Schlock Corridor: Day Sixteen

GOG

"When things start going wrong at a holed-away government laboratory in the New Mexico desert, a special agent arrives to investigate."

GOG is the third in a trilogy of films that follow the exploits of the OSI, or Office of Scientific Investigation. The OSI as a cinematic entity was created by producer/writer Ivan Tors and director/writer Curt Siodmak in 1953's The Magnetic Monster, in the hopes of creating a more intellectually-minded science fiction franchise that would deal more in hard science than sensationalism, portraying brilliant scientists as heroes rather than villains and madmen.

The planet-threatening forces the OSI faced would not be defeated with guns and brute force, but through bleeding-edge scientific innovation and the combined intelligence and cunning of the world's most powerful minds. In The Magnetic Monster, the "villain" is a lab-created radioactive isotope that begins absorbing energy at an exponential rate, literally growing out of control and threatening to destroy the planet. In the case of the second film in this loose trilogy, Riders To The Stars, there isn't even a real villain to confront; the plot is dedicated almost entirely to the pursuit of a material that will protect astronauts during space travel. The OSI films would stand as thinking man's sci-fi in an era of lurid absurdity. Quite ambitious, and quite commendable.

1954's GOG works nicely as a third chapter in the OSI franchise, maintaining the "hard science and innovation" themes from the first two films, and is a fine film in its own right. The film's primary location is a top-secret government sponsored laboratory hidden deep under the New Mexico desert. The facility is dedicated to the development and launch of a revolutionary space station that will serve as an orbiting guardian for the United States, harnessing the power of the sun to defend against all enemies. The laboratory is largely automated, with all primary systems regulated by a unique artificial intelligence named NOVAC, or Nuclear Operative Variable Automatic Computer, and  maintained by its two multi-armed robot drones, Gog and Magog.

A series of mysterious and suspicious deaths at the facility attract the attention of the OSI, and one of their top men, Dr. David Sheppard, is sent to investigate. After several more deaths, Sheppard and his allies discover that NOVAC is being controlled by an outside force via clandestine radio transmissions in an effort to halt the progress of the laboratory's primary project, because the successful launch of the space station would spell disaster for America's enemies. NOVAC orders Gog and Magog to sabotage the facility's atomic reactor in an attempt to obliterate the entire facility and all its inhabitants, but they are disabled by Sheppard in the nick of time, as the experimental enemy vessel sending the secret transmissions is destroyed by the U.S. Air Force, returning NOVAC to normal operating mode and saving the project.

The film ends with the launch of the space station, signaling the beginning of a bold new era of peace and prosperity for the United States Of America, and another successful operation for the Office of Scientific Investigation.

GOG is a good movie. It's fun, often thoughtful, and never boring. But you have to look at the film, as well as the other two chapters in the OSI trilogy, in context. The "hard science" employed in these movies has been largely disproven in the decades since their release, they were all made with very modest budgets, even for the era, and the plots are all very deliberately paced, and the fine line between "slow burn" and "boring" is different for everybody.

I grew up watching and loving films like these. Hell, The Magnetic Monster was one of my favorite sci-fi flicks for years, and discovering the existence of two more films featuring the Office of Scientific Investigation as an adult was quite thrilling. I saw Riders To The Stars several years ago, but this afternoon was the first time I had the pleasure to see GOG, and I was not disappointed. I'm probably biased, but I had a great time watching the film, and I happily recommend you take a chance on GOG if the opportunity ever presents itself.

I've loved the concept of the OSI as envisioned by Siodmak and Tors since I was a kid, and I still wish these films were more successful in their day, because the possibilities for OSI stories were endless. Are endless, I should say. I think we're past due for this largely forgotten franchise to be rediscovered. Twin Peaks is coming back. Why can't the Office of Scientific Investigation?

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