Forbidden Planet (1956)

A starship crew goes to investigate the silence of a planet's colony only to find two survivors and a deadly secret that one of them has.

Director:

Fred M. Wilcox

Writers:

Cyril Hume (screen play), Irving Block (based on a story by),

Stars:

Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Walter Pidgeon	...	Dr. Edward Morbius
Anne Francis	...	Altaira 'Alta' Morbius
Leslie Nielsen	...	Commander J. J. Adams
Warren Stevens	...	Lt. 'Doc' Ostrow M.D.
Jack Kelly	...	Lt. Jerry Farman
Richard Anderson	...	Chief Quinn
Earl Holliman	...	Cook
Robby the Robot	...	Himself
George Wallace	...	Bosun
Robert Dix	...	Crewman Grey (as Bob Dix)
Jimmy Thompson	...	Crewman Youngerford
James Drury	...	Crewman Strong
Harry Harvey Jr.	...	Crewman Randall
Roger McGee	...	Crewman Lindstrom
Peter Miller	...	Crewman Moran

Storyline

When Adams and his crew are sent to investigate the silence from a planet inhabited by scientists, he finds all but two have died. Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira have somehow survived a hideous monster which roams the planet. Unknown to Adams, Morbius has made a discovery, and has no intention of sharing it (or his daughter!) with anyone.

---

Plot Keywords:

planet | monster | spaceship | robot | loss of father | 

---

Taglines:

Amazing!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Planète interdite

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,900,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$3,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (as Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening narration states, "In the final decade of the 21st century, men and women in rocket ships landed on the Moon." That would have been about 140 years after the film's 1956 date. The actual first Moon landing occurred only 13 years after the film.

---

Goofs

When Robby the Robot carries the Doc out of the study after the latter has taking the brain boost, wires can be seen suspending the Doc from the ceiling. The actor inside the cumbersome robot costume was obviously not able to support the Doc's weight.

---

Quotes

Chief Engineer Quinn: I'll bet any quantum mechanic in the service would give the rest of his life to fool around with this gadget.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Time Machine (1960)

User Reviews

Sci-fi Classic

Like THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, this film helped make sci-fi respectable instead of the stuff for silly B-movies with cheap costumes and obviously faked sets. To help strengthen the thought-level of the story, the scriptwriters included elements of Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and Freudian psychology to make an enlightening tale of other-worldly mystery.

Leslie Nielsen is in his serious mode here long before he became the comic madman of the NAKED GUN movies and POLICE SQUAD television series. It is easy to see the prototypes of much of STAR TREK in this movie. The electronic soundtrack becomes a bit repetitious, but it works well as it is used in the scenes.

The short skirt on the heroine is a bit much but of course "cheesecake" was one of the things the cigar-chomping studio suits always liked in the 1950s and still do. Robbie the Robot is thrown in for some comic-relief and appeared in many other movies and television shows including LOST IN SPACE.

The most interesting aspect of the story for me was Monsters from the Id. The point being made is that the serpent is still in the Garden of Eden because we carry evil around with us wherever we go.

This is an excellent entertainment.