Kronos (1957) User Reviews

Kronos: A DVD Movie Review

[brad-draper · 7/10 · 17 December 2005]

Made in 1957, this ultra weird science fiction movie "Kronos" is a product of the then unknown UFO phenom and the Soviet Union's nuclear threat of the time. Before I describe this film, I have to tell you, seeing it first, at a very young pre-teen ager, this movie gave me sweaty nightmares of world destruction's dreams constructed by odd and powerful machines for many nights and many years to come that made me hide under the covers. These dreams of mine were terrifying to the extreme, and when I watch this film today, I can finally understand this.

A strange movie, made by "Regal Films" and distributed by 20th Century Fox, it adds genuine sci-fi terror with the combination of some very effective and occasional cheesy effects, and generally good acting. The story is just weird enough to be believable, which is the mark of a good sci-fi movie. It is a sort of a "War of the Worlds" film in a way. The new DVD widescreen video transference by "Image Entertainment" is very good considering the lack of quality of the original film's input. The sound is true and clear.

The film is in black and white and incorporates many stock footage shots of the era. Some of those shots include the proverbial rocket launches of a German V2. And then there are some very beautiful shots of the elegant first Strategic Air Command's swept wing atomic jet bomber the B-47 StratoJet in flight. Finally there is very rare stock footage of the first supersonic fighter in experimental form, the XF-100 Super Saber soaring. Interesting.

To summarize, a giant flying saucer, mistaken for an asteroid, crashes off the coast of West Mexico. Bubbling out of the Pacific a few days later is this giant metallic multi stepped cube. The cube's goal is to suck up all the energy in the earth for it's home world. The more energy it absorbs the more fantastically large the machine becomes. Bizarre side stories are how this cube's energy affects certain humans for it's aid. You have to watch the movie as this oddness is hard to describe.

The imagery of the alien machine is often really scary, as in some scenes the monster takes upon an electric greenish tint in the wide screen display and it's electric lightning is the stuff of bad dreams. But other images are a bit cartoonish. Those cartoonish images if left out of the film would have made it a much more effective a movie.

Nevertheless on a 1950's level this sci-fi movie is most effective in it's ability to evoke true paranoia. It frightens the beegeezuss out of me every time I watch it and I can guarantee that I will have a nightmare about the giant and massive cubic Kronos, the ravager of worlds, vampire of energy, tonight as I slumber. As Kronos makes it's way on the earth sucking up energy it makes this crushing high pitched pulsing noise as if metal upon rock. Very eerie.

The film stared perennial B-movie star Jeff Morrow as the scientist that figures out how to destroy Kronos. He reverses Kronos' polarity! Didn't Scotty do that on the Enterprise once to save the ship? The obligatory cheese cake 1950's sci-fi actress in this film was the very lovely Barbara Lawrence as the wasted film technician Vera, the ever ignored girl friend of Morrow.

For it's genre, this movie is recommended, for it's unique story, eclectic acting, decent script, terrifying and very spooky imagery.

It still gives me the heebeejeebies.

Reflection of Cold War tensions

[oigres · 7/10 · 20 December 1999]

This movie reflects the cold war tensions of the fifties and captures the history of that time period on film. The movie is interesting for its presentation of modern age technology of its' time and the wonders that technology would bring. Movie goers who have been spoon-fed on modern digital animations and graphics will have no appreciation for the effort that went into this movie. This is obviously no academy award winner; however, one must view this film in its' proper context. A thoroughly enjoyable movie. 8 out of 10.

This Space Monster movie is an Odd One-of-a-Kind

[Rabh17 · 7/10 · 2 January 2016]

The weird thing is, I can't think KRONOS as a 'Monster'. Nor is it a 'Robot', especially when you consider back when this movie was made.

KRONOS is an alien Sci-fi 'Automaton'.

