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 (as Fred McLeod 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 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Walter Pidgeon	...	Dr. Morbius
Anne Francis	...	Altaira Morbius
Leslie Nielsen	...	Commander Adams
Warren Stevens	...	Lt. 'Doc' Ostrow
Jack Kelly	...	Lt. Farman
Richard Anderson	...	Chief Quinn
Earl Holliman	...	Cook
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
Morgan Jones	...	Crewman Nichols

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.

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Plot Keywords:

alien civilization | invisible monster | alien technology | spacecraft | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

One Of The Greatest Sci-Fi Masterpieces Of All Time!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fatal Planet

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$1,900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Sound System) 4-Track Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color (photographed in) (Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Morbius is demonstrating Robby's capabilities, he has him fire a blaster at a flower called an althea frutex (hibiscus syriacus). This plant is a deciduous shrub with flowers that are often pink in color. It is the national flower of South Korea and is called "mugungwha" in Korean. This word is based on the Korean word "mugung" which means eternity or inexhaustible abundance, the latter of which is a theme in the movie.

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Goofs

When the Monster is burning/melting the metal door, as it turns white hot and lumps start to fall, you can see a member of the crew in a heatproof suit prodding the material from behind to make it fall. Watch the second and third holes for movement behind the door. Then again, this motion could be taken to be the monster doing the poking...

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Quotes

Commander Adams: Dr. Morbius, just what were the symptoms of all those other deaths, the unnatural ones I mean.
Dr. Morbius: The symptoms were striking Commander. One by one in spite of every safeguard my co-workers were torn literally limb from limb.
Commander Adams: By what?
Dr. Morbius: By some devilish thing that never once showed itself.
Commander Adams: And the Bellerophon?
Dr. Morbius: Vaporized as the three remaining survivors tried to take her off.
Commander Adams: And yet in all these 19 years you personally have never again been bothered by this planetary force?
Dr. Morbius: Only in nightmares of ...

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Rewind This! (2013)

User Reviews

Yes, this IS the best sci-fi film ever made.

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.