "Tobor the 8th Man," which had its origins in a manga comic in 1963. But almost a full decade before the 8th Man's initial appearance, another Tobor was thrilling baby boomers in America's movie palaces, via 1954's "Tobor the Great." In this surprisingly likable film, the elderly Prof. Nordstrom builds a mechanical simulacrum, operated telepathically; a robot designed to take the place of a human being in the first, ultrahazardous rocket voyage into space. The professor and his 11-year-old grandson, Gadge, soon become the targets of foreign spies, however, so it's a good thing that Tobor is prepared to meet ALL emergency situations! Anyway, "Tobor" is a perfect film for adults to watch with their kiddies. The film has been well directed by Lee Sholem (the man responsible for 1951's "Superman and the Mole-Men"!) and features some very competent acting (especially by Taylor Holmes as the professor and Charles Drake as his assistant) and a compact (the whole film runs only 77 minutes in length), fairly intelligent script; don't believe the wet blankets at Maltinville who claim these latter two aspects are "terrible." As far as Tobor itself is concerned, comparisons to Robby the Robot, in 1956's "Forbidden Planet," are hard to avoid. Tobor might be a taller and thus more imposing creation, which is not to say cooler looking. And lacking the power of "speech," it doesn't have 1/10 the personality of Robby. Still, it is a wholly endearing construct, and the final shot of the big galoot at the controls of Earth's first space rocket is fairly touching. In all, "Tobor" is good, lighthearted sci-fi fun, and demonstrates that a film doesn't necessarily require the resources of an Industrial Light & Magic complex to fashion a memorable robotic character. Tobor might not be Robby or R2-D2, but it sure is a good dude to have on one's side when the chips are down!

"Tobor the Great" is lightly amusing, engaging sci-fi, which could well be described as the tale of "a boy and his robot". People such as Dr. Ralph Harrison (Charles Drake, "It Came from Outer Space") and the eminent Professor Arnold Nordstrom (Taylor Holmes, "Kiss of Death" '47) don't believe that human beings should be subjected to the unknown perils of space travel. So Nordstrom has hit upon the answer: the title robot, which has been designed to be a sentient being which people can communicate with telepathically. When enemy agents kidnap Nordstrom and his grandson "Gadge" (Billy Chapin, "The Night of the Hunter"), to force the old man to divulge his secrets, Tobor swings (so to speak) into action.

There's a lot of set-up to get to the pay-off in this minor but diverting, and mostly harmless, story. Tobor may be no Robby the Robot, but "he" is a fairly cool character nonetheless. The movie is always fun when Tobor is stomping around, breaking things, offering a hand in friendship, foiling the bad guys...and, in the movies' most priceless sequence, driving a jeep.

Some of the human characters take some time getting used to. Harrison comes off as a volatile jerk at first, and "Gadge" is the perfect stereotype of a kid of that era, given to proclamations such as "Gosh!" and "Gee willikers!" But the cast delivers amiable performances (they're NOT terrible). Also co-starring are Karin Booth ("Jungle Man-Eaters"), Steven Geray ("Spellbound"), Hal Baylor ("A Boy and His Dog"), Peter Brocco ("Johnny Got His Gun"), Alan Reynolds ("Cape Fear" '62), William Schallert ('The Patty Duke Show'), Robert Shayne ('Adventures of Superman'), and Lyle Talbot ("Plan 9 from Outer Space"). Holmes has a warm, wise presence as the egghead who sets the story in motion.

As was said, it's not completely harmless. People may wince at the fact that the bad guys are prepared to torture young Gadge to get the old man to spill the beans.

Fortunately, "Tobor the Great" never dwells too long on unpleasantness, and heads towards a rousing conclusion where our hero robot saves the day. Fans of 1950s sci-fi may find it charming.

Six out of 10.