And what struck me about KRONOS was the actual thing itself. Nevermind the rest of the movie, which was just the usual people running through the streets while Handsome Scientists scribble at a blackboard to come up with a solution...all that mattered to me as a Kid was when KRONOS started to MOVE. And my mouth just dropped open...

40 plus years later, and still in Black and White, but on a widescreen, the effect of the movie is the same. The Huge Metallic Automaton with the crystal antennas going *Pulse-Pulse-Pulse* across the landscape is the part that still mesmerizes. And in all the years of Sci-Fi since, there is no other 'Monster' like it.

As for the rest of the Movie...viewed today, it's a laugh and a chortle...like the fact that Lab Central clearly would have failed a Safety inspection when anyone can be electrocuted by just being pushed up against an instrument panel. Even the Doctor has a naked electrified fence inside his office! But the Best part for me was when the scientist comes up with the 'Omega Particles' blah-blah-blah to make KRONOS reverse polarity before it destroys L.A.

And by Reverse Polarity, they make KRONOS release ALL of its stolen energy...including the output of at least one Hydrogen Bomb, BTW. And to think, the handsome scientist and his Girl Friday are smiling and hugging and thinking about Marriage in the airport tower when KRONOS goes Kaboom.

And I mean KABOOM! As in well golly-geewhiz, you just wiped all of Los Angeles and the surrounding counties clean off the map, Mr Scientist! But I guess that's not his problem...after all he's a SCIENTIST! But all in all...it's a fun 'Monster' romp from the Age of Outer Space.

One of the best movies ever made

[LJ27 · 28 November 2002]

Yep, it's black & white and low budget but the film has great ideas and is executed incredibly well for the small amount of money they had to work with. The score by Bert Shefter and Paul Sawtell is probably the best the duo ever wrote. In fact, the title theme was so good it was re-worked for IT, THE TERROR FROM OUTER SPACE. Some people have said they think that cartoon animation was used for walking shots of KRONOS. I think it is stop-motion model animation, especially since Gene Warren is one of those credited for special effects and stop-motion was his specialty. Regardless of how it was achieved, KRONOS is about as much fun as they get. The special effects, while dated-looking now were as good as anything else you would see at the time it was released. I love this film which fortunately, has been preserved on an excellent widescreen DVD. The film has an enduring quality about it and never ceases to entertain me no matter how many times I see it. If you just like to have a plain old good time watching a movie, then I highly recommend KRONOS.

Surprisingly different

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 14 February 2009]

Kronos is a surprisingly different sci-fi film from the 1950s. That's because its plot is so unique that it doesn't remind me of any other film of the age--and that's certainly a reason to recommend it right there.

The film begins with a space ship nearing the Earth and a glowing being invading human hosts. It appears to be intelligent, as it seeks out a top man at a government lab. At this same lab, an astronomer sees this ship using their telescopes and he thinks it is some sort of asteroid on a collision course with the planet. Rockets with nuclear warheads are sent to destroy it, but they have no serious effect. Soon, the space object crashes into the ocean. People assume that the possible disaster is averted but this attitude quickly changes when a huge robotic device comes ashore and runs amok. It seems that this is a giant energy collection device and attempts to stop it seem fruitless. Will aliens eventually drain all the energy from our planet and leave it a lifeless hulk or will brainy scientists save the day?

While this film is far more sedate than the usual sci-fi film and the special effects seem rather primitive, the story is clever and involving--making this a fine sci-fi film for buffs. However, is you don't like this sort of genre, then I also doubt if you'll be as impressed as I was at the effort--especially since you never really get to see an aliens.

By the way, the lead is played by Jeff Morrow--the same guy who sports a huge bald forehead in THIS ISLAND EARTH. It's pretty obvious when you hear his distinctive voice.

Not As Bad As I Remembered

[Gyaos · 7/10 · 5 June 2002]

I just bought this thing on DVD as the price finally got down to a reasonable level and watched it last night. The thing I remembered most from seeing the movie when I was a kid was the cheesy visual effect of Kronos moving. Sure enough, those are still as bad as I remembered however the rest of the movie is better than memory would have me believe.

