"R2-D2" and "C-3PO" in "Star Wars" (20th Century-Fox) become the next most popular and influential robots after "Robby, the Robot" from Forbidden Planet. These robots are friendly and comical.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_IV:_A_New_Hope
The feature film "Forbidden Planet" (MGM) introduces a likeable, and one of entertainment's most memorable robots, "Robby, the Robot. "Robby, the Robot" must be one of the most influential robots of all time. The design had a profound impact on the toy market and was the first movie prop to be heavily merchandized and targeted to both children and adults.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y4crGU7dkg
the book in Mechanix Illustrated, the robot has two roles, first, the "robot factories that are completely automized without a single human workman inside." Second, the "robot kit, Make your own robot"
1939: "The Phantom Creeps", a mad scientist, played by Bela Lugosi, tries to take over the Earth with a kind of Gargoyle like robot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lvKD0XJcAc
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