RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Outerlimitsfan I saw this in the theater as a kid and in true fifties style the guy in the robot suit made an appearance in the lobby of the theater! How cool was that!!?? Even after all these years I still find this film charming. In my opinion the robot is spectacular! (especially for this low budget) You can just tell he was designed in the 50s. I even found a guy on the internet who is selling "TOBAR" full sized and it looks like an excellent reproduction! I find the "bad guys" very amusing and everybody has those cool 1950s cars! The scene of the robot driving a Jeep is not to be missed! Now fess up, don't you wish you had a robot like TOBAR to play with? Several reviewers downplayed this as a kiddy movie, but I find the effects and cold war sub plot pretty entertaining!

dimndman1 To the genre buffs - I'm watching a movie called "The Invisible Boy" that was included as an extra on the Blu-ray of "Forbidden Planet" that I bought recently. I knew in the past about the "Tobor the Great" movie (Robot spelled backwards) that used the "Robby" robot prop because I saw it on WGN-Chicago as a kid. And I know that a "Robby" variant was used in the original "Lost in Space" TV series, which is detailed in the "Forbidden Planet" extras disk that I'm watching. But its been roughly 40 years since I saw the "Tobor" film, and there is no mention of it in the extras on the Blu-ray that I'm watching. My WIKI/IMDb search mentions the "Tobor" movie and gives a plot synopsis that is vaguely similar to the movie I'm watching, but the character names have changed. Is this a case of studio manipulation, or are the movies distinct? BTW, the Blu-Ray version of "Forbidden Planet" is beautifully done, as Ridley/Lucas/Spielberg/Cameron point out in the extras. I have a std. DVD and this is worth the upgrade. I wish that I'd seen it as a kid in a theater rather than just TV. The included extras are excellent, and you can understand how monumental this film was as an MGM classic that really was an inspiration for S.Kub's 2001. I've shown this film to XGens & Melms who aren't into SF and even they were blown away by effects that were done in the '50s. If you're into SF & haven't seen this the Blu-Ray is the best choice. I'd give it 10 if I'd gotten an answer to the above question.

bbrasher1 Tobor, a fifty-gallon drum with legs, must rescue young Billy Chapin, the grandson of it's creator, from the evil commie bad guys (BOO!! HISS!!!) who want to use poor Tobor for their own evil purposes.A movie that was way behind its time-even for 1954.If you want a real classic boy-and-his-robot-friend story, check out IRON GIANT, BICENTENNIAL MAN, or even MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, for that matter.Rating: * out of *****

Bruce Cook Watch this one with child-like eyes and you'll have a great time. Tobor ('robot' spelled backwards) is the invention of an elderly scientific genius who develops a robot to serve as the pilot for dangerous space flights in place of human astronauts. The inventor's grandson (Billy Chapin) befriends the robot during the development of its complex brain and artificial personality. Commie spies kidnap the inventor and the boy, attempting to get their hands on the valuable robot.Tobor is incapable of speech, which gives the robot an interesting quality of mystery and strangeness. But he does have the ability to sense human thoughts and emotions. In other words, he can tell when someone is up to no good!In the climax, Tobor has to break out of his own lab to rescue the boy from the evil commies who kidnapped the youth to gain control of the robot. Although Tobor is less agile that a human being, he moves around much better than Robby or Gort -- which comes in handy when Tobor has to lift the back end of the bad guy's car and prevent them from escaping!Tobor's physical design is pretty impressive. Although it doesn't have the aesthetic appeal of Robby or Gort, he is solidly constructed and a pleasure to watch in action. The movie includes a scene in which the inventor opens up Tobor's chest to show his interior to a group of reporters at a press conferences when Tobor is presented to the public. Obviously the reason for the scene is show the audience that this is no mere suit with a man inside. It's a real robot!It's a nice little touch in a movie designed to inspire younger viewers . . . and to entertain older ones.'Tobor the Great' is a terrific kid's-fantasy-come-true story. Admitttedly, the direction by Lee Sholem is decidedly unskilled, and young Chapin is a mediocre actor at best (he's no Michel Ray of 'The Space Children', I'm sorry to say), but Charles Drake ('It Came from Outer Space') holds his own as the boy's father. William Shallert ('The Monolith Monsters' and several other 1950s classics) plays one of the reporters in the scene mentioned earlier.A prerecorded tape was available a few years ago, but you'll have trouble finding it now. If a DVD comes out, it's worth the money if you have a soft spot in your heart for the sincere and unique efforts the 1950s sci-fi films.