Sure there are plot holes, questionable science and less than stellar writing, but all B Grade 1950's sci-fi drive-in special movies suffer from this malady. Compared to the rest of the genre, Kronos is one of the better offerings. It isn't _The Day The Earth Stood Still_, but then again, that is hardly B Grade.

So if you like B Grade 50's sci-fi, check it out. You won't be disappointed. Just check your logic at the door! '-)

Inexpensive tale of energy wars.

[rmax304823 · 3/10 · 14 April 2008]

Jeff Morrow is Leslie Gaskell, Barbara Laurence is Vera Hunter, and John Emory is Hubbel Eliot. Along with some ancillary Air Force personnel and a comic geek, they are in charge of a super-secret underground laboratory on the West Coast. Morrow is thrilled when he discovers a meteor passing through the atmosphere but nonplussed when the meteor decides to take a dip in the Pacific Ocean and emerge as a fantastic machine on the Mexican coast.

Nobody knows what this colossal, blocky structure is. Obviously it's some kind of carpentered artifact because it's all made up of right angles with a kind of bald sphere half visible on top.

It turns out that the machine, dubbed Kronos, is from some far-away planet and has been sent here to rob the earth of energy. You see, here on earth, we have learned how to convert matter into energy, but on Kronos' planet they have figured out the other half of the equation -- how to convert energy into matter. And now they're running out of energy on the other planet. Are you taking notes on this? Good.

Maybe you'll be able to fill me in on some of the scientific questions raised by Kronos' mission. For instance, if Kronos' builders can convert energy into matter and vice versa, why don't they just convert a little of their own spare matter into energy instead of sending elaborate machines to earth to extinguish LA's lights? But it's doubtful the writers could explain it either. Reversing the polarities of two antenna is described as an "anthropic conversion," which means a "towards-human change", which doesn't make sense. But it doesn't seem that any of the science makes sense for that matter. The diagram that Morrow draws on the board has the current going in the wrong direction, from positive to negative.

There's a problem with Kronos' locomotion too. It marches along the coast, threatening "populated areas" (read Southern California), but it has no joints in its two or three legs. These stumps just thump slowly up and down, squashing some people. The film doesn't make much of these squashed people. They're shown as Mexican peasants, so maybe they don't count for too much. The USAF also drops a hydrogen bomb on Kronos -- while it's in Mexico, mind you. Nobody raises an eyebrow.

Not much acting is called for and not much is given. Jeff Morrow has a distinct and resonant voice, great for radio or for TV voice overs. His face is less expressive. He has only one expression, no matter what the situation is -- a tight smile, as if he's having his picture taken at the Universal Studios Tour. Barbara Laurence had a fine, golden quality when she made "Street With No Name" a few years earlier. She was a slender seventeen-year-old as Richard Widmark's wife. Here, her grooming and demeanor reduce her to the level of B-movie actress, though she's still beautiful. It's always good to see Morris Ankrum in one of these movies. He's made so many, I get them mixed up.

On the whole, the film comes across as flat, I'm afraid. (There are some nice shots of a B-47 in flight, though.) The sets reveal a low-budget enterprise. That's not necessarily bad in itself, but there's nothing to make up for the barren settings. Little tension in the script, no directorial display, and little effort put into the performances.

You might get a kick out of it -- a relaxed high -- because this is distinctly unchallenging. It's just that there are so many better films of the genre out there.

Good Sci-Fi "B" Flick

[alfiefamily · 6/10 · 29 December 2008]

It's 1957 and Los Angeles is in danger of losing all of its electrical power! Is it due to a cut in the power grid, or a few extra air conditioners being left on? No, it's Kronos!!

