Kronos

source: Kronos

Kronos

Kronos is a giant, blocky robot that is sent to Earth to siphon our energy. Nothing can stand in the behemoth's way, and apparently nothing can stop- it. Well, that is until earnest scientist Jeff Morrow of This Island Earth fame gets to working on its destruction. The film would be laughable, except for the fact that the giant robot is actually pretty impressive. Specia; effects are not bad for their time, and the cast plays it perfectly straight eve when the dialog is a bit off the wall. B-movie veteran Morris Ankrum and George O'Hanlon of Jetsons fame costar, along with the curvy Barbara Lawrence, whom we would see a lot more of on TV in subsequent years. Worth a look.

KRONOS is about an unconventional alien invasion. This time, instead of puny E.T.s, we get a massive, skyscraper-sized, seemingly unstoppable robot, sent here on a mission that could result in our total annihilation! Can a team of scientists, led by the intrepid Dr. Leslie Gaskell (Jeff Morrow), discover a weakness in this titanic terror, before it completes its march of doom? For its time, KRONOS is a well-realized and threatening mega-automaton. Its mode of locomotion is unique, and the sound effects are impressive. The story behind it is also solid and different from its cinematic contemporaries. Co-stars the omnipresent Morris Ankrum as Dr. Albert Stern. P.S.- I definitely want the musical soundtrack!...

This movie reflects the cold war tensions of the fifties and captures the history of that time period on film. The movie is interesting for its presentation of modern age technology of its' time and the wonders that technology would bring. Movie goers who have been spoon-fed on modern digital animations and graphics will have no appreciation for the effort that went into this movie. This is obviously no academy award winner; however, one must view this film in its' proper context. A thoroughly enjoyable movie. 8 out of 10.

As must always be kept in mind while viewing classic SF cinema, one cannot and should not extricate a film from its historical context. Kronos is no exception. This is 1950's SF movie making at its marginal budgetary best. Certainly the storyline taxes credibility, involving alien possession of humans, but the ETs at least have a practical purpose for invading than just doing it out of spite. Plus, the dirty work isn't accomplished with sundry flying saucers and blaster rays, but by a huge robot. The acting is an uneven mixture of serious and melodramatic that oddly adds to the dark overtones of the fims early scenes. The dialogue, littered with quasi-scientific jargon, flows at near poetic tempo. Ultimately, it is the clever resourcefulness of our nuclear-scientist heroes that wins the day. Now that has to be worth watching!

Although saddled with a low budget, this black and white widescreen (REGALSCOPE) science fiction film excellently depicts the intriguing story of an alien gigantic robot sent to absorb the energy of this planet, and turn it upon mankind, basically "softening" up the Earth for a full scale invasion. Starring Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence and John Emery, with excellent production design (by some FORBIDDEN PLANET alumni) and a rousing score by Paul Sawtell. It's my personal favorite of the 1950's sci-fi movies.

This film is a great piece of science fiction. I especially loved the fact that every time that Kronos is attacked it seemed to get stronger. You also get good comic relief from George O'Hanlon, better known to most people as the voice of George Jetson.