Gog

Saw this film when I was about 10 years old. I loved Sci-Fi movies so naturally saw this one. But something was different. There was some unusually tense undercurrent in the story. Actually scared me. Years later I realized the nervous tension was due to the underlying theme of the 'cold war'. The Cold War was very real back in the 50's and as a kid you would hear, now and then, things that would scare the pants off of you. What came first? The chicken or the egg? Was this a sci-fi flick that used the cold war tension or was it overwhelmed by the omnipresent tensions of said war? Don't know but it scare the heck out of me back then.

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.

I was perhaps seven or eight years old when I saw "Gog" in the 1950s. The story was only somewhat comprehensible to me; although I understood that the laboratory was some type of research facility, it was unclear to me why things were going haywire. The jet flying overhead was a mystery: where did it come from, who was in it, and what was it doing?

The scientific devices were fun to watch, especially the "ray" weapon. Being unable to grasp the concept of sabotage, I didn't appreciate why the device was not operating as designed. But what had the biggest effect on me was the action of the robots. Their running amok in the lab scared me to death. Maybe I picked up on the terror of the lab's occupants.

The combination of confusion and fear made watching the movie (on TV) unpleasant but fascinating. It would be fun to see "Gog" now, knowing what I do about the plot, the actors, and the Cold War era in which it was made.

In my opinion this is one of the best films made by Ivan Tors. Tors created "Science Fiction Theater" for TV and made several SciFi films (like The Magnetic Monster) before this genre was really popular. He brought real science to the screen in plots that may seem dated today but afterall, it was 1954. In GOG, Tors brings in then brand new inventions such as jets, computers, robots, high frequency sound, cryogenics, sunlight as a weapon, electronic surveillance, atomic power and even man-made satellites (which would not become reality for 3 more years). To an audience unfamiliar with such things, it was exiting and scary. Especially scary when you were made to think such super weapons were under the control of a foreign power. The Korean War had just ended and the USSR was making aggressive comments about atomic war with us. This movie gave me nightmares for quite awhile.

-BullMoose

... and there are unforgettable images which have stayed with me, especially the horrific scene as Dr. Hubertus (Michael Fox, perfectly cast) finds himself trapped within the test chamber with the slowly oscillating window wiper, and the growing panic that follows with the grim realization that his screams for help cannot be heard. And then that stare through the glass as his spectacles ice over ...

Look for "Gog". There have to be copies out there somewhere.