The Invisible Boy

Infobox Film
name = The Invisible Boy


caption = Theatrical poster to "The Invisible Boy" (1958)
director = Herman Hoffman
producer = Nicholas Nayfack
writer = Edmund Cooper (story)
Cyril Hume
narrator =
starring = Richard Eyer
Philip Abbott
Diane Brewster
Harold J. Stone
music = Les Baxter
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Metro-Goldwyn Mayer
released = June 1, 1959
runtime = 90 minutes
country =flagicon|USA USA
language =English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:25327
imdb_id =0050546

The Invisible Boy (1957) is a science fiction film, directed by Herman Hoffman, and starring Richard Eyer and Philip Abbott. It is the second film appearance of Robby the Robot, a famous science fiction character, who first appeared in "Forbidden Planet" (1956), which is set in the 23rd century. Released by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, this film's earlier title was "S.O.S Spaceship". According to a subtle backstory, the robot in "The Invisible Boy" is the same character as that in "Forbidden Planet," brought back to Earth through time travel. However, that fact appears to play no other role in "The Invisible Boy." There is a rumor that there will be a remake of this film, in which Robby the Robot will appear.

Plot

"The Invisible Boy" is a curious mixture of lighthearted playfulness and menacing evil. As it begins, ten-year-old Timmie Merinoe (Eyer) seems only to want a playmate. After he is mysteriously invested with superior intelligence, he reassembles a robot that his father and other scientists have been ready to discard as unrepairable junk. No one pays much attention to the robot after Timmie gets it going, until Timmie's mother becomes angry when Timmie is taken aloft by a huge kite that the robot builds. When Timmie expresses a wish to be able to play without being observed by his parents, the robot--with the aid of an evil Supercomputer--makes him invisible. At first Timmie uses his invisibility to play simple pranks on his parents and others, but the mood of the film soon changes, when it becomes clear that the super computer intends to take over the world through a satellite.

One of the most remarkable things about this film is the near-indifference of Timmie's parents to his invisibility. His scientist father expresses no curiosity about how Timmie has achieved his invisibility and seems to be concerned mostly about the difficulty of disciplining him when he can't be seen.

External links

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