Gog

Not a bad little movie, with a touch more suspense than most movies of this type. The names of the two robots that are controlled by.....,well you should see the movie for that, Gog and Magog, comes from the Bible, Rev.20:8. They are the two nations to be led by Satan in the final battle at Armageddon against the kingdom of God. Is Ivan Tors trying to tell us that the Soviet Union is SATAN? Well, it was 1954! Worth the time if you can find it.

GOG is quite an extraordinary, obscure film -- it has hardly ever been rerun on any channel, however I was lucky enough to catch it in its entirety [I'd edited it perfectly - without commercials] about 10 years ago on TNT [Turner network] ... in COLOR! I have hung onto this little GEM and view it occasionally and I must say that I still find this movie to be highly enjoyable! I cannot understand why TURNER/MGM/ WARNER has not EVER released this film in ANY format [never on VHS, DVD or LASERDISC] ... with all of the CRAP [old and new] that is being dredged up on a daily basis for video [DVD] releases, the mind boggles as to why so many classic [and decent "B" flix] SCI-FI & HORROR films have still yet to be released [ex: BURN WITCH BURN, DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, KING KONG, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, WORLD WITHOUT END, INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, TARANTULA, ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, CONQUEROR WORM, THE POWER, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, BRIDES OF DRACULA, GAMMA PEOPLE, LAND UNKNOWN, MONOLITH MONSTERS, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, DR CYCLOPS, MOLE PEOPLE, IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, UNINVITED, INNOCENTS, SON OF KONG, MARK OF THE VAMPIRE, EARTH VS THE SPIDER, DEVIL DOLL, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE, INVISIBLE BOY, TOBOR, etc etc this long list goes on and on ...]! Anyway, GOG is right on the mark [and ahead of its time - 1956] with Cold War conspiracies, Nuclear testing, computer programming, Biblical references [GOG & MAGOG] and it is indeed a well-constructed film with an interesting espionage approach. ANDROMEDA STRAIN was obviously influenced by this film! The acting is downplayed to a rather scientific level, but is good and on par -- you will notice many veteran stock actors within the cast. Most of the previous User Comments in regards to this film are quite accurate and thoughful, and can be blended into a final strong and POSITIVE review. Indeed, SEE IT - ENJOY IT - pray for DVD!

Something, or someone, is killing people at a super-secret, deep-underground, atomic-powered military research base that is overseen by 'Nuclear Operative Variable Automatic Computer' (NOVAC), a powerful electronic brain, and its hench-robots Gog and Magog (names of complex Biblical/Talmudic origins). This is the third of Ivan Tor's 'hard-science' OSI (Office of Scientific Investigation) series (preceded by 'The Magnetic Monster' (1953) and 'Riders to the Stars' (1954)). Typical of Tor's SF films, 'Gog' is very talky, as OSI agent David Sheppard (Richard Egan) is toured around the base and all the various gadgets carefully explained, but despite the po-faced attempts at technical credibility, most of the 'science' on display, as well as the story's resolution, makes little sense. The cast, like the script, is earnest and boring, and other then the cranky Dr. Zeitman (John Wengraff), none of the characters are very interesting. The film starts well, with the deaths-by-ultrafreezing of a scientist and (surprisingly) his pretty assistant, but bogs down as the investigation progresses. A number of scenes go on too long, notably the unconvincing simulated reduced-gravity demonstration and the endless stock-footage of jet fighters pursuing a mysterious high-altitude rocket plane. Most of the special effects are simplistic and unconvincing but the robots are refreshingly machine-like, rather than the clanking metal humanoids common in the genre at the time (although why, since they are designed to service the atomic reactor, they are equipped with flame-throwers, is a head-scratcher). The film is very much a product of its times, with a 'We need to get there first' attitude to space exploration - the epilogue is ludicrous. Tors deserves credit for trying to make 'real science fiction' movies, rather than just more giant bug or alien invasion flics, but unfortunately, 'real' usually isn't very interesting and does not stand the test of time as well as the less credible, but far more entertaining, monster movies. Why the film is named for one of the robots, who are relatively bit players, is puzzling.

There's a saboteur afoot at a secret government facility in the desert; a professor from the Office of Scientific Investigation and a female agent seek answers to the malfunctions which have resulted in the deaths of top scientists. Producer Ivan Tors, who also gets an original story credit, loved mixing science-fiction with science-fact, but perhaps gets too carried away here with his love of teaching science (the tour of the facility's many laboratories constitutes nearly half the film's running-time). While the exhibitions and scientific theories are certainly interesting, the technical jargon becomes monotonous. Nicely-produced on a low budget, and with some suspense near the finale, but--as a thriller in the sci-fi genre--it lacks a good old-fashioned charge of excitement. ** from ****

Yes, I saw this as a kid during the Saturday Matinee era. Have seen it a few times on TV, and recorded a copy. I also enjoyed the early "Doctor Who" broadcasts. I wonder if the Doctor Who set designers were influenced by Gog and Magog when they conceived the Daleks? Think about it: Both robots were mobile via treads/rollers (no artificial legs); both robots have a similar body shape; both have a single, grasping arm, and both have a flamethrower-type arm. Coincidence?