Kronos (film)

Last updated
Kronos
Kronos 1957 poster small.jpg
Directed by Kurt Neumann
Screenplay byLawrence L. Goldman
Story byIrving Block
Produced byIrving Block
Louis DeWitt
Kurt Neumann
Jack Rabin
Starring Jeff Morrow
Barbara Lawrence
John Emery
George O'Hanlon
Cinematography Karl Struss
Edited by Jodie Copelan
Music by Paul Sawtell
Bert Shefter
Production
company
Distributed by 20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • April 1957 (1957-04)(United States)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$160,000 (estimated) [1]

Kronos (a.k.a. Kronos, Destroyer of the Universe or Kronos, Ravager of Planets) is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film from Regal Films, a division of 20th Century-Fox. It was produced by Irving Block, Louis DeWitt, Kurt Neumann, and Jack Rabin, directed by Kurt Neumann, and stars Jeff Morrow and Barbara Lawrence. Kronos was distributed as a double feature with She Devil . [2]

Contents

Since the film's release, it has been widely praised for its above-average storyline and its farsighted portrayal of the consequences of over-consumption of both natural and man-made resources; it has achieved minor cult status as a result. [3]

Plot

A huge, blinking flying object from deep space emits a glowing ball of electrical energy, which races to Earth. It intercepts a man driving his pickup along an isolated road in the American Southwest desert late at night. It takes over the man's mind, directing him to LabCentral, a U.S. research facility, where a pair of scientists have been tracking the flying object, thinking it to be an asteroid.

The possessed man knocks out LabCentral's security guard, then proceeds into the main building where the entity leaves the pickup driver and enters the mind of Dr. Hubbell Eliot, the LabCentral chief. Meanwhile, in a research lab below, astrophysicist Dr. Leslie Gaskell and his computer science associate, Dr. Arnold Culver, have been tracking the flying object. They realize that it is not only headed toward Earth but is moving under intelligent guidance. They order three nuclear missiles fired, but they fail to destroy the object, which dives into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico.

The two scientists, along with Vera Hunter, LabCentral's staff photographer and Gaskell's girlfriend, rush to Mexico. After their arrival, they see an enormous dome, glowing and steaming, appear on the ocean horizon. The next morning, on the beach outside their room, they find that a very tall machine has appeared; its four-legged body has two mobile antennae.

They use a small helicopter to land atop the machine, glimpsing its complex inner workings before being forced to leave and fly back to LabCentral when the machine begins to move. The possessed Dr. Eliot, using lists of power stations and atom-bomb arsenals around the world, telepathically directs the machine. Now named Kronos by the news media, it methodically attacks power plants in Mexico, draining all their energy. In doing so, Kronos grows larger, consuming more and more power as it moves from one power source to the next. Four Mexican Air Force fighter planes attack, but the ever-growing alien machine easily destroys them and continues on its rampage.

Meanwhile, when Kronos is absorbing energy, Eliot is momentarily freed from the influence of the energy force controlling him. Eliot tells his returned colleagues that Kronos is an energy accumulator, sent by an alien race that has exhausted its own natural resources; they have sent their giant machine to drain all the Earth's available power and then return it to their dying world.

On Eliot's recommendation, the United States Air Force sends a B-47 bomber to drop an atomic bomb on Kronos. Gaskell warns the Air Force general in charge that an atomic explosion will simply supply the alien machine with more massive amounts of energy. The general attempts to abort the mission, but Kronos, aware of the plan by way of Dr. Eliot's mind, magnetically draws the jet to crash into it, absorbing the bomb's nuclear blast. The alien machine, now grown to an immense size, appears unstoppable, harvesting all forms of energy at will.

In another uncontrolled moment, Dr. Eliot locks himself in an hermetically sealed room and smashes the only electronic keypad for the door; he and the energy force which has possessed him expire. As Kronos draws near Los Angeles, Gaskell realizes that reversing the machine's polarity will force it to feed upon itself, until it is destroyed in a gigantic implosion. Gaskell, Culver, and Vera convince the Air Force to bombard Kronos with nuclear ions, which will cause the polarity to reverse; the experiment works, and Kronos is completely obliterated in the resulting implosion.

