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Tobor the Great (1954)
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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
It took me several hours to clean up the drawing, but the effort was worth it.

It needed some compensation for the perspective distortion as well, Bud.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

My God, Wayne — You're right! Shocked

Once I set up your adjusted version next to my original and went to work on it make it match the proportions of yours, I was astounded at the difference!

Here's yours next to my new adjusted version.



Here's my original distorted version next to my new adjusted version.



Notice how the Tobor in profile on my original leans to the right, and the signature in the corner is slanted to the left — both caused by the way the original photo was distorted because of the angle at which it was photographed .

But the Tobor in profile and the signature on the corner of the adjust one (on mine and yours) don't lean in towards the middle. I did notice, however, that your Tobor in profile stands a bit straighter than mine, so I must have failed to adjust it quite enough. Sad

However, the adjustment on both of ours makes a striking difference between the proportions of the upper bodies and the legs — the adjusted versions have a longer waist and a broader chest and head.

And here's a larger copy of the new adjusted version . . . just because I'm proud of it. Very Happy



Wow, can you believe we actually started with THIS! Cool



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:46 am; edited 7 times in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Face lt guys. Robots are just so COOL!

Another classic retro look was that Ziv robot from Science Fiction Theatre!

Real robots like Atlas look more like the robot from Saturn 3.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 1:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alltare wrote:
The name "Tobor" is not original to this movie. CAPTAIN VIDEO, an early 1950s TV show, had several episodes featuring an out-of-control robot of the same name. The name came into being when the label "ROBOT 1" was supposed to be stenciled on its chest, but the stencil was accidentally flipped over, so "I TOBOR" is how it read.

"Captain Video and his Dyslexic Rangers! Brought to you by the cereal from the folks with the name you've learned to trust!"

"T — S — O — P!"


"TSOP Raisin Bran!"

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:50 am; edited 3 times in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alltare wrote:
The name "Tobor" is not original to this movie. CAPTAIN VIDEO, an early 1950s TV show, had several episodes featuring an out-of-control robot of the same name. The name came into being when the label "ROBOT 1" was supposed to be stenciled on its chest, but the stencil was accidentally flipped over, so "I TOBOR" is how it read.

I'm willing to bet that the name was used in SF stories and comics before that.

David.
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A "lost" publicity still; TOBOR takes a sea cruise vacation.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 08, 2019 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I noticed several details I've missed until now, like the external "hinges" on the knees and elbows. Thanks, Eidae!

(That's "Eadie" spelled backwards, and would almost sound the same as it does spelled normally! Laughing)

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Apr 27, 2022 9:51 am; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 13, 2019 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has 7 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text. Very Happy
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~ The film inspired a Tobor the Great comic book story series, written by Denis Gifford and with artwork by James Bleach; it appeared in Star Comics #1-2 (1954), from D Publications.

Note from me: I wonder if we could find copies of the cover and the artwork inside. Confused

~ The original Tobor prop and remote control device is still in existence, having been stored away safely in a private collection for more than 50 years.

Note from me: I was wondering what ever happened to Tobor, and this is terrific news. I think Bob Burns is the owner now. Very Happy

~ Tobor's design was the brainchild of Robert Kinoshita, the television and film effects man and prop designer. The designer would go on to design Robby the Robot for the classic 1956 film Forbidden Planet, as well as the B-9 Environmental Control Robot for the mid-1960s hit sci-fi television series Lost In Space.

Note from me: Wait a minute! This is incorrect! Shocked

I found a site called SCIFIST with an article by on-line blogger Janne Wass which actually mentions ME and the production sketch I enhanced using Butch's original photo! Very Happy

Here's what the author of a very well-written article about Tobor says. (The words in boldface are done that way in the article as well.)
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Contrary to popular belief, the robot was not designed by Robert Kinoshita.

The only real evidence I have been able to find regarding the design of Tobor is a design sketch of the robot auctioned off after the death of the film’s art director Gabriel Scognamillo.

