GOG

Richard Egan and Herbert Marshall

GOG (1954). Director: Herbert L. Strock. Produced by Ivan Tors. 

Two scientists at a top-secret underground research facility in the desert are horribly killed in their lab when locked into a chamber with a freezing gas. Security man David Sheppard (Richard Egan) is called in to investigate the murders and other incidents of sabotage. Old girlfriend Joanna Merritt (Constance Dowling) is on hand and is also an undercover security agent. Their suspects include virtually everyone in the complex, such as Dr Elzevir (Philip Van Zandt) and his wife (Valerie Vernon); radiation expert Dr. Carter (Byron Kane); and Dr. Zeitman (John Wengraf), who is in charge of the computer, NOVAC, which runs the complex, as well as the two robots, named after the biblical legends Gog and Magog. Project head Dr. Van Ness (Herbert Marshall) tries to help Sheppard and Merritt figure out what's going on before there are even more murders. 

Gog has an excellent premise but the execution is far from perfect. Herbert L. Strock both directs and edits and does a mediocre job in both instances. The first half of the film is much too talky, with a lot of lectures, although it eventually has several exciting scenes: a laser attack on Mrs. Elzevir, and a scene when a spinning contraption in a pressure chamber runs amok, as well as the robotic attack at the climax in which the whole place is nearly blown to smithereens. Egan and Marshall, romantic heroes, at first seem out of place in the film but are assets to the production, as is Constance Dowling, although this was her last theatrical feature (she had two more TV credits than retired when she married Gog's producer, Ivan Tors, with whom she had five children. She died young at 49.) Michael Fox and William Schallert have smaller roles. 

Verdict: Despite the clumsy direction, this does work up some suspense and is entertaining and well-acted. ***.