Kronos is the name of an alien being that has come to Earth to rob it of all of its electrical and nuclear power. It is also the name of a pretty good "B" flick that was made during, what I believe is one of the golden eras of Hollywood. The 1950's science fiction period. Most of these movies, especially the "B" films, are awful. But some of them, while not being as good as "Godzilla" or "Them", actually are worth seeing.

"Kronos" starts off as many of these films do, with decent titles, and then a really lousy shot of a flying saucer crossing the sky. Then to make matters worse, it opens with a poor yokel driving his car, late at night, on a highway in the middle of the desert(so far the film is true to its' formula).

After being attacked by an alien that has made its way out of the flying saucer, the yokel turns catatonic and starts looking for a Dr. Eliot from LabCentral (How the alien learned of Eliot and LabCentral is never revealed).

From here it's all fun and games. The alien takes over the body of Dr. Eliot. Dr. Eliot's colleagues, who are all working to discover stars and planets discover the spaceship. The other scientists are Dr. Leslie Gaskell, the hunk of the lab, Dr Arnold Culver, the nerd of the lab, and Vera, the babe of the film, and Gaskell's girlfriend who develops pictures that the scientists take. Vera's main problem is that Gaskell would rather work, than take her to a movie. Oh, there is a love interest for Dr. Culver, as well. It's SUSIE, the main computer that he seems to have an unnatural relationship with.

I won't spoil the rest of the movie, but I will tell you that many of the special effects(this is why we watch these films, isn't it?) are actually pretty good(although I think I did see some WWII footage included, and some not to good animation), considering the time. There are several large wholes in the story, like why does a scientist have an electrical power grid in his office?

But overall, I found this to be well acted, inventive, topical for the times, and in general, a pretty good film.

6 out of 10

Not what I remembered

[roberturbanek · 5/10 · 7 October 2006]

Was impressed when I saw this as a kid on TV, but was disappointed after recently viewing the DVD. The screenwriter and the special effects people apparently weren't communicating. Otherwise, why would the scientists describe the approaching object as a meteor when the telescopic views clearly showed a flying saucer? Such a large object plunging in the ocean should have created a tidal wave.

A dangerous electrical transformer is conveniently located in the hospital office of the doctor treating the "possessed" scientist.

Cheesy effects: We only see the top of the machine as it travels behind mountains, apparently to cut down on the animation costs of showing its "legs" moving. The panicked crowds looked like they were borrowed from another movie.

More impressive: A brief peek showing the innards of the machine and the final panoramic shot in which the machine begins to fracture and melt.

One of a kind

[ctomvelu1 · 6/10 · 27 August 2012]

Kronos is a giant, blocky robot that is sent to Earth to siphon our energy. Nothing can stand in the behemoth's way, and apparently nothing can stop- it. Well, that is until earnest scientist Jeff Morrow of This Island Earth fame gets to working on its destruction. The film would be laughable, except for the fact that the giant robot is actually pretty impressive. Specia; effects are not bad for their time, and the cast plays it perfectly straight eve when the dialog is a bit off the wall. B-movie veteran Morris Ankrum and George O'Hanlon of Jetsons fame costar, along with the curvy Barbara Lawrence, whom we would see a lot more of on TV in subsequent years. Worth a look.

Who would think a planet destroyer would be this boring ....

[CelluloidRehab · 3/10 · 27 December 2006]

I once heard this movie described as either you'll love it or you'll hate it. From reading some of the other reviews and the ratings, I would venture to say that this is true. I am placing myself in the hate it crowd. I have seen some truly bad movies, boring movies, and even low budget movies. This movie is bad on all three fronts.

