Dark Corners - Gog: Review

[@nilsmuninsheim4279]

"A burglar-alarm that sets fire to the furniture and then kills you." I'm in tears. That sounds like one of the best Monty Python sketches that has never been written.

[@tenhirankei]

If it's in the room where the burglar is, I'd say it's more than doing its job! Just need an automatic fire-extinguisher added.

[@jaymartin8273]

But can it confuse a cat?! If not then call Confuse A Cat :=)

[@archlich4489]

TAKE THAT, BURGLERS!

[@johnpotter8039]

I LOVED Gog! I saw it when I was about 7 and wanted to build a robot, myself. Scary, of course, but I was impressed by the technical set decoration. We were a science-minded family and built Tesla Coils, Jacob's Ladders, VandeGraff generators and home-made fireworks. We belonged to the Pacific Rocket Society and went to early morning launches in the Mojave Desert. Great commentary!

[@Gappasaurus]

I always laughed at the cowboy-hat robots from the Phantom Empire and the WTF-looking ones from the Phantom Creeps, as well as the drapes-wearing-Frankenstein-monster-robot-thing from the Colossus of New York 😄

[@alexgrant6780]

Colossus of New York spooked me incredibly when I fist saw it.

[@JacksAndSpades45]

Ro-Man from Robot Monster has to be the most ridiculous movie robot!

[@tecumsehcristero]

You mean gorilla in a goldfish bowl

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

Judging by some of those clips, Gog and Magog might be overdoing a certain brand of blue pill!

[@tecumsehcristero]

Naming your robots after the villains of The book of Revelation AKA The Apocalypse of St John Kinda tips the movies hand, yeah?

[@drdarkeny]

What do you expect from the guy who did SEA HUNT, FLIPPER and DAKTARI?

[@michaeldenney9752]

Robin had to struggle to get that Hitler line out without cracking up...with good reason. As for ludicrous robots, I always thought Tobor the Great with his top-heavy, oversized head and washboard chest looked ridiculous.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

Ooh.. washboard chest? Tell me more!

[@michaeldenney9752]

@@TheRealNormanBates Washboard chest...not washboard abs. :D

[@TheRealNormanBates]

@@michaeldenney9752 ignore that previous post. A robot with washboard abs achieved temporary control over my account.

[@KRhetor]

I like this movie a lot, as well as the other two Ivan Tors 50s science fiction films, THE MAGNETIC MONSTER and RIDERS TO THE STARS. Well-done hard science fiction in the tradition of Astounding.

[@glentalbot9166]

Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy. You can't find a more ridiculous robot.

[@VonWenk]

Worse than Sutek's robots in "Pyramids of Mars"?

[@tenhirankei]

Or Aztec mummy!

[@ian_b]

I have lost my faith in Gog.

[@donaldpetkus1637]

Tweeky from the Buck Rogers tv program was ridiculous even as comedy relief.

[@tenhirankei]

@5:05 Remember, it's for out benefit that we are under surveillance! Well, I feel better already!

[@tenhirankei]

@2:35 I can't imagine that names like that would be a foreboding of doom, right? Silly me!

[@TheRealNormanBates]

It makes the scientists even _more_ stupid when you realize that “gog and magog” are the names of demons that usher in the apocalypse (as the names come from the Book of Revelations) Extra trivia: this is where the Magog derived their name from in the show *Andromeda*

[@lewisdoherty7621]

A neutral country in Europe? Switzerland. Looks like Switzerland's scheme to take over the world has been twarted. I love the name. The two major computer type systems in that era was UNIVAC and BINAC. So the writers must have decided on NOVAC. It's not over yet. Who was chosen to create the satillite? The same group as before operating under another corporate name. The Daleks appear to have one appendage that is a toilet plunger and the other, the wire form that holds paint rollers. All that needs to be done is to shut down the toilet plunger and paint roller brush tool factories and the threat is over.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

So where does Kim Novac come into play? And wasn’t Univac in the *Batman:TAS?* Oh yes... it’s an egg whisk, not a paint roller.

[@tenhirankei]

Except the Daleks control the toilet plunger and paint roller brush industry. Any attempt to shut them will bring them out of hiding with the sound of their battle cry in your ears - "Delete! Delete! Delete!"

[@tenhirankei]

The Swiss are always scheming at that. First they tried clocks then it was cheese - next chocolate. How cunning!

[@sci-fi-night6241]

great writing as always, great stuff overall, love it as always! :D

[@williamcrowe2576]

Omega from "First Spaceship on Venus" immediately springs to mind.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Silly?? Yes!! But one of my favorite sci-fi/horror movies, growing up. Still occasionally, watch it, when available.

[@hazzah1007]

I'm not sure who came up with "Hitler painting Churchill's War Room"...but that's comedy gold on multiple levels.

[@brianfuller757]

I'm a huge fan of Tors' films and this one is one of my favourites

[@RinoaL]

that was an...odd film. haha. looked interesting enough to actually watch though. thanks!