I present it to you below, courtesy of Bud Brewster on the brilliant Monster Kid Classic Horror Forum — he has received a crappy photo of it and enhanced it. The interesting bit here is that it is signed ”G. Scognamillo. 9/6/53”.






The robot in the film does differ from the sketch in a number of ways, but there’s no doubt that Scognamillo’s drawing is the blueprint for the robot that was actually built.

One of the reasons it was changed was probably that the sketch looks more like a suit than a robot, and the filmmakers probably wanted it bigger and clunkier, so that it wouldn’t immediately be recognized as a man in a suit. But the basic design is there: from the bucket-head and the carrot eyes to the front grill, the slanted shoulder joints and the platform shoes.

One possibility would be that Scognamillo made the design and turned it over to an uncredited Kinoshita to build. And this would be a great explanation if it wasn’t for the fact that we know who put the robot together as a practical suit; it was Mel Arnold, who also worked on Gort for The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Fred Barton, who has spent over three decades replicating old movie robots, including B9, Robby the Robot and Tobor, should know. And on his site he states that Tobor was indeed designed by Scognamillo and built by Arnold. I thought I’d put the question directly to him in an e-mail, and to my surprise, he replied the next day. And he confirms my suspicions:

Kinoshita had ZERO involvement with Tobor. I knew Bob for many years. /…/ He had no involvement with Tobor in any capacity. I know he didn’t design it, and he never claimed he did.”

Barton also kindly provided me with yet another concept art photo by Scognamillo, and from this picture (featured below), it is instantly clear that Scognamillo’s design was what was put on screen. With some minor differences, this later concept art for Tobor is basically the robot that we see in the film.

A big thanks to Fred Barton!






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The article also says this:
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As a note regarding Tobor: please do not believe anything you read on the Wikipedia pages of Tobor or Here Comes Tobor, the authors of these articles have Tobor the Great and Captain Video mixed up.
____________________________________________

The incorrect claim in the IMDB item above was taken directly from the Production section of the Tobor the Great Wikipedia article.

So by God, I fixed it by replacing the false claim with the one below! I also submitted the same message to IMDB's trivia section. Cool
____________________________________________

~ Contrary to popular belief, the robot was not designed by Robert Kinoshita, creator of Robby the Robot. According to both production sketches and "movie robot" authority Fred Barton, Tobor was designed by Gabriel Scognamillo and built by Mel Arnold, who also worked on Gort for The Day the Earth Stood Still.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:56 am; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Let's Create a Sequel!
________________________________

~ A Question for the Members: Since Tobor proved that he was capable of piloting a rocket in the movie's final scene, would a movie with him as the pilot'/navigator of a mission to Mars be an exciting idea for a sequel?

~ Here's what I came up with.: Imagine a spacecraft on its way to Mars, manned by a combination of humans and robots. One of the robots is Tobor —

____________

— and the other one is similar to the Mars rovers, but well articulated with several arms and (like the new-improved Tobor I created above) is capable of speech! Very Happy

The mission is to investigate photographic evidence of artificial structures on the surface of Mars . . . but not ancient ruins that would indicate the presence of a lost Martian civilization! These structures were recently built! A series of transparent domes contain cultivated areas.

Are they part of a secret Russian colony on Mars? Or were they constructed by Martians who have been living under the planet's surface and who have now reemerged?





Actually it turns out to be neither! They're aliens from another star system! In a sense, they've invaded Mars! Shocked

The human/robot crew of the Mars mission have to establish communication with the aliens and determine if they're a threat to Earth.

That's all I've got so far. I'm hoping some of you guys will have fun adding new elements to the story. Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Jan 18, 2024 4:37 pm; edited 2 times in total
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tmlindsey
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 2:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I liked this movie when I first saw it on TV at about five years old. I didn't see it again until about six years ago; and I still enjoy it! Laughing

It might be "simple" sci-fi fare, but I can appreciate what they were doing and would have loved the proposed series when I was a kid.

