The Creation of the Humanoids

Did You Know?

• The film is often said to be Andy Warhol's favorite movie, a claim originating from a 1964 art review.
• A quote from the film was used in the Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 DLC Yuri's Revenge.
• The line 'You are a robot' was sampled in the Powerman 5000 song 'When Worlds Collide'.

Plot

In the 23rd century, Earth suffers from a nuclear war that destroyed 92 percent of humanity. Lingering radiation has reduced the birth rate to 1.4 percent, below replacement level, and the population continues to decline. A robotic labor force maintains a high standard of living for survivors, and advanced humanoid robots serve humans directly. These humanoids have blue-gray synthe-skin, metallic eyes, and no hair; they visit recharging stations called temples, where they exchange information with a central computer known as the father-mother. The Order of Flesh and Blood opposes the humanoids, calling them clickers and believing they plan to take over. The Order resorts to violent actions, including bombings, and demands that all humanoids be disassembled or downgraded. Scientist Dr. Raven has developed a thalamic transplant that transfers the memories and personality of a recently deceased human into a robotic replica. The resulting human-humanoid hybrids are unaware of their transformation, though their human personalities shut off between 4 and 5 A.M., when they report to the robot temple. With Dr. Raven's help, the humanoids secretly replace recently deceased humans with these replicas.

Production

The film is normally dated to 1962, its general release year, but a 1961 screening is documented by an advertising flyer, and the film itself displays a 1960 copyright date. Trade publications indicate filming occurred in summer 1960 under working titles This Time Around or This Time Tomorrow. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences lists August 1960 as the completion date. Producer-director Wesley Barry's Genie Productions was based in Hollywood, but no information about the actual filming location has come to light. The limited budget is apparent from rudimentary sets consisting of blank flats, drapes, and painted backgrounds, as well as costumes such as generic jumpsuits and Confederate Army caps. Despite the budget, the producers opted for color filming when black-and-white was still common, and they obtained cinematographer Hal Mohr, a two-time Academy Award winner. Mohr used lighting and camera angles to enhance the sets and employed glamor lighting techniques for human characters, giving the film a visual polish unusual for a low-budget exploitation film.

Release

A general theatrical release through Emerson Film Enterprises began with an official opening in Los Angeles on 3 July 1962. The advertising campaign included short TV spots. Film posters were two-color printings limited to black, white, red, grays, pinks, and browns, unusual for a color film. Makeup artist Jack P. Pierce participated in the publicity campaign by giving interviews and making up TV host Wayne Thomas as a humanoid during a live broadcast, with progress televised during commercial breaks. After theatrical runs in drive-ins, suburban theaters, kiddie matinees, and exploitation theaters, the film was released to television by late 1964. It was released on Beta and VHS by Monterey Home Video in 1985 and later by Something Weird Video. The first licensed DVD release came in 2006 on a double-feature disc from Dark Sky Films. The running time is often listed as 75 minutes; the Dark Sky DVD runs 84 minutes in anamorphic 16:9 widescreen. Earlier videocassette releases are unmatted full-frame 1.33:1.

Later critical opinion

Leonard Maltin called it a slow, stagy cheapie. The Aurum Film Encyclopedia described it as interesting but let down by an over-talkative script. Michael Weldon referred to it as an incredible little film. Richard Scheib considered it a highly underrated gem and an illustration of science fiction as a literature of ideas. Erick Harper noted its ham-handed lack of subtlety but praised the courage of its message in the early 1960s amid the civil rights movement. Glenn Erickson called it undeniably sophisticated as science fiction and one weird movie.