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:

robot | cult film | electronic music score | famous score | spaceship | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

MGM had a full animation department at one time but by 1956 it was largely dismantled. Critical animation effects (landing beam, weapons, Robby overloading, the Id monster) were provided by Joshua Meador on loan to MGM from Walt Disney Pictures. Meador's recognizable style can be readily discerned from that of the other three effects animators working on Alice in Wonderland (1951) and in other Disney releases.

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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

Robby the Robot: Can I be of service, sir?
Cook: Look, never mind the sir, mister, but I'm a stranger on this so called planet and I was just wondering if, well if you could tell me where I could... , a guy could get ahold of the real stuff?
Robby the Robot: Real stuff?
Cook: Just for cooking purposes you understand. I take a big pride in my duties.
Robby the Robot: Pardon me, sir. Stuff?
Cook: [Pulls out bottle of bourbon] Oh, just about one jolt left. Oh, Genuine Ancient Rocket Bourbon. See here?
[Robby takes the bottle and empties it into his analyzer slot]
Cook: Well you ...
[...]

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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 Cannibal Hookers (1987)

User Reviews

Gets better as it gets older

While not re-treading the comments or plot summaries of other IMDB users, I thought I'd say that this particular film does get better as it gets older. While ground-breaking on it's release in 1956, the visual "look" of this film has grown over the 46 years since it first arrived.

True to the pulp sci-fi of its day, the art direction has mellowed into an archetype that has not been bettered to this date. MGM put a surprising amount of money into the production values (similar to, but better than Universal's "This Island Earth"). This is a living "cover art". The indelible images of the saucer passing through space, landing on Altair-4, Robby, and the disintegrating tiger linger long in collective memory.

This must be seen on the big screen if possible, and in the original Cinemascope format. I've been lucky enough to see it (it was re-released in the 70's on a double bill with George Pal's "The Time Machine"), and the power it carries in scenes such as the Krell machines and the attack of the Id Monster are truly impressive. Watching it on a television just doesn't come close, although the "letterboxed" version is better than nothing. I am a poster collector, and even the advertising material for this film is exceptional. I see the one-sheet for it every day in my living room, and have never grown tired of it. "AMAZING!" is what is says, and for once they got it right. A true classic of it's type.

Details

Country:

USA Japan

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), Toho Company

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