| Kronos | |
|---|---|
Kronos DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | Kurt Neumann |
| Produced by | Irving Block Louis DeWitt Kurt Neumann Jack Rabin Morris Ankrum |
| Written by | Irving Block (story) Lawrence L. Goldman (screenplay) |
| Starring | Jeff Morrow Barbara Lawrence John Emery George O'Hanlon |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
| Cinematography | Karl Struss |
| Editing by | Jodie Copelan |
| Release date(s) | April 1957 |
| Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Kronos (Ravager of Planets) is a 1957 black and white science fiction film directed by Kurt Neumann, starring Jeff Morrow and Barbara Lawrence. The film is also known as Kronos, Destroyer of the Universe. In the years since its release, Kronos has been widely praised both for its above-average storyline and its farsighted portrayal of the consequences of overconsumption of natural and man-made resources, and has achieved minor cult status.
What appears to be a large saucer shaped meteorite crashes into the Pacific Ocean near Mexico, following an unexplained break-in and assault by a deranged man at a secret U.S. research facility. The crashed 'meteorite' soon reveals itself as an even greater menace than first believed, with grave implications for the survival of the human race. Kronos foretells the dangerous implications of mass consumption of energy resources. A gigantic "machine", Kronos attacks power plants in Mexico, draining them of their energy. In doing so, Kronos grows in size, becoming larger as it consumes more and more energy. Kronos is discovered to be an "accumulator" sent by an alien race that has exhausted its own natural resources. They have sent Kronos to drain Earth's power and return it to their own dying planet. A scientist, under control of an unseen alien presence, suggests fighting Kronos by dropping an Atomic Bomb onto it. Kronos only absorbs the bomb's power and grows to titanic size. It threatens to drain the world's cities and starve the Earth of power, but scientists devise a plan to reverse Kronos' polarity, which causes it to feed on itself. Kronos explodes and the Earth is saved.
Kronos was filmed in a little over two weeks in California using special effects created by Jack Rabin, Irving Block and Louis DeWitt. The idea of an alien being absorbing energy is similar to both the Marvel Comics character Galactus, who drains energy from other worlds to survive, and the giant space ship from the Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine" which destroys planets and uses them to fuel itself, though predating both by almost ten years.
The film set of Lab Central (particularly the director's office) is a minor testimonial to late 1950s postmodern design, with light fixtures shaped as flying saucers among the Atomic Age decor.