In a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.
A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.
Director:
Jack Arnold
Stars:
Richard Carlson,
Barbara Rush,
Charles Drake
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.Written by
Rob Hartill
The only sound film produced without any musical score or theme music, only the "electronic tonalities" by Louis Barron and Bebe Barron. See more »
Goofs
If the size of the input headset of the "plastic educator" along with the shape and size of the doorways/archways suggests the size of the Krell as being considerably larger than the average human, there would be no way that even one Krell technician could fit in the cramped cabin of the shuttle that Dr. Morpheus uses to show the captain and the doctor the inner workings of the subterranean power station beneath the planet's surface. See more »
Quotes
Lt. 'Doc' Ostrow:
The total potential here must be nothing less than astronomical.
Dr. Morbius:
Nothing less. The number 10 raised almost literally to the power of infinity.
See more »
Alternate Versions
Whe Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer reissued this film as part of a kiddie-matinée package, the scene where Jerry Farman cons the socially naive Altaira into kissing him was excised. See more »
Well, of course, "Star Wars" defined the genre, and "Alien" and "Blade Runner" perfected it; but "Forbidden Planet" created it. Argue, if you must, that movies like "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Them" and "Five Million Years to Earth" are the cerebral grand-fathers of the film genre (and I won't disagree with you), but for "science-fiction-as-plot-driven-action-epic," this is it. This is the one.
It's so unerringly on target, in fact, that it still plays very well even today. The modern audience has to overcome the "Leslie Nielsen Factor" (and it is difficult to watch him in a totally straight role), but once you do, the movie is pure enjoyment. Forget about dated plots and special effect. Robbie the Robot is a guy in a suit, yes, but he is thoroughly believable. He even adheres nicely to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, a trick that the digital robots in this summer's "I, Robot" had a great deal of difficulty with.
And the monster! I defy anyone to avoid getting the willies when the monster first shorts the security fence. Great special effect, then and now!
Finally, the universal theme of man's (and Krell's) individual flaws inserting themselves into an otherwise perfect system and TOTALLY gumming up the works is as relevant today as it was then. More so.
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Well, of course, "Star Wars" defined the genre, and "Alien" and "Blade Runner" perfected it; but "Forbidden Planet" created it. Argue, if you must, that movies like "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Them" and "Five Million Years to Earth" are the cerebral grand-fathers of the film genre (and I won't disagree with you), but for "science-fiction-as-plot-driven-action-epic," this is it. This is the one.
It's so unerringly on target, in fact, that it still plays very well even today. The modern audience has to overcome the "Leslie Nielsen Factor" (and it is difficult to watch him in a totally straight role), but once you do, the movie is pure enjoyment. Forget about dated plots and special effect. Robbie the Robot is a guy in a suit, yes, but he is thoroughly believable. He even adheres nicely to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, a trick that the digital robots in this summer's "I, Robot" had a great deal of difficulty with.
And the monster! I defy anyone to avoid getting the willies when the monster first shorts the security fence. Great special effect, then and now!
Finally, the universal theme of man's (and Krell's) individual flaws inserting themselves into an otherwise perfect system and TOTALLY gumming up the works is as relevant today as it was then. More so.