This Island Earth's Exeter (Jeff Morrow), returns to his sci-fi/b-movie roots as Dr. Les (minus giant head prosthetic). The doctor and his assistant Arnie (George O'Hanlon - aka the voice of George Jetson), along with Les' girlfriend assistant Vera, are tracking a meteor. This is the crux of the cast and is almost a double date. Les has Vera and Arnie has his "Susie" (Synchro Unifying Sinometric Integrating Equitensor - aka the computer). Lets just say the relationship between George and his robotic maid, Rosie, (and his relationship with "Susie") is more believable than the cold, clam-like feelings Vera has for Les (and vice versa). The object of their all their interest is no ordinary meteor, however. It is really an alien art nouveau/art deco energy storage device, which moves around like a 3 legged dog. There is also the little alien "energy" being that controls Dr. Hubbel (aka, the chief scientist there). The alien is obviously and from the get-go, malicious and evil. Is this the kind of science we are handing out? No wonder the aliens from the Explorers were afraid of us. From watching some of these movies, we shoot first. There's no need for questions afterwards.

The whole movie is synonymous with watching some really boring science experiments, like boiling an egg or adding food color to celery. Its not the fact that this is a low budget sci-fi movie or thats its a bit cheesy and outdated. It is really, really, really boring. The whole movie is about trying to figure out what is going on. That is it. Most of the things we learn about what's going on are through monologues and self dictation. Now add crappy dialog, cardboard acting and cheap-sets and you have the makings of an Ed Wood clone (by the way, Ed has made some really boring movies as well - please avoid the Orgy of the Dead). The dialog ... oh, the dialog. Jems such as :

"..from under 2 miles of ocean ?

Why not ?! It came through a billion miles in space."

or

"Do you think you'll be able to respect a husband who's probably pulled the scientific boner of all time ?"

This movie is obviously trying to pull a Forbidden Planet, This Island Earth, Magnetic Monster or in the same light as the Outer Limits, Twilight Zone. Namely, a low budget sci-fi movie (or TV episode) that is compelling enough to get past the technical difficulties and strange situations. At the core, these movies are enjoyable on some level (the story, the underlying meaning or the sheer comical nature of the dialog or situations). This movie has none of that. It is just 90 minutes of boredom. I couldn't even enjoy this on a Ed Wood level. I definitely recommend skipping this one and seeing one of the movies I mentioned above instead. It is so bad, that if my name was Dr. Forrester, I would never think of showing this movie to anyone ... except Frank maybe.

Close encounter of a colossal kind

[kibeteen · 8/10 · 3 January 2000]

As must always be kept in mind while viewing classic SF cinema, one cannot and should not extricate a film from its historical context. Kronos is no exception. This is 1950's SF movie making at its marginal budgetary best.

Certainly the storyline taxes credibility, involving alien possession of humans, but the ETs at least have a practical purpose for invading than just doing it out of spite. Plus, the dirty work isn't accomplished with sundry flying saucers and blaster rays, but by a huge robot.

The acting is an uneven mixture of serious and melodramatic that oddly adds to the dark overtones of the fims early scenes. The dialogue, littered with quasi-scientific jargon, flows at near poetic tempo.

Ultimately, it is the clever resourcefulness of our nuclear-scientist heroes that wins the day. Now that has to be worth watching!

One of the better low-budget 50s SciFiers

[fourputt · 7/10 · 25 July 2006]

Above-average content, with some unintentionally interesting ideas, make this one of the few SciFis from my youth I've gone back and watched again, though it would probably look better on an old black and white TV.

Some musings: - Perhaps the spaceship, mistaken by the scientist for an asteroid, first arrived in the ocean off Mexico 63 million years ago, crashed a little hard (as far as the dinosaurs were concerned) and had to come back later. - Nuclear detonations were standard in the Southwest of the 50's. Nobody seems too concerned and Kronos does us a favor by absorbing the fallout. - It's very silly "harvesting" energy when the amount needed for interstellar travel would greatly exceed what it could obtain here ... but that problem hasn't stopped hundreds of other SciFi movies.

Cross-trivia: Writer/director Brad Bird's "The Incredibles" uses "KRONOS" for his villain Syndrome's password.

