Garth A7 (Michael Rennie) is a cyborg. Part man, part machine. He is sent back in time from 2087 to 1966. His mission is to find Professor Sigmund Marx (Eduard Franz). In 1966 Marx made a breakthrough in communication using brain waves. He calls this breakthrough “Radio-Telepathy”. He is presenting a demonstration of this technique to a group of government people. Garth’s mission is to stop him.
In the future this discovery will get into the wrong hands and be used by war lords as a mind control devise ensuring that they have total power over people. Free thought will not exist. The minds of the world will be controlled by dictators using Radio-Telepathy. A small group of free thinkers rebel against the government and send Garth through time before he can be stopped. Two government cyborgs are sent through time after him. They are called “Tracers”. Their mission is to kill Garth.
Garth is transported to an old ghost town. He makes his way to Desert City and a company called Future Industries Incorporated. Marx is not at the facility but his assistant Dr. Sharon Mason (Karen Steele) is. Garth enlists her help by controlling her mind. Knowing that the Tracers are not far behind, Garth needs to have a locator chip removed from his chest. Karen takes him to Dr. Carl Zeller (Warren Stevens). Zeller is convinced to operate on Garth and remove the homing device.
With the Tracers hot on his trail Garth and Dr. Zeller go to the power station to destroy the chip. When the Tracers get there Garth manages to kill one of them. Garth ends up hiding out in the old ghost town. When Professor Marx returns to town Sharon convinces him to see the cyborg and listen to what he has to say. When the remaining Tracer catches Sharon he uses her as bait to lure Garth into a trap.
“Cyborg 2087” was released in 1966 and was directed by Franklin Adreon. It is a science fiction film. The movie was part of a series of low budget films produced by United Pictures Corporation. They were intended for TV distribution as well as theatrical release. There were nine films in the series but they weren’t all science fiction or spy films. The films were in color and incorporated a few well know stars. The purpose of them was to generate a profit and compete with the glut of black and white films that were the main staple of the television market at the time. UPC actually produced two additional films for the American market. They were spaghetti westerns made in Spain by Italian filmmakers.
The movie does play like a made for television film complete with appropriate breaks just right for commercials. The wardrobe of the cyborgs is also a reflection of the sixties view of what future fashion will look like. Garth wears a white jumpsuit with silver boots, belt and gun holster. His gun is a ray-gun set on stun. The Tracers wear green jumpsuits with silver boots, belts, and gun holsters. Their ray-guns are set to kill. They also wear green helmets.
There’s not a lot of action other than a lot of running. There’s only one fight. It’s long but it’s at the end. There’s also at least one instance where you can see the boom microphone in the frame. In one scene there are teenagers dancing to a radio in the doctor's living room. The teenagers were unnecessary, and it was a little slow in spots. Still, despite its shortcomings, it wasn’t a bad movie. It’s more of a stretched out “Outer Limits” story. Considering its low budget, it was a decent production and the plot had a decent grasp of time paradoxes. If you like time travel movies this is one that predates “The Terminator” 1984 but has a similar plot.