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DimeNovel Presents: Top Ten Movie Robots
DimeNovel Top 10 Robots Of All Time
DimeNovel presents the best and most beloved top ten robots ever created to help and destroy all mankind.
Presented by:
Warped Space SciFi Club Facebook Page
Author Norman Morrison Facebook Page
Survival Apocalypse Facebook Page
Captain Zant and Norm’s Top Ten Megastar Robots!
One near constant in the world of science fiction is the robot, the first, of course being R.U.R, Rossum’s Universal Robots. They were critters made from non living material in a science fiction play delivered in 1920 by a Czech guy by the name of Karel Čapek. It was the first instance of the word robot being used.
Since everyone who digs SF has their favorite robot, our list is imperfect. We’re only human and men, after all. Inhuman robots have no opinion. Only programming. Still, if we programmed them, their mathematically derived picks for the top 10 robotic beings of all time would look a lot like our picks.
Historically the robotic critter has often taken form first in the book, followed by the old time radio show, and on to TV, and finally film. As will be mentioned later one of the most famous robotic machines of all time, Gort first debuted in book form.
While robots are always in the future, I contend that the future of the golden age of science fiction came and went in the 1970’s. We’re post golden age now and while we have a lot of robotics we still have no functional world class walking talking thinking robot.
Computation speed is light years ahead of even the most far thinking SF author of the 40’s and 50’s. Technology has far outstripped the best science based fiction of that age. And still no robots. Computers are not robots, my friend!
Asimov was the most brilliant robot writer with his Three Laws of Robotics. In his day or any other day the creation of any robot character, humanoid or otherwise demands that these inhibitors be in place so that robots don’t wind up making war on helpless humans.
Perhaps the most talked about robots of the modern age are the Transformers. They are not listed here. They are a pack of sissies compared to the real robot critters. A transfomer would be helpless if confronted with the scary giant robot Kronos, ravager of planets mentioned below in my notes.
So, yes, video fans. Get set for the toppest of the top ten most famous robot critters of all time!
About the Author: Norm is the second part of the DimeNovel Top Ten Team and a writer of science fiction. It is highly recommended that you explore his work.
Pure Satire and SF Comedy: The world of Cowchip Alabama
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Here are my actual notes for our DimeNovel Top Ten Robot series video:
The Robot
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876185/
The Robinsons’ robot was created by Robert Kinoshita, the same man who designed Robby the Robot for Forbidden Planet (1956). Indeed, Robbie the Robot makes a guest appearance in Lost in Space: War of the Robots (1966).
The robot cost $75,000 to produce and weighed in excess of 200 pounds. Two of them were made for the series.
Dick Tufeld was the voice of The Robot. He did voice work for most of producer Irwin Allen’s arsenal of shows during the period. He died in 2012.
According to Wiki The Robot’s model designation is B-9, Class M-3 General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot
The character ‘The Robot’ was ranked #14 in TV Guide’s list of the “25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends” (1 August 2004 issue).
A company on the net has advertised The Robot for sale since 2005. You can have one for only $24,500.
Box
http://snowcrest.net/fox/loganmovie/ice/index.htm (Site not so great but good info!)
It’s 2274 and what’s left of man, is living in a dome near Washington DC.
Logan’s Run was shot in 1976 at a time when hippie kids under 30 reckoned that folks over 30 were too old to live and the film was an outgrowth of this philosophy. Good for boxoffice all the way around.
Box voiced by Roscoe Lee Browne Died in 2007
Fish, and plankton. And sea greens, and protein from the sea. It’s all here, ready. Fresh as harvest day. Fish and sea greens, plankton and protein from the sea.
According to the author at Snowcrest.net the fire marshal wasn’t real happy with the snow cave as it was made out of styrofoam.
Very little information on Box exists other than he looked like some cheap boxes strung together. This came off just fine, as a sort of stylized make believe robot. Robert Kinoshita who built Robby the Robot may have had a hand in the design.
Kronos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronos_%28film%29
My all time favorite scary robot. Wiki calls Kronos a cult film. I call it one of the creepiest robot films of all time.
Shot in 1957 in two weeks according to Wiki, the ultimate golden age for monster flicks Kronos is frightening because it is so impersonal. It’s a metallic box shaped critter that feeds off energy. Atom bombs only make it hungrier. It is propelled by three stomping piston legs and it looks to be five hundred feet tall. It is invincible and it has no sense of humor.
Kronos (sometimes known as Kronos, Ravager of Planets) appears to be a model aided by insanely scary animated piston pile driver legs and an all consuming energy beam erupting from its base. Jeff Morrow of This Island Earth fame does battle with Kronos and whether or not he defeats it remains to your imagination. This is a must see movie!
Gort
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/145423|0/The-Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still.html
“Farewell to the Master,” by Harry Bates, which had first appeared in Astounding magazine in October, 1940…Astounding sold the rights for $1000, half of which went to Bates.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal
Grauman’s Chinese Theater had in those days a terribly tall doorman. He was 7’7″ and we hired him to be in that suit. The man’s name was Lock Martin – he was tall, but indeed quite frail, and many tricks had to be employed to make it appear as if Gort was all-powerful. Cutaways disguised the fact that viewers never see him pick up a person, and that lightweight dummies were substituted for the actors. Gort was designed to have a “fluid metal” appearance; the body of the suit was made of pliable, smooth latex. Seams were hidden by building two suits – one that laced up the back for shots showing the front, and another suit that laced in the front when Gort is seen walking away from the camera.
Gort is a slit eyed devil. Shot in black and white when the door opens to reveal his roving death ray eye, he was an instant winner with the public. The Day The Earth Stood Still was near the beginning of the decade long run of SF flicks of the golden age. A time when books melded with radio which in turn made its way to the TV and the silver screen.
Gort made his last appearance in the forgetable 2008 remake. Klaatu barada nikto ya’ll.
Robby the Robot
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1119475/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
Designed by Robert Kinoshita was born in, 1914 in Los Angeles, He is known for his work on Highway Patrol (1955), Sea Hunt (1958) and Bat Masterson (1958)
Robby was built in mid-1955 by the MGM prop department, at a reported cost of $125,000, to ‘star’ in the monstrously huge Forbidden Planet (1956) and its B-movie followup The Invisible Boy (1957)
Robby’s voice was provided by actor and announcer Marvin Miller who was a long running old time radio voice.
Robby is 7′ 6″ tall, weighs about 300 lbs., and was originally operated by an MGM special effects technician named ‘Glen Robinson’ who subsequently worked on MGM’s Logan’s Run (1976).