Forbidden Planet pioneered several aspects of science fiction cinema. It was the first science fiction film to depict humans traveling in a man-made faster-than-light starship.[6] It was also the first to be set entirely on a planet orbiting another star, far away from Earth and the Solar System.[7][8] The Robby the Robot character is one of the first film robots that was more than just a mechanical "tin can" on legs; Robby displays a distinct personality and is an integral supporting character in the film.[9] Outside science fiction, the film was groundbreaking as the first of any genre to use an entirely electronicmusical score, courtesy of Bebe and Louis Barron.
In the 23rd century, after more than a year's journey, the United Planets starship C-57D arrives at the distant planet Altair IV to determine the fate of the ship Bellerophon, sent there 20 years before. Dr. Edward Morbius, one of the original expedition's scientists, warns the ship not to land for safety reasons, but Commander John J. Adams ignores his warning.
Adams and Lieutenants Jerry Farman and "Doc" Ostrow are met by Robby the Robot, who transports them to Morbius' residence. Morbius describes how all other members of their expedition had been killed, one by one, by an unseen "planetary force", with the Bellerophon being vaporized as the last survivors tried to escape. Only Morbius, his wife (who Morbius claims later died of natural causes), and their daughter Altaira were somehow immune. Morbius offers to help the starship return home, but Adams says he must receive further instructions from Earth.
Leslie Nielsen and Anne Francis in Forbidden Planet
The next day, Adams finds Farman kissing Altaira. Furious, he rebukes Farman and criticizes Altaira for wearing revealing clothing. That night, an invisible intruder sabotages communications equipment aboard the starship. The next morning, Adams and Ostrow go to Morbius' residence to discuss the intrusion. While waiting, Adams happens upon Altaira swimming. After she dons a new, less revealing dress, Adams apologizes for his behavior toward her, and they kiss. They are suddenly attacked by Altaira's pet tiger, and Adams is forced to disintegrate it with his blaster.
Morbius appears and tells Adams and Ostrow that he has been studying artifacts of the Krell, a highly advanced race that mysteriously perished in a single night 200,000 years before. One such device enhances the intellect, which Morbius had used. He barely survived, but his intellectual capacity had doubled. Another is a vast 8,000-cubic-mile (33,000 km3) underground machine, still functioning, powered by 9,200 thermonuclear reactors. Adams tells Morbius he must share these discoveries with Earth, but Morbius refuses, saying, "Humanity is not yet ready to receive such limitless power."
Adams erects a force field fence around the starship, but the unseen intruder easily passes through and brutally murders Chief Engineer Quinn, who was repairing the damaged communications equipment. Morbius warns Adams of his premonition of further deadly attacks. That night, the intruder is detected approaching. Its outline and features become visible when it enters the force field and blasters are fired at it, to little effect. The thing kills Farman and two other crewmen. When Morbius is awakened by Altaira's screams, the creature suddenly vanishes.
Adams tries to persuade Altaira to leave. Ostrow sneaks away and uses the Krell intellect enhancer but is fatally injured. Before dying, he informs Adams that the underground machine's purpose was to create anything by mere thought, anywhere on the planet. However, he tells Adams the Krell forgot one thing: "Monsters from the id." The machine gave the Krell's own subconscious desires free rein with unlimited power, causing their own extinction. Adams deduces that Morbius's subconscious created the thing that both killed the original expedition members and attacked his crewmen; Morbius refuses to believe him.
Altaira tells Morbius that she is leaving Altair IV with Adams. Robby detects the creature approaching; Morbius commands Robby to kill it, but the robot knows it is Morbius and shuts down, being programmed to never kill a human. Adams, Altaira, and Morbius hide in the Krell lab, but the creature melts its way through the thick doors. Morbius finally accepts the truth and confronts and disowns his other self, but is fatally injured by the creature as it vanishes. Before he dies, he has Adams activate a planetary self-destruct system, warning them to be far away in deep space. At a safe distance, Adams, Altaira, Robby, and the surviving crew witness the obliteration of Altair IV. Adams reassures Altaira that in about a million years, the human race will stand where the Krell did. They embrace as C-57D heads back to Earth.