Clanking Kronos

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 22 February 2009]

Some nameless aliens off on a distant ship from a distant planet have sent the giant robot Kronos to rob the world of its energy. They've got a prototype clanking around Mexico for openers and if he proves successful more will be sent. It would certainly take a lot of time for just this one Kronos to perform that task.

For reasons I can't explain the aliens first capture the mind of leading scientist John Emery who telepathically directs Kronos to his first targets. Since Emery is killed off later and the monster seems to function well enough without Emery as a controller, why the aliens needed him in the first place is a bit bizarre.

In any event scientists Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence, and George O'Hanlon who work under Emery aren't fooled a bit about his nature. And of course they come up with a plan to deal with the raging metal giant.

Kronos is a perfect film for the Fifties, the bad guys are never seen they're just out there looking to undermine mankind. It's a perfect film for the Cold War. And Jeff Morrow assures us we'll be ready for them in the future.

The players look like they're having a grand old time mouthing as many clichéd lines the writers could put in the script. I get the impression that Kronos is the kind of film Ed Wood might have done on a bigger budget with a bit more care.

An Underrated Classic

[Sargebri · 24 March 2003]

This film is a great piece of science fiction. I especially loved the fact that every time that Kronos is attacked it seemed to get stronger. You also get good comic relief from George O'Hanlon, better known to most people as the voice of George Jetson.

The perfect example of the concept of "Uneven"

[lemon_magic · 6/10 · 27 July 2013]

"Kronos" has a lot to like: fine "B" movie acting, crisp black and white photography, an interesting and fairly novel idea and design for a sci-fi monster and some well done setups and special effects.

But the plot has lots and lots of holes in it and eventually succumbs to some preposterous hand waving to solve the central problem of how to stop the monster. I mean, come on, when Jeff Morrow proposes reversing the monster's polarity with the use of "omega particles", I could just imagine Tom Servo of MST3K saying in response "because we HAVE those now...!" Dropping a deus-ex-machina gimmick that comes out of nowhere in the middle of a problem that the best minds of the country were unable to solve is the worst kind of plotting.

Similar weaknesses: having Walt Disney's smarter brother (Emory) sacrifice his life (in an ingenious fashion BTW) to destroy the alien energy possessing him only to have the robot go right on about its business with no apparent change; and the shots of the monster on the move definitely detracted from its aura of menace and mystery (it looks like a whack-a-mole game come to life).Too many stumbles like these relegate "Kronos" to minor league status.

But I still liked it a lot, and it's nice to imagine what the film's makers could have done with a bigger budget.

Notable Sci-Fi movie about a giant robot from space drains the Earth of all its energy recourses

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 29 August 2021]

In this alien invasion movie , there appears what seems to be a huge meteorite that crashes into the ocean . Shortly after, a giant machine comes out of the ocean , then shows up a giant featureless robot with mysterious lights and noises, it is sent to test Earth's potential for supplying energy for an outer space civilization . Aliens from another world send an enormous robotic accumulator to invade the Earth and absorb all forms of energy it comes in contact with , while growing as it feeds . Along the way, some scientists (Jeff Morrow , Barbara Lawrence, John Emery , George O'Hanlon , Morris Ankrum) are attempting to find a way to destroy the giant before it reaches the high-population areas of Southern California .PLANET ROBBER TRAMPLES EARTH...STEALING ENERGY FOR OTHER WORLDS! The Most Incredible MONSTER of All Time! .Nothing else has come out like it . Conqueror of the Universe! World-Destroying Monster!

