******CYBERNETIC SPOILERS!******

Some significant sci-fi films/franchises celebrate anniversaries with aplomb. “Star Wars” is already prepping for its 50th anniversary next year, while “Star Trek” turned 60 with conventions, a current season of episodes, and much media fanfare. Then we have absolutely forgotten sci-fi films like “Cyborg 1987” (1966), which also turns 60 this year, and which few people remember at all. For clarity, “Cyborg 1987” is not the Jean-Claude Van Damme post-apocalypse action/sci-fi movie “Cyborg,” which came out in 1989, and whose 1993 sequel “Cyborg 2” gave Angelina Jolie her big break. “Cyborg 1987” was a cheesy time-travel movie written by prolific sci-fi scriptwriter Arthur C. Pierce (“Women of the Prehistoric Planet,” “Destination Inner Space”), and directed by frequent western/serial helmer Franklin Adreon.

Why write a column on this forgotten movie? Perhaps because of my weaknesses for underdogs, and because there are a few things in this movie that are sort of interesting. The idea of a cyborg time-traveler trying to change a dangerous, authoritarian future by preventing a scientific creation in the past definitely brings “The Terminator” movies to mind, as well as “The Outer Limits” episodes “Soldier” and “Demon with a Glass Hand”; both of which were written by the famously litigious, acid-wit sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison (1934-2018), who sued the production company behind “The Terminator” for his perceived infringements. Ellison got an acknowledgment added to the home video version of “The Terminator” (1984).

“Cyborg 1987” also stars Michael Rennie, who famously played visiting alien ‘Klaatu’ in the seminal sci-fi classic, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951) and costarred Karen Steele, who famously guest-starred as one of “Mudd’s Women” in “Star Trek” (1966). With all of that, as well as my own foggy childhood memories of the movie’s imagery blurred deep in my brain, my curiosity was piqued…

“Cyborg 1987” (1966)

Note: Tall, dignified British actor Michael Rennie adds a shred of dignity to this drive-in flick. After his memorable starring role as the alien Klaatu in Robert Wise’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951), Rennie did a lot of television; including memorable roles in Irwin Allen’s “Lost in Space” and “The Time Tunnel” as well as TV’s “Batman.” He also had guest roles in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” and “The Third Man” TV series. Sadly, the actor passed away from an aneurism in 1971 at age 61.

Note: One of the two rebel controllers of the escaping time-pod is played by actress Jo Ann Pflug, who would gain her greatest fame in a small, but pivotal role as sexy, married nurse Lt. “Dish” Schneider in the 1970 film adaptation of Richard Hooker’s darkly comedic Korean War novel “M*A*S*H” (1970), which went on to achieve greater success as a long-running TV series (1972-1983).

Note: Some of the familiar sound effects used for the time-pod’s controls and ramp were also heard in TV’s “Lost in Space” and “Star Trek,” and came from stock libraries of sound effects used for other movies and TV shows.

Note: The western ghost town just reeks of “cheap backlot location for rent,” and the appearance of Sam and Uncle Pete seem to be for the express purpose of providing Garth with easy-to-steal transportation into Desert City. Actor Chubby Johnson (1903-1974), who looks like he’s forever dragging an unseen mule behind him, has a long list of western credits.

Note: Even at this early point, similarities to “The Terminator” are evident. A lone cybernetic time-traveler arrives in a remote part of town to stop the creation of a scientific MacGuffin in hopes of changing the future for the better. Whether a mind-control device or Skynet, it’s the same basic idea. Cyborg Garth is also barked at by a dog. In the “Terminator” movies, writer/director James Cameron used barking dogs to detect cyborgs.

Note: Actor Wendell Corey (1914-1968) is perhaps most famous for his role as Lt. Tom Doyle in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Rear Window” (1954). Actor Harry Carey Jr. would star in many westerns, including “Red River” (1948), “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949) and even “Back to the Future Part 3” (1990). Prolific TV actor Adam Roarke (1937-1996) had already appeared in the original Star Trek pilot “The Cage” as Captain Pike’s Chief Petty Officer, Garrison.

Note: Actor Eduard Franz (1902-1983) had roles in the sci-fi classic “The Thing from Another World” (1951) and the Oscar-winning Biblical epic “The Ten Commandments” (1956).

Note: The movie takes a step ahead by introducing us to a highly capable woman scientist, Dr. Sharon Mason, and then takes two backward when Garth uses the radio telepathy device to subvert her will and bring her in synch with his mission (though he apologizes for it later on). It’s bad enough Sharon’s boss advised her to find herself “a young man.” The movie is hopelessly trapped in the era it was made. Actress Karen Steele (1931-1988) would go on to achieve sci-fi notability with her role as Eve Huron, one of “Mudd’s Women” in the same-named episode of Star Trek (1966-1969). Personally, I despise the Harry Mudd episodes (old and new); Mudd’s a greedy, vaudevillian space pimp better suited to Lost in Space than Star Trek.

Note: Once again, the Terminator parallels are everywhere. The tracers are not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 from the first film or Robert Patrick’s T-1000 from the second. However, despite their strength and imperviousness to stun beams, the Tracers are far more vulnerable.

Note: Dr. Zeller, the widowed father of a teenage daughter (as we see later on) is played by Warren Stevens (1919-2012), an actor with many sci-fi credits, including “Forbidden Planet” (1956), Star Trek (“By Any Other Name,” 1968), The Outer Limits (“Keeper of the Purple Twilight,” 1964), and The Twilight Zone (“Dead Man’s Shoes,” 1962). I had the chance to meet Stevens briefly at San Diego Comic Con 2006, after a panel for the 50th anniversary of “Forbidden Planet,” where he appeared with costars Earl Holliman (1928-2024) and Richard Anderson (1926-2017).