The screenplay by Irving Block and Allen Adler, written in 1952, was originally titled Fatal Planet.[14] The later screenplay draft by Cyril Hume renamed the film Forbidden Planet, because this was believed to have greater box-office appeal.[15] Block and Adler's drama took place in the year 1976 on the planet Mercury. An Earth expedition headed by John Grant is sent to the planet to retrieve Dr. Adams and his daughter Dorianne, who have been stranded there for twenty years. In this version, there is no Krell or a monster from the ID. The invisible ape-like beast simply appears to be a native of Mercury. Hume's first story outline from November 1952 fleshed out and rewrote much of the original concept.[16]
The film sets for Forbidden Planet were constructed on a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) sound stage at its Culver City film lot and were designed by Cedric Gibbons and Arthur Lonergan. The film was shot entirely indoors, with all the Altair IV exterior scenes simulated using sets, visual effects, and matte paintings. As the art director of the film, Lonergan took the liberty to build sets that were much larger than the budget allowed. The sets were already half done when the budget department found out and it was too late to do anything about it.[17]
A full-size mock-up of roughly three-quarters of the starship was built to suggest its full width of 170 ft (51 m). The starship was surrounded by a huge, painted cyclorama featuring the desert landscape of Altair IV; this one set took up all of the available space in one of the Culver City sound stages. Principal photography took place from April 18 to late May 1955.[18]
At a cost of roughly $125,000, Robby the Robot was very expensive for a film prop at this time; it represented almost 7% of the film's $1.9 million budget and equates to at least $1 million in 2017 dollars.[19][Note 1] Both the electrically controlled passenger vehicle driven by Robby and the truck/tractor-crane off-loaded from the starship were also constructed especially for this film. Robby later starred in the science fiction film The Invisible Boy (1957) and appeared in many TV series and films.
The animated sequences of Forbidden Planet, especially the attack of the Id Monster, were created by veteran animator Joshua Meador,[20] who was loaned to MGM by Walt Disney Productions. According to a "Behind the Scenes" featurette on the film's DVD, a close look at the creature shows it to have a small goatee beard, suggesting its connection to Dr. Morbius, the only character with this physical feature. Unusually, the scene in which the Id Monster is finally revealed during its attack on the Earth ship was not created using traditional cel animation. Instead, Meador simply sketched each frame of the entire sequence in black pencil on animation stand translucent vellum paper; each page was then photographed in high contrast, so that only the major details remained visible. These images were then photographically reversed into negative and the resulting white line images were then tinted red, creating the effect of the Id Monster's body remaining largely invisible, with only its major outlines illuminated by the energy from the force-field and blaster beams. The monster was considered so scary that in some states its image was edited out of the film so as to not frighten children. Meador was also responsible for the other visual effects, like the ray gun beams and disintegration scenes.[21]
Although workprints of cinema films were normally destroyed, the workprint of Forbidden Planet was not destroyed, and was discovered in 1977. There are differences in characterization, dialogue and scenes between the workprint and the release print.[22]
At the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 94% based on 51 reviews from critics, averaging 8.20/10.[25]Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that everyone who worked on the film certainly "had a barrel of fun with it. And, if you've got an ounce of taste for crazy humor, you'll have a barrel of fun, too."[26]Variety wrote: "Imaginative gadgets galore, plus plenty of suspense and thrills, make the Nicholas Nayfack production a top offering in the space travel category."[27]Harrison's Reports called the film "weird but fascinating and exciting", with "highly imaginative" production.[24] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film was "more than another science-fiction movie, with the emphasis on fiction; it is a genuinely thought-through concept of the future, and the production MGM has bestowed on it gives new breadth and dimension to that time-worn phrase, 'out of this world.'"[28]John McCarten of The New Yorker called the film "a pleasant spoof of all the moonstruck nonsense the movies have been dishing up about what goes on among our neighbors out there in interstellar space."[29]The Monthly Film Bulletin of Britain praised the film as "an enjoyably thorough-going space fantasy", adding, "In tone the film adroitly combines naivete with sophistication, approaching its inter-planetary heroics with a cheerful consciousness of their absurdity that still allows for one or two genuinely weird and exciting moments, such as the monster's first advance on the spaceship."[30] The Philadelphia film critic Steve Friedman ("Mr. Movie") told interviewers that Forbidden Planet was his favorite film.[31] He watched it 178 times.
According to MGM records, the film initially earned $1,530,000 in the U.S. and Canada[32] and $1,235,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $210,000.[3]
Forbidden Planet was re-released to film theaters during 1972 as one of MGM's "Kiddie Matinee" features; it was missing about six minutes of film footage cut to ensure it received a G rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, including a 1950s-style muted scene of Anne Francis, which made it seem she swam without a bathing suit.[33] Later video releases carry a G rating, although they are all the original theatrical version.