Kronos 1957 belongs to the 50s golden decade of the American science-fiction in which took place several important films of this notorious genre , being this one a real classic, in that it is so different from anything in the time period. Concerning an astonishing and suprising machine , resulting to be the creation of an alien race that is trying to syphon energy from Earth. Although this movie's special effects are primitive and naif by nowadays' filmmaking standards , this movie is one of the best from the Fifties , a prolific decade dominated by alien invaders and giant monsters. In fact, the long frames in which Kronos appears moving here and there while absorving energy were made by animation, allegedly the work of the craftsman animator Gene Warren and presumably also intervened the writer Irving Block who was a creator of visial effects and matte paintings too . The main and suppport cast give acceptable interpretations such as : Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence, John Emery, along with Morris Ankrum, a secondary who played a number of sci-fi movies, the Mexican Jose Gonzalez Gonzalez and Richard Harrison who shortly after he'd emigrate to Europe as starring in lots of Peplum and Spaghetti Western.

It contains an interesting and thrilling script based on a story by Irving Block who produced as well, and wrote various science fiction/fantasy stories as War of the satellites, The saga of the Viking women and their voyage to the water of the great sea, The Atomic Submarine and the classic Forbidden Planet. The motion picture was well made by Kurt Newmann (Tarzan and the Amazons , Tarzan and the leopard woman , Billy the Kid , Mohawk , Watusi) , including acceptable performances and professional direction. This is one of the best work of Sci-Fi from the 50s , along with ¨The Fly¨ director Kurt Neumann and cameraman Karl Struss, both of whom shot: ¨Rocket K-1¨, ¨She-devil¨ and ¨Kronos¨. The director displays the thoughtful provocation and intellectual sense that characterizes all of Kurt Neumann'work. Rating : 6.5/10. Well worth seeing.

Camp

[barberoux · 3/10 · 7 August 2002]

I first saw this movie at a Saturday matinee when I was very young. I thought it was cool and often thought about it. Well I finally resaw it on DVD. It was still very entertaining but in a different way. It has to rank as one of the goofiest, campiest, 1950's sci-fi movies. It seemed filled with stock military footage. The dialogue is stilted and effects are crude. There is one line of dialogue that had me in stitches. The line Jeff Morrow says while on the beach with the babe. Rent it if you need a movie to watch with a bunch of drunken friends. It is a classic.

Passable, just passable!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 19 June 2017]

Copyright 1957 by Regal Films, Inc. Released through 20th Century- Fox. New York opening at the Palace: 10 May 1957. U.S. release: April 1957. U.K. release: June 1957. Australian release: August 1957. Sydney opening at the Palace also. 7,026 feet. 78 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: A giant metal robot from outer space soaks up the earth's energy. How to destroy the monster?

COMMENT: Often cited in reference books as the best of the Regalscope features — maybe because it's science-fiction and that genre was much more a novelty in 1957 than it is today. Despite some laudatory contemporary reviews, it's not all that good. True, for four or five minutes it looks as if this one might rise above the usual Regalscope standards, but alas one's expectations are short- lived. The special effects are both poorly conceived and executed, with generous amounts of stock footage including even a few crowd clips from a Japanese film. The cast is the usual Regalscope collection of talking bores, though the heroine is mildly attractive. The sets outstay their initial welcome by being used again and again and production values generally are distinctly "B".

Still, for all its shortcomings, the film does have a few good moments (the landing of the helicopter on the monster, the destruction of the power plant) and by "B"-picture standards, it is passably entertaining. Some judicious trimming would improve its potential. Within the limits of the talky script (complete with pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo), Neumann's direction is fairly capable.

Ok, but falls apart if you think about it too much.

[robert3750 · 4/10 · 1 March 2018]

Kronos is a cool looking alien 50s device. The problem is it makes no sense for it to come to earth, since it could obtain far far more energy from a star.

Seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1963

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 21 March 2019]

1957's "Kronos" was a late entry for director Kurt Neumann ("Secret of the Blue Room," "Rocketship X-M," "She Devil"), released one year before his final horror film "The Fly." 20th Century-Fox farmed the project out to 'B' subsidiary Regal Films and their chief executive Robert L. Lippert (his Lippert Pictures company had just ended its seven year run), who also made "She Devil," "The Unknown Terror," "Back from the Dead," and "Ghost Diver," this policy continuing the following decade when Lippert relocated to Britain for efforts such as Lon Chaney's "Witchcraft" and Brian Donlevy's "Curse of the Fly." More ambitious than the budget would allow, "Kronos" opened with a spacecraft dispensing a glowing essence that takes control of a top research scientist (John Emery), as the ship itself is directed to land in the ocean off the Mexican coast. From this emerges on the beach a gigantic cube-like structure dubbed Kronos by lead scientist Jeff Morrow ("This Island Earth," "The Creature Walks Among Us," "The Giant Claw"), capable of devouring any force of energy used against it (the aliens seek another world of energy because theirs has died out). When a hydrogen bomb proves ineffective, Morrow hits upon the idea to use the power of Kronos to destroy itself by reversing polarity. Little is made of the possession theme, though it does feature sci-fi veteran Morris Ankrum trying to make sense of his crazed patient, before his untimely electrocution. STAR TREK would feature a similarly indestructible menace in "The Doomsday Machine," while this film ran continuously until reaching American Movie Classics in the 90s.

Navarus Electro

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 14 February 2014]

Scientist is possessed by aliens and controls giant cube-shaped robot that is absorbing all the energy it can. Despite interesting premise and underlying conservation themes, Kronos ultimately feels like a failure to me. It's not the fact that it's from the '50s. I happen to love classic sci-fi films from that decade. The primary problem is that it's all so damned dull. The script is lifeless and leading man Jeff Morrow couldn't be more wooden. I'm always wary when I read comments about a science fiction film that talk almost exclusively about its ideas rather than its execution. This usually means a flawed and often terrible movie. Having decent ideas is great. Being ahead of the curve on dealing with certain themes is also a bonus. But, at the end of the day, execution is everything in filmmaking. I've seen a lot of low budget movies that had intriguing concepts but failed to create a good movie out of them. I can include Kronos among them.

A Favorite 1950's Science Fiction Classic

[DEREKFLINT · 10/10 · 3 October 2002]

Although saddled with a low budget, this black and white widescreen (REGALSCOPE) science fiction film excellently depicts the intriguing story of an alien gigantic robot sent to absorb the energy of this planet, and turn it upon mankind, basically "softening" up the Earth for a full scale invasion. Starring Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence and John Emery, with excellent production design (by some FORBIDDEN PLANET alumni) and a rousing score by Paul Sawtell. It's my personal favorite of the 1950's sci-fi movies.

Way ahead of it's time and still withstands the quality of a great sci fi movie

[eventlaunch · 6/10 · 5 June 2019]

Movies like this put films like captive state to shame, this is a must watch for any sci fi fan or any movie fan for that matter. War of the world type movie with only two antagonist a human vampire type and a Mechine monster type vs the great acting of good artists playing doctors and the world oh also great stock footage of the military Mechine's of 1957 here a must see

on, come on now

[Andy Sandfoss · 2/10 · 31 January 2000]

This movie is standard goofy sci-fi fare from the 50s. In its favor, the plot does manage to pull off an alien invasion without actually producing the aliens themselves. But come on now, if aliens needed energy and could absorb it from sources like hydrogen bombs, why would they come to earth? Why wouldn't they just suck it out of a STAR!?!? The only credible reason for the presence of Kronos is a direct attack on Earth society, not the mere collection of energy. Nothing like that is even intimated; Kronos may have been built by a superior race but its activities on Earth are the most primitive. The end that the scientist-heroes plan for Kronos is based on nothing but pseudo-scientific gibberish. It amounts to the "reverse the polarity" gambit which has been used so much in bad scifi it has become a joke in itself. Low and behold, this causes our unwanted visitor to release its collected energy. No one in power seems to care about the impact the release of that much energy (which by the film's end includes, among other things, the entire yield of a hydrogen bomb) will have on the surroundings. And unfortunately, by the time the movie ends, the surroundings are the suburbs of Los Angeles. Whoops!