Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)
In Albert Zugsmith's 1960 B-movie exploitation comedy Sex Kittens Go to College (1960), the "world's greatest electronic brain" is a computer-aided robot named "SAM Thinko" (S.A.M. stands for "Sequential Auxiliary Modulator") that resides in a military-funded university research laboratory. In the course of the narrative, Mamie van Doren plays against type as the newly hired professor "Dr. West," a platinum blonde with multiple advanced degrees, who romances a college administrator played by the film's coproducer, Martin Milner.
Thinko, who is "never wrong," is revealed to have a set of human vices including an affinity for horse racing that incurs the wrath of mafia bookmakers (he also wins the Mexican national lottery, among others). Since van Doren's arrival, the computer, who appears as a larger-than-life, stationary robot, has been plagued by explicit fantasies about her that ultimately require him to undergo hypnotherapy, occasioning a protracted striptease sequence presented as Thinko's dream. Part robot, part mainframe computer, part artificial intelligence, Thinko represents a transitional figure in Hollywood's depiction of computing.
Although marred by the painfully bad production values (fumbled lines, repeated shots, sped-up action sequences, out-of-sync dialogue scenes) of a low-budget exploitation movie, Sex Kittens Go to College also presents an unusually blunt vision of military oversight in a university research lab. Van Doren's arrival at "college" immediately precedes an inspection by Admiral Wildcat MacPherson, who is responsible for funding the lab. Ultimately, Thinko's conspicuous gambling winnings and frustrated sexual impulses leads to a chaotic showdown in which he experiences a "nervous breakdown" signified by smoke rising from the robot and summoning the fire department.
Thinko, who is "never wrong," is revealed to have a set of human vices including an affinity for horse racing that incurs the wrath of mafia bookmakers (he also wins the Mexican national lottery, among others). Since van Doren's arrival, the computer, who appears as a larger-than-life, stationary robot, has been plagued by explicit fantasies about her that ultimately require him to undergo hypnotherapy, occasioning a protracted striptease sequence presented as Thinko's dream. Part robot, part mainframe computer, part artificial intelligence, Thinko represents a transitional figure in Hollywood's depiction of computing.
Although marred by the painfully bad production values (fumbled lines, repeated shots, sped-up action sequences, out-of-sync dialogue scenes) of a low-budget exploitation movie, Sex Kittens Go to College also presents an unusually blunt vision of military oversight in a university research lab. Van Doren's arrival at "college" immediately precedes an inspection by Admiral Wildcat MacPherson, who is responsible for funding the lab. Ultimately, Thinko's conspicuous gambling winnings and frustrated sexual impulses leads to a chaotic showdown in which he experiences a "nervous breakdown" signified by smoke rising from the robot and summoning the fire department.
| Previous page on path | Socially Normative Critique, page 7 of 9 | Next page on path |
Discussion of "Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)"
Add your voice to this discussion.
Checking your signed in status ...