Robot Monster [Isolated Film Score] (1953)

Описание: Robot Monster [Isolated Film Score] (1953)
Composed & Conducted by Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004)

Tracklisting:

1. [00:00] Intro
2. [01:05] Main Title
3. [02:38] The Kid
4. [03:38] Wild Connection
5. [05:30] The Search
6. [06:29] Inside the Cave
7. [08:00] The Family
8. [10:04] First Contact
9. [10:23] Into the Hills
10. [10:42] Taking Charge
11. [11:32] The Human Chase
12. [12:02] Full Running
13. [13:35] Fight to Survive
14. [14:05] A Big Brake
15. [14:33] Pursuit
16. [14:53] Catching Up
17. [15:12] Big Conclusion
18. [16:16] May Be the End
19. [17:15] Original Score Suite

The directorial debut of Phil Tucker (1927-1985), this notoriously cheap American sci-fi adventure (filmed in 3D) stars Gregory Moffett (a former child actor who appeared in several film and television productions in the 1950's), Claudia Barrett (1929-2021), George Barrows (1914-1994), George Nader (1921-2002), British actor John Brown (1904-1957), character actor John Mylong (1892-1975), and film, television, and celebrated theater actress Selena Royle (1904-1983). Beginning with a series of cheap sexploitation films, director, producer and editor Phil Tucker directed his first six feature films in the span of two years before switching to working as an associate producer in television. By the 1970's, he established himself as a formidable film editor, finally escaping the stigma of his earlier work. He contributed to such well-known films as the 1976 remake of 'King Kong and the maritime thriller 'Orca (1977) and remained in post-production throughout the rest of his career. His one other genre offering was the marginally better alien invader 'The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960).

Filmed in a mere four days, and known for its extremely low production values, shameless use of stock footage as effects, and an alien monster (a gorilla costume adorned with a diving helmet and antennae) that has to be one of the most hilarious in cinematic history, the film managed to eke out a decent profit, though wound up being pulverized by critics. The significant amount of stock footage used came from 'One Million B.C. (1940), 'Lost Continent (1951), and 'Flight to Mars (1951), with a brief appearance of the 'Rocketship X-M (1950) spaceship boarding, and a matte painting of the ruins of New York City from 'Captive Women (1952). While George Barrows portrayed both the monstrous Ro-Man (who wavers in his pursuit of human annihilation when he falls in love with a scientist's daughter) and its master, the Great Guidance (same ape-suit but with a different coloured helmet), the voices were dubbed by veteran radio actor John Brown. A simple search on the internet will bring up a plethora of reviews that detail the ridiculousness of it all, whilst the inept screenplay was written by Wyott Ordung, who wrote other cheap sci-fi nonsense such as 'Target Earth (1954) and 'First Man into Space (1959) and directed 'Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954), known as the first film produced by Roger Corman (1926-2024). Though complete nonsense, 'Robot Monster is somehow nostalgically entertaining.

The films only redeeming factor is the surprisingly effective score from American composer/conductor Elmer Bernstein in one of his earliest credits. Full of blaring brass, jagged rhythms and strange sound effects, the music helps build tension in key moments, resulting in a score that amplifies the production value considerably. In the history of film music, Elmer Bernstein is among the most legendary. With a career that spanned five decades, he composed some of the most recognizable (and memorable) themes in Hollywood history. With over a hundred original film scores (and nearly eighty for television), the composer worked with many high-profile directors such as John Landis, Martin Scorsese, John Frankenheimer (1930-2002), and John Sturges (1910-1992). Some of his notable film works include the likes of 'Sudden Fear (1952), 'The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), 'The Ten Commandments (1956), 'Sweet Smell of Success (1957), 'The Magnificent Seven (1960), 'To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), 'The Great Escape (1963), 'Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), 'True Grit (1969), 'The Blues Brothers (1980), 'Ghostbusters (1984), 'The Black Cauldron (1985), 'The Field (1990), 'Cape Fear (1991) and 'Far from Heaven (2002). In addition to his film and television work, Bernstein also wrote music for two Broadway musicals and numerous classical compositions. The world lost one of its most celebrated and beloved composers when Bernstein passed, but his music lives on for new generations, not only in film and television, but in live concerts and the internet.

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