R.O.T.O.R.
R.O.T.O.R. | |
---|---|
Directed by | Cullen Blaine |
Written by | Cullen Blaine Budd Lewis |
Produced by | Cullen Blaine |
Starring | Margaret Trigg Richard Gesswein Jayne Smith |
Cinematography | Glenn Roland |
Edited by | Doug Bryan |
Music by | David Adam Newman |
Distributed by | Imperial Entertainment |
Release date | 1989 |
Running time | 90 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
R.O.T.O.R. is a 1989 science fiction action film starring Richard Gesswein, Jayne Smith and Margaret Trigg. The film has been described as a low-budget copy of The Terminator and RoboCop.[1]
Plot
The story follows a leading scientist in the field of police robotics, Dr. J. Barrett C. Coldyron (Gesswein with voice over by Loren Bivens), whose corrupt boss, Division Commander Earl Buglar (Michael Hunter), orders an experimental police-robot prototype - dubbed R.O.T.O.R. (Robotic Officer of the Tactical Operations Research/Reserve Unit) - to be completed within sixty days at the behest of the shady senator Donald D. Douglas, who intends to take public credit for the project and use it to catapult himself into the White House. Coldyron warns Buglar that the prototype is several years away from completion but is forced to resign and is replaced by his incompetent assistants, Dr. Houghtaling (Stan Moore) and his robot Willard. In Coldyron's absence, R.O.T.O.R. is inadvertently activated and put on duty, where it proceeds to execute a motorist (James Cole) for speeding and terrorize his young fiancé, Sonya (Margaret Trigg), who the robot implicated as an accomplice in her boyfriend's violation. Upon learning his creation has escaped, Cpt. Coldyron enlists the help of his beautiful colleague from Houston, Dr. Corrine Steele (Jayne Smith) who designed the unit's combat chassis. Together, Steele and Coldyron track down the rampaging robot and attempt to stop it from killing again before it is too late.
Cast
Richard Gesswein as Captain J.B. Coldyron: A scientist who runs the police robotics lab and also manages a ranch. Coldyron's dream is a force of robotic officers but it is shattered by the meddling of the dastardly Earl G. Buglar.
Jayne Smith as Dr. C.R. Steele: Steele is the designer of R.O.T.O.R.'s robotic chassis. She works out of Houston, Texas.
Carroll Brandon as R.O.T.O.R.: The paunchy killer robot that is accidentally activated. It is an extremely dangerous machine that is adept at everything from t'ai chi to full field combat. It is built of an unknown alloy simply assigned an obscure number. The robot only has one known weakness: loud noises render it helpless.
Michael Hunter as Earl G. Buglar: Coldyron's commander in the police department. Buglar has been embezzling money from the R.O.T.O.R. project and has promised a corrupt senator, Donald D. Douglas, that the robot will be ready in time for the next election.
Margaret Trigg as Sonya R. Garren: An innocent bride-to-be who is stalked by R.O.T.O.R. after it kills her fiancee for speeding. Sonya spends much of the movie fleeing from R.O.T.O.R. in her blue 1986 Impulse while Coldyron and Steele devise an ingenious plan for defeating R.O.T.O.R.
Shawn Brown as Mokie Killion: A hard-bitten sarcastic street cop. Mokie does not like cleaning up the messes left behind when Coldyron stops a group of armed shoplifters.
Video release
To date, R.O.T.O.R. is available on VHS cassette. It can also be streamed online through a film rental website. Mill Creek Entertainment included it in their Sci-Fi Invasion 50 movie DVD boxed set.[2]
References
- ^ Weldon, Michael J. The Psychotronic Video Guide. Macmillan. p. 475. ISBN 0-312-13149-6.
- ^ http://www.millcreekent.com/sci-fi-invasion-50-movie-pack.html