[@byronp2311]

Actually, no it wasn't interesting. I mean, not if you don't have some good weed. But I was a child and that's almost like weed.

[@matthewh.9544]

Herbert Marshall was a WW1 war hero who had lost a leg He was a big moral provider to amputees in WW2, showing how they could get back to life despite their injury.

[@ericalbany]

He must have badly needed the paycheck for this

[@wildman2012]

That one scientist could be Robert McNamara's stunt double! (Hilarious episode Robin, one of your best!)

[@drdarkeny]

GOG and the other two movies in the "Office of Scientific Investigation" series (THE MAGNETIC MONSTER and RIDERS TO THE STARS) were done by Ivan Tors, who to give him credit was genuinely into realistic SF. While Gog and Magog might look ridiculous to us? By the standards of the early 1950s, they were genuinely practical robot designs.

[@randyacuna3248]

The Twonky 1953 has got to the most unusual of all .

[@Gappasaurus]

1:18 Best storyline ever 😆

[@davidsnyder9903]

A fun that is now out on blu-ray 3D

[@lurkerrekrul]

I liked the design of the robots, but it always bothered me the way they flail their arms around while moving. These robots don't have personalities and can't think for themselves, they only do what they're told. Which means that someone explicitly programmed them to flail their arms around while moving. Either that or their firmware is full of bugs. Even as a kid, I liked realism in movies and I appreciated that they were realistic robot designs rather than just a man in a costume, but I would have preferred their actions to be depicted more realistically as well.

[@donaldpetkus1637]

Robot monster from the film of the same name. Technically is it a robot-gorilla cyborg?

[@johnbockelie3899]

Agatha Christie's. "" Ten little Robots" had me laughing !!!!.

[@caesarmendez6782]

Well there's a couple of ridiculous movie robots I can mention: the "menacing" robot companion to The Devil Girl from Mars. There was the cardboard killer robot in Target Earth. And I guess the robotic alien space-station caretaker in The Terrornauts, to name a few.

[@themysteriousdomainmoviepalace]

The more of these I watch, I begin to understand my childhood.... Gog and Magog....isn't that Skull and Bones or something?

[@tenhirankei]

@5:00 But don't they know what's best for us? Or so I've heard.

[@martinguzman3995]

the robot from Robot in the Family looks pretty ridiculous.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

Oh God... is that the Jubot that can turn things into gold? Didn’t some hack frauds review this last year?

[@gregghill2059]

It actually sounds good from the entry on it in Wikipedia, in spite of the robot and appalling disregard for safety against radiation in the movie.

[@kellyfreas]

With a very little rethink this would be a perfect quest in Fallout.

[@rsacchi100]

Actually it was a double murder. After the woman discovers the scientist was made into an ice cube and broke apart she runs into the same room and the door locks behind her. It is a fun movie. It also teaches a valuable lesson. Intelligence doesn't imply wisdom.

[@lordoshower3478]

I had always wanted to see this when I was a kid. Years later, I got to see it in 3D at the Egyptian Theatre in LA. So... much... talking... so... little... robot action... Children are idiots. Me included.

[@the1950ssciencefictionpodcast]

I saw this movie on cane TV many years ago and more recently on Netflix. not a bad story just bad acting.

[@herbertkeithmiller]

Finally a movie I've actually seen. You've turned me on to so many Z movie gems many I had never heard of before. Thanks

[@comentedonakeyboard]

So the Alarm is not just lethal, but actualy sets the Furniture on Fire? The Furniture? That sounds excessive.

[@dirkstargazer]

Pretty good movie I'd say.

[@LoverBoy470]

I think MST3K should see this, gog should go on tour with them i think he needs a break from all the killing.

[@ferociousgumby]

Did "Lost in Space" come before or after this? The robots are dead ringers.

[@tenhirankei]

The dead ringer comes from Forbidden Planet.

[@byronp2311]

Gog and Magog are from some early part of the Old Testament. I'd look it up if I could get the damned internet to work. Apparently there's mention of one or the other in Genesis and they make something of a cameo appearance in Revelation.

[@atrendlecalledreese443]

Apparently, they're the names of Satan's armies in the Book of Revelation.

[@stevenscibelli3326]

Herbert Marshall!?

[@donaldpetkus1637]

Ludicrous robots: "johnny" in Devil Girl from Mars; Undersea KIngdom's robots' mechanical men from 1930's Flas Gordon serial, Phantom Empire's tin hat wearing robots, and the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz.

[@Jeffrey314159]

What about HEART BEEPS from 1982?

[@splendidcakes]

Herbert Marshall!!! 😢😢😢

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

2:17 -> see ''The Ambushers''(1967) with Matt Helm aka Dean Martin. It would be forgettable were it not for the ''fact'' that only females can pilot the flying saucer, males would get boiled-red lobster-like !

[@650nelson]

Why does the robot feel the need to throw it's arms about while it rolls across the floor? For that matter, why do dinosaurs roar every thirty seconds?

[@jamescappio7434]

Most ridiculous robot has to be Chani (yes, I looked it up) of DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

That thing had a name?!

