Forbidden Planet
Short description
In the 22nd century, the starship C57D arrives at the distant planet Altair IV to learn what became of an earlier expedition, the Bellerophon, which vanished twenty years before. Commander John J. Adams and his crew find only two survivors: the scientist Dr. Edward Morbius and his daughter Altaira, living in isolation with Robby, a robot of Morbius's own construction. Morbius urges the visitors to leave at once, warning of an invisible and deadly force on the planet, but Adams chooses to stay and investigate. The planet's former inhabitants, the Krell, left behind vast underground machinery whose purpose bears on the danger the crew now faces.
Fred M. Wilcox directed the film, the fifth of the six features listed for him and his only science fiction subject, from a screenplay by Cyril Hume. Walter Pidgeon plays Morbius, with Anne Francis as Altaira and Leslie Nielsen as Adams; Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly and Earl Holliman appear among a credited cast of twenty-three. Producer Nicholas Nayfack oversaw the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, made for about two million dollars.
Released in March 1956 and running 98 minutes, the film mixes adventure, fantasy, romance and science fiction. Its audience scores are solid, at 7.5 on IMDb from a large body of votes and 7.3 on TMDB from far fewer, while critics rated it appreciably higher, 8.3 from 52 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- If you look closely, the monster has a beard reminiscent of Doctor Morbius' beard. There is also the opinion that the creature is an ironic reference to the roaring lion which serves as the logo of MGM Studios.
- The episode where the monster becomes visible due to being hit by laser cannons was made with the participation of animators from the Disney studio.
- Shortly after the film's premiere, a novel of the same name based on it was published, written by Philip Macdonald (published under the pseudonym W. J. Stewart). The book clarifies some details of the fictional universe.
- The film's special effects (especially those employing matte painting techniques) remained unsurpassed in complexity until the release of '2001: A Space Odyssey'.
- The studio spent $125,000 on the Robbie the Robot. This first 'robot with personality' in cinema became so popular with audiences that it remained the most beloved science fiction mechanical character until the release of 'Star Wars'. It also starred in the film 'The Invisible Boy' and made several appearances in science fiction television series.
- Producers suggested making the monster invisible, arguing that this would save money on filming. In the end, the effects related to the monster cost almost a million dollars.
- The Robbie the Robot cost the studio $125,000. This first 'robot with a personality' in cinema became so popular with audiences that, until the release of the first 'Star Wars', it remained the most beloved mechanical character in science fiction. It also became the main character in the film 'The Invisible Boy' (1957) and appeared several times in science fiction television series.
- The film’s costume designer made several miniskirts for actress Ann Francis. This is one of the first mentions of skirts of this kind.
- Gene Roddenberry claimed that 'Forbidden Planet' was one of the sources of inspiration for developing the concept of the television series 'Star Trek'.
- At some screenings of the film, viewers were given disposable paper glasses with red filters; through these glasses, the invisible monster could be seen on the screen.
- The producers suggested to the studio that the monster be made invisible, arguing that this would save money on filming. However, the effects associated with the monster ultimately cost almost a million dollars.
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