oscar-35 Tobor the Great, 1954.*Spoiler/plot- A brilliant scientist develops a remarkable robot and his grandson becomes a friend to it.*Special Stars- Charles Drake, Karin Booth, Billy Chapin, Taylor Holmes, Steven Geray, Henry Kulky.*Theme- Innocent youth can conquer all problems.*Trivia/location/goofs- One of the first and most popular robot films and developed into a genre for the 1950's on TV and film.*Emotion- This is a charming piece of 1950 naively fun involving robots, scientists, space flight, international spys, friendship, and precocious kids.*Based On- 1950's robot and space flight sensibilities.

ferbs54 Baby boomers of a certain age may recall being entertained, back in 1965, by the latest Japanimation product at that time, a TV program called "Tobor the 8th Man," which had its origins in a manga comic in 1963. But almost a full decade before the 8th Man's initial appearance, another Tobor was thrilling baby boomers in America's movie palaces, via 1954's "Tobor the Great." In this surprisingly likable film, the elderly Prof. Nordstrom builds a mechanical simulacrum, operated telepathically; a robot designed to take the place of a human being in the first, ultrahazardous rocket voyage into space. The professor and his 11-year-old grandson, Gadge, soon become the targets of foreign spies, however, so it's a good thing that Tobor is prepared to meet ALL emergency situations! Anyway, "Tobor" is a perfect film for adults to watch with their kiddies. The film has been well directed by Lee Sholem (the man responsible for 1951's "Superman and the Mole-Men"!) and features some very competent acting (especially by Taylor Holmes as the professor and Charles Drake as his assistant) and a compact (the whole film runs only 77 minutes in length), fairly intelligent script; don't believe the wet blankets at Maltinville who claim these latter two aspects are "terrible." As far as Tobor itself is concerned, comparisons to Robby the Robot, in 1956's "Forbidden Planet," are hard to avoid. Tobor might be a taller and thus more imposing creation, which is not to say cooler looking. And lacking the power of "speech," it doesn't have 1/10 the personality of Robby. Still, it is a wholly endearing construct, and the final shot of the big galoot at the controls of Earth's first space rocket is fairly touching. In all, "Tobor" is good, lighthearted sci-fi fun, and demonstrates that a film doesn't necessarily require the resources of an Industrial Light & Magic complex to fashion a memorable robotic character. Tobor might not be Robby or R2-D2, but it sure is a good dude to have on one's side when the chips are down!

Murgatroyd-3 I saw this film when i was ten years old and it made a big impression on me.So much so that I sat through the main film again so that I could watch Tobor again.I must have been in the cinema for six hours.The only other time I saw it was on a kids Saturday matinée a couple of years later.I have never seen it shown on TV,I wonder if it has been? It might seem corny now,but to a young boy in the early fifties it was magic.I have never forgotten it and I was really pleased to find all the info about the film when I Googled it. I see the DVD is due to be released in 2009 so I will get the chance to watch Tobor for the first time in fifty years.I am sure I will still enjoy it and it will bring back memories of a simpler time.

klmontana2 I was a little girl when this came out. I saw it in the theater and was spellbound. I only saw it once, but remembered it all my life. I just bought it and could not be happier. It is very much for children, but I will always hold it dear. I think the plot is fun. The robot is great and the people are funny, but all in all this is a film I would take any one to see, big or small. It just makes you feel good to watch it. I wish that there were more movies made this wholesome. The title is wonderful too. Robot spelled backwards. You just can't lose with a movie like this. I would give it a big thumbs up!!!!