Cast

Production

Kronos was filmed in a little more than two weeks (mid-January to late January 1957) in California; special effects were created by Jack Rabin, Irving Block, and Louis DeWitt. [4]

The idea of an alien machine absorbing energy is similar to the giant alien machine from the later (1966) Star Trek television episode "The Doomsday Machine" which destroys planets and uses them to fuel itself. [5]

George O'Hanlon, who plays Dr. Arnold Culver in the film, had just finished his popular series of Joe McDoakes comedy shorts and would be later known as the voice of George Jetson in the popular cartoon series The Jetsons . [6]

Reception

Critical response

When the film was first released in 1957, Variety gave the film a favorable review: "Kronos is a well-made, moderate budget science-fictioner which boasts quality special effects that would do credit to a much higher-budgeted film ... John Emery is convincing as the lab head forced by the outer-space intelligence to direct the monster. Barbara Lawrence is in strictly for distaff interest, but pretty". [7]

Film critic Dennis Schwartz was disappointed in the film's screenplay and acting. He wrote, "German emigre to Hollywood, Kurt Neumann ( Tarzan and the Amazons / Son of Ali Baba / She Devil ), directs this b/w shot, dull, so-so sci-fi film, that's played straight-forward, is humorless and all the thespians are wooden. It's based on the story by Irving Block and the weak script is written by Lawrence Louis Goldman". [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irving Langmuir</span> American chemist and physicist (1881–1957)

Irving Langmuir was an American chemist, physicist, and engineer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now is sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and administered privately by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.

<i>The Fly</i> (1958 film) 1958 film by Kurt Neumann

The Fly is a 1958 American science fiction horror film and the first installment in The Fly film series. The film was produced and directed by Kurt Neumann and stars David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, and Herbert Marshall. The screenplay by James Clavell is based on the 1957 short story of the same name by George Langelaan.

<i>Alien Nation</i> (film) 1988 film by Graham Bake

Alien Nation is a 1988 American science fiction action film written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and directed by Graham Baker. The ensemble cast features James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, and Terence Stamp. Its initial popularity inaugurated the beginning of the Alien Nation media franchise. The film depicts the assimilation of the "Newcomers", an alien race settling in Los Angeles, much to the initial dismay of the local population. The plot integrates the neo-noir and buddy cop film genres with a science fiction theme, centering on the relationship between a veteran police investigator (Caan) and an extraterrestrial (Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective. The duo probe a criminal underworld while attempting to solve a homicide.

<i>MDK</i> 1997 video game

MDK is a 1997 third-person shooter video game developed by Shiny Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and subsequently ported to Mac OS by Shokwave, and to the PlayStation by Neversoft. The game was published on all systems by PIE in North America, while Shiny Entertainment handled the European release. It initially debuted in March 1997 for Windows and in November of the same year for PlayStation. Later on, MDK became available on GOG.com in September 2008 and on Steam in September 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasite (comics)</span> DC Comics character

Parasite is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Each iteration of the character has the ability to temporarily absorb the life force, attributes, memories, and superpowers of anyone through physical touch. The most well-known and recurring incarnation is Rudy Jones, who has become one of Superman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery. In 2009, Parasite was ranked as IGN's 61st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

<i>The Legend of Hell House</i> 1973 supernatural horror film by John Hough

The Legend of Hell House is a 1973 gothic supernatural horror film directed by John Hough, and starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill, and Gayle Hunnicutt. It follows a group of researchers who spend a week in the former home of a sadist and murderer, where previous paranormal investigators were inexplicably killed. Its screenplay was written by American author Richard Matheson, based upon his 1971 novel Hell House.

<i>Bio Menace</i> 1993 video game

Bio Menace is a 1993 game developed and published by Apogee Software for MS-DOS. A 2D multidirectional scrolling platform game, it was built on a licensed version of id Software's Commander Keen game engine. Apart from the engine and music, all in-game content was created by the game's designer, Jim Norwood. In 2014, the game was re-released on Steam, and in 2015 on GOG.com with support for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.

<i>Super 8</i> (2011 film) 2011 American film

Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and co-produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and tells the story of a group of young teenagers in 1979 who are filming their own Super 8 movie when a train derails, releasing a dangerous presence into their town. The film was shot in Weirton, West Virginia, and surrounding areas, portraying the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio.

