The Creation of the Humanoids (1962)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

good back-story, and good acting

Excellent adaptation.

Absolutely the worst movie.

.....but only succeeds in making you sleep. I really can't believe all the good reviews for this. Creation of the Humanoids is a pretentious, plodding dud of a flick. It aims to strike the viewer as profound science fiction but, ultimately, it has a 10th grader's idea of what that looks like. Admittedly the production is hampered by a low budget, but that doesn't mean that the movie has to be stripped down to nothing more than an attempt to talk you to death. It could really stand a few human touches. How about a little comedy? Why not show one or two of those 1.4 children they keep on mentioning? And, fer Gawd's sake, how about some suspense? Hell, at least a car chase! The only scene that approaches exciting territory is a brief fist fight that occurs near the beginning of the film. If you choose to watch this turkey you'll want to cherish that scene because it's all slow going after that. This movie reminds me of all those old 60's soap operas that used to air on weekday afternoons. There was always plenty of tense talk between two or more characters but precious little ever happened and, if it did, it was almost always happening off camera and simply alluded to in one of the many endless stretches of dialogue that filled another wasted half hour of television time. In short, this movie is a bore. The ending, which is supposed to provide the only surprise twist to a barely existent plot, is so obvious that you guess it right after the rugged guy and attractive gal first meet. View this only if you enjoy watching other people chatter at each other.

Although terribly "talky", there are many redeeming qualities that make this story worthy of being filmed again. The storyline bears a similarity to the 1951 "The Day the Earth Stood Still" in that it delves into the paranoia and prejudices of the times. And though the dialog is horribly dated, (more like reading a novel or listening to a 1930's radio drama) the concept is excellent. With it's twists and turns of the story and some prudent trimming of all of that dialog, the drama of the story would hold up in today's market.The make-up design of Jack Pierce was quite striking for such a low budget venture. Likewise, many of the camera shots and the lighting were of an excellent quality. In today's world, where "special effects in search of a decent story" seems to be a large part of what makes it into production, this gets my nomination for an updated version.

It's not often that a movie from the 1960's shows up that I haven't seen, but this was one. Of course, there's a reason that this was shown at 4:30am on a Wednesday morning on AMC. The actors mostly are of the character variety and did lots of one-off guest appearances in TV shows from the 50's through the 70's like The Lucy Show, Bonanza and Kung Fu. One actor here, Don Megowan, starred in dozens of movies and TV episodes, but I'm sure he will always be best remembered as the bandit in Blazing Saddles that was chewing gum in line.So, while the low budget and B and C grade actors bring this down a bit in quality, and it does get a little preachy for my taste, the unique quality of the film definitely make it worth a look (as did that sparkling uniform combination of tight bullfighter pants and Confederate soldier's caps). This movie could have used a bigger budget and the higher production values that come with that, but for a B grade movie, it does pretty well. While not for all tastes, it's "must see" viewing for hardcore Sci-Fi fans.

It has high school level acting, dialog written by the teacher leading the school's acting club, and with sets barely rising to a college level production. But it has ideas, philosophy and even theology still unexplored in film making today. Not to say there is much explanation. This is not The Fountainhead where every idea is cause for a monologue.On top of that it expresses ideas like Asimov's Laws of Robotics withOUT a short lecture on their creation by Asimov -- not even giving his name. No other Hollywood writer has been able to do that. And it violates one of the laws in adherence to another without making the violation the substance of the story -- something even Asimov never achieved.The plot development is actually quite good without any contrived twists. Events early in the movie are part of the later plot. By the nature of the theme of the movie you know what is going to happen towards the end. It does but not in a way you would guess and again without a contrived twist hoping to make it surprising but in fact is only a twist introduced so as to advertise it has a surprise ending.When transfer of the soul comes up the answer is almost, "you can't have everything." No screenwriter today would dare not dwell upon the importance of the soul. Nor would any screenwriter today dare suggest all we are is a piece of brain tissue. These and many more ideas came fast with no lecturing and no moralizing. They are also discussed with the lack of emotion one expects from a high school play. These actors can't be all this bad. One gets the feeling there should have been at least one rehearsal.The ideas are worthy of Phil Dick but played without the angst. It has been a long time since I was intimately familiar with the Science Fiction literature of the 1950s and older but I do not recall any of the ideas even being mentioned earlier than this movie.If you are a science fiction fan and do not demand special effects and things that go boom in your movies this is for you. This movie could not be made today. Like The Cold Equations and Avatar today there would have to be an evil corporation behind it and schmaltz agonizing about the soul. And rest assured the premise would be climate change not nuclear war.See it soon.