A 1957 American Sci-Fi Adventure comedy directed by Herman Hoffman that has a young boy (Richard Eyer) and Robby the Robot teaming up to save the planet from a satellite.
The movie also stars Philip Abbott, Diane Brewster, Harold J Stone, Robert H Harris, Alexander Lockwood, Gage Clarke, and Than Wyenn.
It was released on October 1, 1957.
Tropes for the film:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Dr. Merrinoe tries to use his super-computer to help his dim son pass math. He is unaware that the computer has become sentient (and evil). It hypnotizes his son and uses him to reassemble a dead scientist's robot (Robby) which is also sentient (huge plot hole), leaving a critical part of Robby's brain unconnected, so it will act only on instructions. Its plan is to be freed from the lab and be placed in an orbiting satellite bristling with nuclear weapons, allowing it to rule the Earth. when the chips are down, Timmie reconnects the rest of Robby's circuits, allowing it to act on its own and defeat the super-computer.
- Alliterative Name: Mary Merrinoe.
- Artificial Intelligence: Computer scientist, Dr. Tom Merrinoe, misuses his super-computer to tutor his son, Timmie, in math, unaware that the machine has achieved sentience - and is evil. the computer hypnotizes his son using him to reactivate a robot (Robby the Robot) of dubious background (it may or may not have come from the future) to free it from the base and take over a space station bristling with nuclear weapons and rule the Earth.
- Tagline: "The science-monster who would destroy the world!".
- Three Laws-Compliant: Robby is this. He starts to overheat when Timmie gives him the command that Robby believes would put the boy at risk, so the boy takes him to a supercomputer to reprogram him, but it turns out that the supercomputer is evil and doesn't obey the three laws. When the supercomputer orders Robby to kill the boy, Timmie, without realizing it, reminds Robby of their friendship and Robby is able to resist the supercomputer's control and reset himself back to the following three laws. At the end of the film when Timmie is about to be spanked by his father for all the trouble he caused, Robby stops him because of the first law. The supercomputer was not compliant with the three laws because it wasn't intended by its creator to have a will of its own.
