Gog (1954) - 2.5/4

Oh my Gog! What we've got here is a balls-out McCarthyist sci-fi epic about a kuh-razy robot intelligence. Handsome Richard Egan is summoned to investigate some inexplicable murders at a top secret government lab in the middle of the desert. With an old flame/blonde bimbo as his guide, Egan questions the five eccentric head scientists of the lab. The inevitable conclusion, of course, is that it's not the scientists, but the mighty NOVAC, that fantastic computerized brain running the high-tech lab, and his incredible army of two robots, Gog and Magog, behind these murders. Or is it?

There are four main things one goes into a 1950s sci-fi scare movie expecting: 1. Sexist attitudes. 2. Commie terror. 3. Quaint ideas about science and the future. 4. The robots and sets, either for the awe they inspire or the laughs they elicit. This movie has all four in abundance, including a meaningful exchange about how, "In space, there is no weaker sex." But until then, ladies, keep the sandwiches coming.

Of course, what we're really looking for is a little more. Sexism and commie terror have their pleasures, but how about intellectual stimulation, deep characters, moving plot developments, and fascinating props and sets? Yeah, how about them.

Gog could have had more, but it clumsily falls short. The first act of the film introduces us to the top secret science being studied in the lab, like trying to perfect cryogenic stasis and building giant space mirrors that can burn entire (Commie) cities in one blast; that can boil whole (Commie) oceans in minutes. Those Commie fish deserve it.

Then we get the murder investigation. This section is the most enjoyable and should have been even better. Egan's role is to descend the five levels of the facility and, at each level, interview the oddball scientist in charge. This Perecian structure is strangely pleasing to the intellect; executed well, it could make great cinema. The problem is the scientists aren't really odd enough. They're not developed as people or even as bundles of quirks. The best quirk the writer could come up with is to make one scientist obsessed with watching girls in zero gravity experiments. A specific enough perversion, but one many warm-blooded males would share.

I get the feeling we were supposed to suspect a few of these scientists. However, we don't. Their possible motives just aren't developed at all. The only suspect scientist is the inventor of NOVAC himself, Zeitman. He bristles at having company and being questioned. He's a genius, dammit, leave him alone! Anyway, he does enjoy showing off his, yes, robots! Gog and Magog, named after some apocalyptic forces from the books of Ezekiel and Revelations. This is the fun part. We got close-ups of their clumsy little hands pawing at things.

Eventually the robots go haywire and, lest their unsteady, fragile, little arms choke everyone on Earth!, Egan has to fight them with flame-throwers. Meanwhile, a few more murders occur, all of which are fairly creative, making imaginative use of the environment of a top secret science lab. Will Egan and his bimbo be able to triumph over the deranged NOVAC? Who is really to blame? (The Commies, of course.)

Facetiousness aside, who is to blame? When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the Earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. Not only are the robots named Gog and Magog, but it is the secret and violent technology in the facility that leaves the victims open to Commie attack. The Commies of the film are never seen, a vague influence from outside that seem to function more like a force of nature than a real enemy: open a window and the storm comes in. The window, in this case, is the horrifyingly violent technology being studied in the lab, namely the space mirror that can boil entire oceans. The sheer inhumanity and irresponsibility of this goal almost makes one side with the Commies. So the Commies are almost karmic, punishing the American scientists for their violent intent and for their arrogance.

Unusual for a science fiction film, where technology is usually inert and positive, in Gog the technology is active and susceptible to malign influence. Yet the responsibility is not on the shoulders of the malign influence, but on the scientists for using their skills and talents in the service of War--Gog and Magog are, after all, of 'our' own creation, not of Commie creation--and on the whole socio-political system that sanctions this use of science.

Despite a bland visual design and a boring tour through such advanced science as what the sun is and what nuclear power does, there are still some good ideas that, although they never realize their potential, shine through. Gog is a curious and, for the patient, enjoyable '50s scifi picture. Also, the robots are kinda cool.