I Cannot, Yet I Must: The True Story of the Best Bad Monster Movie of All Time Robot Monster

by Anders Runestad

I CANNOT, YET I MUST is the amazing story of ROBOT MONSTER, the legendary 1953 gorilla-wearing-a-diving-helmet no-budget epic that sums up an entire era of film history. Determined to crack Hollywood and fully aware of what he was up against, director Phil Tucker crafted a profitable 3-D feature with very little money and very much ingenuity. Fascinating, surreal, hilarious and an incredible testament to getting the job done even when it is impossible, ROBOT MONSTER is now documented in detail. From the ballyhoo of producer Al Zimbalist to the eccentric life of writer Wyott Ordung, from Phil Tucker's previously unpublished memories to the significantly different script, I CANNOT, YET I MUST is the book that finally explores ROBOT MONSTER!

Genres: Film

696 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 22, 2015

Reviews

[Justin Decloux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the wonders of self-publishing. How else could we get a 687-page book about Phil Tucker and ROBOT MONSTER?

Aders Runestad has dredged up every factoid he could find, and while this could have easily had a huge chunk cut out of it, the digressions are sometimes the most fascinating stuff.

[Phoef Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know all about ROBOT MONSTER (the greatest movie ever made!) this is the essential source!

[D J Rout · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is an excellent book, very well-researched and (I'm obsessed with this nowadays) cited. Much of th research cits secondary sources, but these are well documented so you can check them in context and disagree with them if you like.

Importantly, he focuses a lot on the idea that Robot Monster is a depiction of a dream, but doesn't explore this fully.

It also includes the original script for RM, though for some reason it's in PDF or something format the Kindle won't read!

Wll worth the read for anyone interested in the movie who thinks sit has been much and unjustly maligned.

[Max Pacheco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes. Even though the author states that his love of the film brought him to write the book that joy is almost entirely lacking from the finished product. Not only does Robot Monster's production and reception take up far too little of this book but the reader is bombarded with speculation and led by the hand through the author's research process. Even if you're a crazy completionist like me I implore you to just read Robot Monster Diaries and then move on with your life. The anecdotes and insights into this beloved cult film are few and far between to make this tedious tome worth your time.