This is the kind of film I wouldn't mind seeing a remake of as long as they respected the original's tone and intent.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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I bought the DVD of this series for $6.98 from Amazon because I love the movie! What a bargain! Very Happy

Here Comes Tobor And Other Lost Action Shows Of The 1950's

But if that paltry price is standing between you and your chlldhood memories, enjoy this YouTube video of the first episode. Very Happy


___ Here Comes Tobor (1957) E2S1 Captain Fathom


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Morbius
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 5:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saw the movie with my Dad, as a child. Finally got the dvd. I've been trying to find a 3d printable of Tobar but no luck so far.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Keep Watching the Skies! Bill Warren.

What everyone is either overlooking or considers unimportant is that Tobor the Great actually was made for children.

It was probably the first science fiction film so designed, and by that token can probably be considered the first step on the road that led to Teenagers from Outer Space (1959).

The peculiar appeal of science fiction for children, who were the most enthusiastic audience for even the most adult of the SF films during this period, didn't go unnoticed by those who made Tobor the Great. The film can be criticized for being ineptly made in several ways, but it shouldn't be criticized for not being something it was not trying to be.

You can complain about the direction of Lee Sholem, never anything more than workmanlike. The editing is punk, says Variety, the acting indifferent.

But Tobor the Great was, in some ways, a pioneer. Children loved science fiction and they loved robots. This was a film for and about them, and for kids under twelve in 1954, Tobor the Great was probably just about flawless — except for that insensitive ending. So it doesn't hold up today; so it wasn't made for adults. So what. Entertainment of and for the moment is also worthwhile in its moment; Tobor the Great was certainly that.

Thoughts: I know as a kid, I was always drawn towards science fiction films and television shows. Just as I imagine all the members of All Sci~Fi were, and are to this day.

I well recall my dear mom giving me money to go see The Time Machine (1960), which had just opened at our local theater. I was seven or eight years old at the time. I'm sure I knew nothing about H. G. Wells or his literary works. I am equally sure that at that age that I did not grasp the more profound aspects of the picture. I just knew I had to see it, even if I wasn't the adult target audience that George Pal had in mind for his classic movie!

I just watched The Rocket Man again early this morning on the FX Channel. It was released in 1954, just as Tobor was. I would classify it in the same category as Tobor the Great as a film primarily aimed at kids. Although Bill Warren is not as enchanted or forgiving of it as he is with Tobor.

Also released in 1954 were The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters, and Paris Playboys, also a Bowery Boys movie. Both films have science fiction elements to them. Meet the Monsters offers up the gang encountering a robot, a formula that can transfer a man into a savage creature, and a tree that devours people. There's also a seductive female vampire, but now we're into fantasy territory.

Paris Playboys has Sach (Huntz Hall) concoct a incredibly powerful rocket fuel.

These films would also appeal to children for both their science fiction and comedic qualities.

In the following decades we'd see such science fiction movies as Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor (and its sequel Son of Flubber), as well as Steven Spielberg's marvelous E.T., and Explorers, made for both an adult and children's audience. These films would have the advantage of superior budgets, scripting, casting, and production values, along with the latest special effects technology. Kids loved these movies, and adults who were still kids at heart would too.

Nowadays it is common to see science fiction films and TV shows made for younger viewers. But at the time of these 1954 SF movies, it was indeed a brand new frontier for filmmakers.
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tmlindsey
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Morbius wrote:
Saw the movie with my Dad, as a child. Finally got the dvd. I've been trying to find a 3d printable of Tobar but no luck so far.

Have you tried asking anyone on the Alphadrome forum for help?
_________ 3D printed Tobor


__________

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Morbius
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the info. I was not aware but I'm trying to join or register but need a confirming email, as yet not sent?
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