Robot Monster

Robot Monster (also released as Monster from Mars) is a 1953 American independent 3D science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Phil Tucker, and starring George Nader, Claudia Barrett, and George Barrows. The film follows an alien robot who, while on a mission to destroy Earth and humanity, betrays the orders of his master, the Great Guidance, by protecting a woman he was tasked to murder.

The film's production lasted only four days and took only $16,000 to produce. Production subsequently wrapped on March 23, 1953. Due to the constraints of the film's minuscule budget, Tucker opted to hire Barrows who had made his own gorilla suit, along with other adjustments. It was shot in only a handful of locations including Bronson Canyon. The finished film was also printed in a dual strip, polarized 3D, which many critics found to be very high quality, and also added an additional $4,000 to the budget. While containing numerous stock footage found in other productions, Robot Monster notably also beared plot similarities to Invaders From Mars (1953), a film that was distributed by 20th Century Fox a month earlier.

The film was distributed in the United States by Astor Pictures on June 24, 1953. The film received mixed reviews from contemporary critics, and was a box-office success, grossing $1 million. However in later decades, Robot Monster is often remembered as one of the worst films of all time, with its plot and production values receiving criticism.

In December of that year following the film's release, Tucker attempted suicide due to his lack of compensation for his work on the film. Tucker survived following detectives responding to his suicide note which he had posted in a newspaper prior. The reason why Tucker was not compensated remains unclear.