<i>Ben 10</i> (2005 TV series) American animated series

Ben 10 is an American animated series created by Man of Action, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series is about a 10-year-old boy named Ben Tennyson who gets a watch-style alien device called the "Omnitrix". Attached to his wrist, it allows him to transform into 10 different alien creatures with different abilities, allowing him to fight evil from Earth and space with his cousin Gwen and grandfather Max. The series first aired on Cartoon Network as a sneak peek on December 27, 2005, as part of "Sneak Peek Week", airing alongside other shows, including My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Robotboy and Zixx. It later became a full series airing from January 13, 2006, to April 15, 2008.

<i>The Andromeda Strain</i> (film) 1971 sci-fi film by Robert Wise

The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science fiction thriller film produced and directed by Robert Wise. Based on Michael Crichton's 1969 novel of the same name and adapted by Nelson Gidding, the film stars Arthur Hill, James Olson, Kate Reid, and David Wayne as a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin. With a few exceptions, the film follows the book closely. The special effects were designed by Douglas Trumbull. The film is notable for its use of split screen in certain scenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Morrow</span> American actor and World War II veteran

Leslie Irving Morrow, known as Jeff Morrow, was an American actor educated at Pratt Institute in his native New York City. Morrow was a commercial artist prior to turning to acting. Early in his career, he acted on the Broadway stage using the name Irving Morrow.

<i>Warning from Space</i> 1956 Japanese science fiction tokusatsu film

Warning from Space is a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film directed by Koji Shima. Produced and distributed by Daiei Film, it was the first Japanese science fiction film to be produced in color and predates Daiei's most iconic tokusatsu characters, Gamera and Daimajin. In the film's plot, starfish-like aliens disguised as humans travel to Earth to warn of the imminent collision of a rogue planet and Earth. As the planet rapidly accelerates toward Earth, a nuclear device is created at the last minute and destroys the approaching world.

<i>The Physics of Star Trek</i> Book by Lawrence Krauss

The Physics of Star Trek is a 1995 non-fiction book by the theoretical physicist Lawrence M. Krauss. It is the third book by Krauss, who later wrote a follow-up titled Beyond Star Trek in 1997.

<i>The Man from Planet X</i> 1951 American science fiction film directed by Edgar George Ulmer

The Man from Planet X is a 1951 independently made American black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced by Jack Pollexfen and Aubrey Wisberg, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, that stars Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, and William Schallert. The film was distributed by United Artists.

<i>The Tommyknockers</i> (miniseries) TV series or program

The Tommyknockers is a 1993 television miniseries based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Stephen King. Broadcast on ABC, it was directed by John Power, adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen and starred Marg Helgenberger and Jimmy Smits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occulus</span> Comics character

Occulus is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as an enemy of the Fantastic Four. He was one of the first villains imprisoned in the Negative Zone prison.

<i>War of the Satellites</i> 1958 film by Roger Corman

War of the Satellites is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film drama, produced and directed by Roger Corman, and starring Richard Devon, Dick Miller and Susan Cabot. It was distributed in the U.S. and the U.K. by Allied Artists. In the U.S., it was released as a double feature with Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam F. Goldberg</span> American television and film producer

Adam Frederick Goldberg is an American television and film producer, and writer. Goldberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of The Goldbergs, a television sitcom based on his childhood in which he is portrayed by Sean Giambrone. He also created and led the sitcoms Breaking In, Imaginary Mary, and Schooled, a spin-off of The Goldbergs.

<i>She Devil</i> (1957 film) 1957 film by Kurt Neumann

She Devil is a 1957 American widescreen science fiction horror film, shot in RegalScope, from Regal Films, that was produced, written, and directed by Kurt Neumann. The film stars Mari Blanchard, Jack Kelly, and Albert Dekker and was theatrically released by 20th Century-Fox on a double bill with Regal's Kronos.

References

  1. Internet Movie Database Business/Box office for
  2. "Kurt neumann, director, dies in mystery". Los Angeles Times. Aug 22, 1958. ProQuest   167255402.
  3. Kronos at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg [ unreliable source? ]
  4. Kronos at the American Film Institute Catalog . Production Date: mid January to late January 1957. Accessed: July 22, 2013.
  5. The Doomsday Machine at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg . Accessed: July 22, 2013.
  6. The Jetsons at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg . Accessed: July 22, 2013.[ unreliable source? ]
  7. Variety. Staff film review, 1957. Accessed: July 22, 2013.
  8. Schwartz Dennis Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine . Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, May 26, 2011. Accessed: July 22, 2013.

Bibliography