Note: “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) featured a scene of the T-800 cutting off a fleshy outer glove and exposing a metallic hand and forearm to prove his cyborg identity. However, in “Cyborg 2087,” we just see metallic tubing slapped over the actor’s forearm. Perhaps Garth is more of an externally-enhanced human than a flesh-coated robot, or perhaps the filmmakers weren’t allowed to show any blood/gore (?).

Note: Even for 1966 (the year of my birth), this has got to be one of the most chaste, white-bread teenage parties ever committed to film. Actor John Beck (“Skinny”) would appear in other sci-fi movies/TV-shows, including “Sleeper” (1973), “Rollerball” (1975), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (“Tribunal,” 1994) and a thoroughly awful 1978 remake of “The Time Machine.”

Note: We see examples of the Tracers’ strength, as they kick down doors and shatter the back window of Zeller’s house, but nothing truly superhuman. I attribute this more to limited budget than with writer’s imagination, On the casting front, the actors playing the Tracers could’ve been a bit more physically imposing or threatening than the guys we see in the movie.

Note: Learning that his device will lead to a brutal surveillance state someday, the professor takes it remarkably well. In some ways, this simple B-movie got a few things right, including the near-total surrender of our privacy in the United States (both voluntarily and involuntarily), thanks to the internet, the Patriot Act, citywide Flock cameras, and other devices for our ‘protection.’ The movie’s ‘radio telepathy’ probably began with a pitch that it would remove barriers between people, not realizing that privacy is a cherished, fundamental need in all of us.

Note: The final fight between Garth’s stuntman and the Tracer goes on way too long, and isn’t terribly inventive or interesting. It feels more suited to a typical B-movie western than a sci-fi film, given both the terribly obvious Old West backlot set and the director’s own expertise in that genre.

Note: Veteran actors Michael Rennie, Warren Stevens, Eduard Franz and a sincere performance from Karen Steele do what they can, but they’re undermined by lackluster, flat direction. Even the time-pod’s departure (a potentially emotional scene) is done with an amateurish jump-cut instead of a creative dissolve or even a simple optical effect. This movie feels more like an exercise in what could’ve been rather than what is onscreen.

Note: It’s a bit vague in execution, but I assume the professor is the only one who remembers the earlier timeline, assuming he was late to the lab after being dropped off by Garth in the time-pod somewhere. Or perhaps he never left for the future after the timeline was changed, meaning he simply had a change of heart (?). The only thing made clear in this ending is that the other characters have no memory of the earlier timeline.

Note: It’s odd the movie ends with the Sheriff, deputy Dan and the reporter. They weren’t terribly funny or interesting characters, yet they’re the ones who close the film. The prior scene with Sharon happily accepting a date with Zeller was arguably a more satisfying spot to end the story.

The End.

Summing It Up

You gotta hand it to a movie whose ambition exceeds its means. This small-budget time-travel flick perhaps inadvertently created a template for better sci-fi movies to come. Yes, the trappings of “Cyborg 2087” are certifiably silly (even for 1966), but there’s a genuine attempt at a statement here; scientific progress needs to pump the brakes occasionally, especially when there’s military or widespread social applications. Admittedly, the movie’s “radio telepathy” device is a mite goofy, but we’re currently in an age where the internet and surveillance technologies shadow our daily lives nearly every minute. Not to mention the legitimate anxieties over artificial intelligence these days. Even the creators of AI are worried that we’re staging our own extinction event. In that regard, the movie is surprisingly relevant, despite its crude presentation.

On the casting side, the movie snared “The Day the Earth Stood Still” star Michael Rennie (1909-1971), who’d already been doing a lot of TV at this point, including Irwin Allen’s “Lost in Space” and other shows of his. Once again playing a humanoid unfamiliar with our primitive ways, Rennie delivers a very different character from Klaatu. Garth is terse and impatient, and not above overriding someone’s will to accomplish his mission. Ironically, Garth’s fighting for a future he may not exist to enjoy. Rennie’s costar Karen Steele (1931-1988) would appear as one of “Mudd’s Women” in the same-named episode of the original Star Trek. Steele’s character, a scientist herself, is reduced to pining for the title cyborg, only to happily settle for the town’s widower doctor (Warren Stevens) by the movie’s end. Her own dreams of working in a New York lab effectively dashed. One step ahead for women, two steps backward. Sadly, both Rennie and Steele would pass away too soon; at ages 61 and 56, respectively.

While its message reads more clearly in this moment than it arguably did in 1966, you can practically feel the ambitious screenplay by Arthur C. Pierce chafing at the limitations of its TV-like scope, and paired with a director perhaps more at-home with B-western serials than with “Martians” and “ray guns.” The escape launch of the time-pod in the movie’s opener could’ve really been something with a “Fantastic Voyage” budget and visuals. Perhaps a fading dissolve or optical effect effect could’ve been used for the time-pod’s travels into the past and future. Instead, we see clunky, “Bewitched”-style jump-cuts, with no panache whatsoever.

As is, “Cyborg 2087” feels like a crude, crayon sketch of a bigger, better film, like a “Terminator” movie storyboarded by a first grader. Modern audiences might be put off by its flat, TV-style direction, as well as its dated, sexist melodrama. However, there are little moments when the movie hints at something greater. For more forgiving sci-fi fans, “Cyborg 2087” offers a creaky, forgotten signpost towards cinematic sci-fi’s future.

Where to Watch

“Cyborg 1987” (1966–not the Van Damme movie) is available to stream for free on YouTube (careful of glitchy audio) and on the free-streaming app Plex, with ads. The movie is also available to own on a nicely remastered Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber, and can be ordered through Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble booksellers.