"The Creation of the Humanoids" (1962) Quiz

Answer: nuclear war killing over 90% of humanity

A nuclear war in the 23rd century killed 92% of the population of the Earth. Residual radiation reduced human fertility and concomitantly reduced the global birth rate to 1.4% which is less than that necessary to perpetuate humanity. The resulting society of survivors produces humanoid robots -- with superior intelligence, untiring, stronger, physically perfect -- to assist in rebuilding the civilisation.

As people have grown more and more dependent upon robots' assistance, the demand for more and better robots increases to maintain the new standard of living.

As a result, the population of robots is within a year of exceeding the number of people on Earth.

Answer: blue-green skin, metallic eyes, bald heads

The robots are electronic inside but are made to look like humans on the outside. They are the same size and shape as most people. Their skin has a synthetic look to it and is blue-green in colour. They lack hair, which was a challenge to Jack Pierce, who had done Boris Karloff's make-up in "Frankenstein" (1931), and to his make-up department. Latex rubber bald caps cover the actors' hair. Blue-green rubber gloves match the skin tones of their heads.

They wear jumpsuits like those of the Metalunans in "This Island Earth" (1955).

Their artificial uninflected voices are reminiscent of "Coneheads" (1993) from Remulak.

Answer: original story and screenplay by Jay Simms

"I, Robot" is a collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov published in 1950. It was loosely adapted to the motion picture "I, Robot" (2004). Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (1968) was made into the film "Blade Runner" in 1982. Jack Williamson's novel "The Humanoids" (1949) is similar to "The Creation of the Humanoids" in that it involves a conflict between a human being and robots but is not at all the basis for the film. Jay Simms wrote both the story and the screenplay for "The Creation of the Humanoids".

His screenwriting credits also include "The Giant Gila Monster" (1959), "The Killer Shrews" (1959), "Panic in Year Zero!" (1962), and "The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler" (1971).

Answer: Don McGowan

Perhaps Don McGowan's best-known role was one in which his face could not be seen: the Gill Man in "The Creature Walks Among Us" (1956). Ricou Browning played the Gill Man in the underwater scenes; McGowan played the eponymous creature on dry land. Don Megowan (1922-1981) played primarily in Westerns and science-fiction films, as well as many television Westerns.

He also played Murphy, a convict in prison recruited by Maxwell Smart for a secret mission on "Get Smart" in an episode called "Smart Fell on Alabama" (31 October 1969).

His filmography includes "The Werewolf" (1956), "Tales of Frankenstein" (1958), and "Scream of the Wolf" (1974).

Answer: battery recharging and information gathering

The humanoids of all sorts repair regularly to recharging stations which they call temples. Most humanoids (those up to 70% human) need to charge up their batteries. All robots, including the R-96s (which are 96% human), share all of the information which they have recently acquired with a computer called "father-mother".

The temples are also used for a secret project whereby R-96s which cannot be distinguished from humans are created by other robots.

Answer: child acting

Wesley Barry (1907-1994) was only seven years old when he first appeared in a silent motion picture. The freckle-faced child actor starred in "Dinty" (1920), "School Days" (1921), "Rags to Riches" (1922), "Heroes of the Street" (1922), and played with Mary Pickford in "Daddy-Long-Legs" (1919) and with Gloria Swanson in "Male and Female" (1919).

He worked as an assistant director, e.g. in Roger Corman's "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967). He founded Genie Productions in Hollywood and became a producer-director.

His best-known film as a producer-director was "The Creation of the Humanoids" (1962).

Answer: shiny eyes like steel ball bearings

Universal Pictures' veteran Jack Pierce designed the makeup for "The Creation of the Humanoids" (1962). The eyes of the robots who were not mostly human shone with a silvery look to them. This was accomplished by the use of scleral contact lenses. These metallic reflective lenses were created by optometrist Dr. Louis M. Zabner who received a credit for "special eye effects". Zabner originally made scleral contact lenses to change actors' eye colour. Pierce previously used something similar in "The Brain from Planet Arous" (1957).

Answer: a human organization opposed to humanoids

Fearing that robots are taking over the world, the members of The Order of Flesh and Blood want to disassemble and downgrade all robots to mere servants and labourers. Members dress in uniforms used to make movies about the Confederate States of America; this suggests that opposition to robots is a form of racism.

The meetings of the order include harangue and appeals to violence; this suggests the opposition to robots is fascistic.

Answer: Clickers

The disparaging term used by members of the Order to describe humanoids is Clickers. The mechanical bodies of the earliest robots (e.g. the R-21s) emitted sounds when they moved. It was with reference to these sounds that the derogatory pejorative was coined.

At the time in which "The Creation of the Humanoids" is set, clicker is equivalent of a 21st century vulgarism mocking race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental illness, or physical disability.

Answer: mixed

On the one hand, Leonard Malktin called the film a "slow, stagy cheapie". The Aurum Film Encyclopedia said the movie was "badly let down by Simms' over-talkative script". Erick Harper called it both "ham-handed" and "painfully un-subtle".

On the other hand, The Aurum Film Encyclopedia called it an "interesting film". Michael Weldon called it an "incredible little film" (which could be good or bad). Richard Scheib called it "a highly underrated gem of considerable worth [and] a perfect illustration of how science-fiction should work as a literature of ideas rather than of special effects". Glenn Erickson said it was "undeniably sophisticated as science fiction". Andy Warhol called it the best movie he had ever seen.

Rotten Tomatoes, which aggregates reviews, said that 45% of audience reviews were positive... which is almost as mixed as one can get.