[@bentramer682]

Gog should have been controlling the system alone, that may have justified the title

[@byronp2311]

Is no one going to mention that the names Gog and Magog come from the Old Testament, specifically Ezekiel and are also mentioned in Revelation? They also pop up in the Quran. While I'm here, have you done Billy the Kid vs Dracula? A wonderfully bad film from William (one shot; he never did retakes) Beaudine

[@TheRealNormanBates]

Don’t forget the creatures from *Andromeda!*

[@stevenscibelli3326]

But Herbert Marshall?? How, what, why?

[@archlich4489]

Tip: Don't name your robots "Gog" and "Magog"

[@dinosaurspy7096]

Jet Jaguar from Godzilla vs Megalon

[@skylx0812]

...he mother never really love him

[@ajivins1]

"Hey look, Jet Jaguar has found a way to make him the same size as Godzilla!" Yeah, lucky that...

[@colleencrouch4346]

Worst robot is the one in The Robot vs the Aztec Mummy !

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Robin has just finished writing wrestling women vs the Aztec Mummy.

[@colleencrouch4346]

@@DarkCornersReviews Robot is 1958, directed by Rafael Portillo. It appears that there are 5 films in the series.

[@kaiokendo]

Gog and magog,who named them??a head giver??

[@ian_b]

As a man with an inadequate body and space travel related ambitions, I found this movie disheartening.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

I dunno. How do you feel about V.I.N.C.E.N.T. and Maximillian from "The Black Hole?" Goofy or cool?

[@carlwilkerson9722]

Mahatma Randy Super cool. Maximilian was a classic evil cinema robot, and his instant acrimony with VINCENT was palpable. Film was imperfect, but it had flashes of greatness.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

Honestly, it was one rewrite away from being a brilliant film. I feel like it just missed. I feel the idea that a black hole is a gateway to the supernatural realm is a *really* neat idea, and all the pieces were in place, but they just didn't quite connect.

[@ajivins1]

@@mahatmarandy5977 similar idea to the later Event Horizon.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

@@ajivins1 I agree. Very much so.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

Max was definitely cool, but Vince and Bob were... _both?_ They had elements of functionality (as well as a useful purpose as characters in the story), but would they _really_ have huge puppy dog eyes?

[@palgameruk8996]

Don't mock... Adolf could paint a mean coat of paint on a wall... Just not canvas 🤪🤪🤪

[@JimParshall]

This was one bad movie. Great review as usual. "That's like Winston Churchill hiring Adolf Hitler to paint his war room." I do like that quote.

[@ajivins1]

"He's done it in swastikas again! Why, that Hitler..."

[@mijiyoon5575]

👍👍👍👍👍🎬

[@danddoty3981]

Remote control killer machines ... what social media would like to do. Boring, sad , midget playing killer robots, boring, sad , a plot so thin its nearly invisible, boring, sad , acting so bad we could of replace any of the cast with cardboard cut outs and no one would have noticed. Oh, did I mention boring and sad?

[@johngore5127]

I know it's awful but I still like it. Kind of like being married. Or being a Democrat.

[@colleencrouch4346]

These robots are marvels of sophistication compared with the one in Devil Girl From Mars, which looks very much like a refrigerator with arms & legs.... kind of. It's really, really bad, far worse than any cardboard & tinsel creation in any film I've ever seen.

[@nicholas790]

GOG is a charming (and a whole lot of fun) 1950s science fiction movie! Get over it! This review sounds even more hollow than the movie's plot. (accent not withstanding) He sounds like his voice was AI generated. Give me (and this movie) a break.

[@randyacuna3248]

A slow science fiction film . Some interesting moments but a disappointment. Ivan's masterpiece is the magnetic monster.

[@gildardorivasvalles6368]

This is one of the most boring movies I ever saw as a kid. Many decades later, I got a chance to see it again, and yep, it was still boring -- and, since by then I knew more things, completely ludicrous in the "science" part of its "science-fiction".

[@brianfuller5868]

Bad movie and a good review. This was Constance Dowlings last film

[@varanid9]

Why do the robots have erections?

[@DarkCornersReviews]

For sex.

[@varanid9]

@@DarkCornersReviews Ah!

[@MaximumRD]

Get a bloody haircut hippie! ;)

[@bobdickweed]

+MaximumRD The "Hair" is the best part of the reviews ;-p

[@Jeffrey314159]

4:35 Or a loud mouth gay liberal giving us a history lesson over youtube

[@PuncherOfAbs]

I’m sure there’s a list of sci-fi movies... we’re by today’s standards what they’re doing is incredibly risky and stupid that would be a good top 10 list. In the movie let sleeping corpses lie. The zombies are created by scientists who are trying to eliminate organisms with primitive nervous system‘s but end up stimulating zombies to life. The purpose of the radiation. Is to eliminate parasites and insects. Plants and insects have a very critical balanced symbiosis. It kind of reminds me of when China got rid of all the sparrows and caused a famine in the process