Gog (film)

Infobox Film
name = Gog


caption = Promotional movie poster for the film
director = Herbert L. Strock
producer = Ivan Tors
writer = Tom Taggart (screenplay)
Ivan Tors (story)
Richard G. Taylor (dialogue)
starring = Richard Egan
Constance Dowling
Herbert Marshall
music = Harry Sukman
cinematography = Lothrop B. Worth
editing = Herbert L. Strock
distributor = United Artists
released = June 5,1954
runtime = 85 min.
country = United States
language = English
budget = $250,000 (estimated)
preceded_by = "Riders to the Stars"
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:93414
imdb_id = 0047033

"Gog" is a 1954 science fiction film directed by Herbert L. Strock and released in 1954 by United Artists. It is notable for having been shot in both color and 3-D. It stars Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, and Herbert Marshall.

It is the third episode in Ivan Tors' "Office of Scientific Investigation" (OSI) trilogy, following both "The Magnetic Monster" and "Riders to the Stars".

Tagline

"Built to serve man... it could think faster! Kill faster!... Then suddenly, it became a Frankenstein of steel!"

Plot

Unaccountable, deadly malfunctions begin occurring at a top-secret government facility under the New Mexico desert where a space station is being constructed. OSI agents are called in to investigate.

Laboratory supervisor Dr. Van Ness (Herbert Marshall) calls in Dr. David Sheppard (Richard Egan), a security agent from the Office of Scientific Investigation in Washington, DC, to find the cause of the mysterious deaths. Working with Joanna Merritt (Constance Dowling), an OSI agent already at the facility, Sheppard determines that the deaths among the lab's 150 top scientists are due to deliberate sabotage of NOVAC (Nuclear Operative Variable Automatic Computer), a central computer which controls all equipment in the underground facility.

But it is harder to determine how the sabotage is being done. The unseen enemy strikes again and again, snuffing out six scientists in quick succession, as well as Major Howard, the complex's Chief of Security.

Eventually, Sheppard determines that a powerful radio transmitter and receiver were secretly built into the brain during its construction. An enemy plane whose fiberglass body does not register on radar has been flying overhead, beaming highly-focused, ultra-high frequency radio signals into NOVAC, thereby controlling its every function. The computer, in turn, controls Gog and Magog— 2 mobile robots with powerful gripping tools and other implements.

Magog is finally directed to go to the complex's nuclear reactor room and pull the safety rod out of the atomic pile, starting a chain reaction that will soon build to a nuclear explosion, which will destroy the entire facility. Sheppard arrives in time to push the safety rod back into the pile, stopping the chain reaction. He then attacks the robot with a flame thrower and disables it, but Gog soon follows its twin to the reactor room to finish the job. Sheppard's flame thrower runs out of fuel as the robot advances on him. Just when all seems lost, Gog suddenly comes to a halt, its metal arms falling limply to its sides. An American F-86 Sabre jet fighter has finally tracked down the enemy plane and destroyed it, ending NOVAC's reign of destruction.

A few days later, Dr. Van Ness explains the situation to the Secretary of Defense, and informs him that a working model of the space station is about to be launched into orbit. The new station will be equipped with telescopes and television cameras which will spot any further attempts to sabotage the complex in this fashion. The Secretary observes with satisfaction, "We'll never be taken by surprise again!" The film concludes with the successful launch of the rocket containing the working model from the complex.

Production/History

* The film was shot on two sets at Hal Roach Studios, with exteriors done at George AFB, a former Air Force base near Victorville, California. It took just 15 days to shoot all of the footage needed, and the film's final cost was estimated at a quarter of a million dollars.
* Shortly after filming of Gog was completed, Constance Dowling married Ivan Tors and retired from acting.
* Although shot in 3-D, "Gog" was released at the tail end of the 3-D fad of 1953-54 and was therefore shown "flat" in most venues, despite being available in its stereoscopic format. Critical response was generally positive, with many critics noting the story's basis in science fact, rather than science fantasy. This was a staple of Tors' science-fiction films. His 1955 television series, Science Fiction Theater, had the same verisimilitude, and often lifted props and situations from "Gog" and the other OSI films.

Reception

Critical response ranged from "good" to "very good" in general. The film was previewed for the press at United Artist's screening room in 3-D.William R. Weaver: "Review (Gog)", "Motion Picture Herald", Product Digest Section, June 12, 1954, Page 26]

"Motion Picture Herald's" William R. Weaver said of "Gog":
"The production moves steadily forward, keeping interest growing at a steady pace, and exciting the imagination without overstraining credulity."

Cast

*Richard Egan as David Sheppard
*Constance Dowling as Joanna Merritt
*Herbert Marshall as Dr. Van Ness
*John Wengraf as Dr. Zeitman
*Phillip Van Zandt as Dr. Pierre Elzevir
*Valerie Vernon as Madame Elzevir
*Steve Roberts as Major Howard
*Byron Kane as Dr. Carter
*David Alpert as Dr. Peter Burden
*Michael Fox as Dr. Hubertus
*William Schallert as Dr. Engle
*Marian Richman as Helen

References

External links