Do Androids Dream of Summer Stock?

I am subscribed to a streaming site called pubdhub.info, a site that shows a lot of public domain titles, and I mean a LOT! Most Sundays, the site adds new movies, TV shows, educational films, commercials, and so on. (Yes, I’m giving them a low-level shout-out.) Recently, they added an odd little title, “Creation of the Humanoids”.

I had heard of the title before, but it got lost in the flood of other science-fiction films that hit screens in the 50s and early 60s. That’s a shame that it has kind of slipped to the sidelines because it threw me for a loop even if I couldn’t stay awake for more than ten minutes at a time.

The first thing you should notice is that this film is in color, rather full rich color. In 1960, when the film was actually shot, most major Hollywood titles were still being filmed and released in black and white. I have no idea who decided to use color. Possibly they were gifted the film stock or it is the most creative use of short ends ever seen. But the colors give the film way more value, especially to the post-80s kids who cringe at the thought of watching a black-and-white film. Even the painfully minimalist sets and abstract art-looking background paintings look unique and a bit threatening in full color.

Speaking of minimalist sets, we got them here. Sometimes the entire scene is shot with a curtain, a potted plant, and a couple of places for the actors to sit. Considering the whole film feels more like a play, this lack of detail in set design is to be expected. Plus, I get the feeling the budget was pretty much chewed up by either the color film processing or the fairly elaborate android makeup/costumes. I’m still leaning towards the costumes.

The acting is – well, it’s acting, but mostly on the par with summer stock full of wannabees and hopefuls. A few help pull the quality up a smidge or two, but most are just there to deliver their lines. In fact, you have a few scenes of “robots” talking to each other, but the actors are all looking in different directions, so you don’t even get a sense of the actors interacting when they are in the same scenes. The leads pull some okay performances, but it feels like something from the Delsarte Method of acting, which means it smacks of artifice and is a bit melodramatic. Don’t expect anything natural or modern.

Then you have the story, the plot, and all the rhetoric and bland philosophy your little heart can stand. It seems that it is years after a nuclear war wiped out 92% of humanity. Mankind has used robots to help rebuild the world. In fact, the robots have become so advanced that they design themselves, which results in humanoid robots that feature a rudimentary form of intelligence. Yet Man must always shun "the stranger" in their midst, so these robots, insultingly called "clickers", suffer prejudice and threats from The Order of Flesh and Blood. Fascism much? Subtlety is not on the menu here.

Along with the social and political ideas, you are privy to many discussions of religion, what makes a human human, and the ethics of virtually raising the dead. Lots and lots of discussions. Oh holy HELL, there is a lot of talking in this damned movie! I dozed off EIGHT TIMES during the last 10 minutes of this movie. Longest hour ever.

It sounds like I don't like this movie. While I do have my issues with it, I can't help but respect a movie that blended the old Czech play "R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)" with modern science-fiction of Isaac Azimov's Robot stories and ultimately foreshadows "Blade Runner" and its androids that are more human than humans. I also find it interesting that they took a rather high-brow approach even though they didn't have a big budget to support it. Most movies of that era were happy enough to shove some monster at the camera. Even though it is talky as hell, there's more real science fiction going on in "The Creation of the Humanoids" than you'll find in a dozen films produced by Robert Lippert.

Grab some stout coffee, cop a major head buzz, and check out this movie. Yes, it is okay to stop it now and then to apply more coffee. I think you'll enjoy it in spite of its shortcomings. And, hell, it gives you another good reason to drink some coffee. Win-win!!