The American Film Institute nominated the film as one of its top-10 science fiction films.[34] The score was nominated for AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores.[35]
Home media
Forbidden Planet was first released in the pan and scan format in 1981 on MGM VHS and Betamax videotape and on MGM laser disc and CED Videodisc; years later, in 1996, it was again re-issued by MGM/UA, but this time in widescreen VHS and laserdisc, both for the film's 40th anniversary. The Criterion Collection later re-issued Forbidden Planet in CinemaScope's original 2.55:1 aspect ratio for the first time, on a deluxe laserdisc set with various extra features on a second disc. Warner Bros. next released the film on DVD in 1999 (MGM's catalog of films has since remained under ownership of Turner Entertainment, currently a division of Warner Bros. Discovery). Warner's release offered both cropped and widescreen picture formats on the same disc.
Warren Stevens (Doc Ostrow), Richard Anderson (Chief Quinn), and Earl Holliman (Cookie) at San Diego's Comic-Con International, July 2006.
For the film's 50th anniversary, the Ultimate Collector's Edition was released on November 28, 2006, in an oversized red metal box, using the original film poster for its wraparound cover. Both DVD and high definition HD DVD formats were available in this deluxe package. Inside both premium packages were the films Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy, The Thin Man episode "Robot Client" ("Robby The Robot", one of the film's co-stars, was also a guest star in both The Thin Man episode and The Invisible Boy) and a documentary Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, The 1950s and Us. Also included were miniature lobby cards and an 8 cm (3-inch) toy replica of Robby the Robot.[36] This was quickly followed by the release of the Forbidden Planet 50th Anniversary edition in both standard DVD and HD DVD packaging.[33] Both 50th anniversary formats were mastered by Warner Bros.-MGM techs from a fully restored, digital transfer of the film.[37] A Blu-ray edition of Forbidden Planet was released on September 7, 2010.[38]
Shortly before the film was released, a novelization appeared in hardcover and then later in mass-market paperback; it was written by W. J. Stuart (the pseudonym of mystery novelist Philip MacDonald), which chapters the novel into separate first person narrations by Dr. Ostrow, Commander Adams, and Dr. Morbius.[39] The novel delves further into the mysteries of the vanished Krell and Morbius' relationship to them. In the novel, he repeatedly exposes himself to the Krell's manifestation machine, which (as suggested in the film) boosts his brain power far beyond normal human intelligence. Unfortunately, Morbius retains enough of his imperfect human nature to be afflicted with hubris and a contempt for humanity. Not recognizing his own base primitive drives and limitations proves to be Morbius' downfall, as it had for the extinct Krell. While not stated explicitly in the film (although the basis for a deleted scene first included as an extra with the Criterion Collection's LaserDisc set and included with both the later 50th anniversary DVD and current Blu-ray releases), the novelization compared Altaira's ability to tame the tiger (until her sexual awakening with Commander Adams) to the medieval myth of a unicorn being tamable only by a virgin.
The novel also includes some elements never included in the film: For one, Adams, Farman, and Ostrow clandestinely observe Morbius' house overnight one evening, but see or hear nothing. When they leave they accidentally kill one of Altaira's pet monkeys. When Dr. Ostrow later on dissects the dead animal he discovers that its internal structure precludes it from ever having been alive in the normal biological sense. The tiger, deer, and monkeys are all conscious creations by Dr. Morbius as companions ("pets") for his daughter and only outwardly resemble their Earth counterparts. The novel also differs somewhat from the film in that it does not directly establish the great machine as the progenitor of the animals or monster; instead only attributes them to Morbius' elevated mental power. The Krell's self-destruction can be interpreted by the reader as a cosmic punishment for misappropriating the life-creating power of God. This is why in the film's ending, Commander Adams says in his speech to Altaira "...we are, after all, not God". The novel ends with a postscript making a similar observation.
Soundtrack
Forbidden Planet's innovative electronic music score (credited as "electronic tonalities" due to disputes with the musicians' union)[40] was composed by Bebe and Louis Barron. The two were originally slated to contribute about twenty minutes of sound effects and electronic pieces, as avant-garde composer Harry Partch was also due to contribute music. When Partch left the project, the Barrons took over the entire soundtrack.[41] MGM producer Dore Schary had been approached by them at a nightclub in Greenwich Village while on a family Christmas visit to New York City, where they asked if he was interested in listening to a demonstration of their electronic music. Schary told them he was returning to California the next morning, but to assuage their disappointment, he promised to give them a chance if they ever came to California. Assuming he had heard the last of them, he was surprised when they showed up in Hollywood a few weeks later. Keeping his promise, he listened to their music, and after a consultation with the head of MGM's music department Johnny Green and the movie's producer Nicholas Nayfack, he agreed to hire them.[42] When they declined to have all their equipment transferred from New York to Hollywood for a three-month job, the studio agreed, and the movie became MGM's first production to have its score produced outside of the studio lot.[43] While the theremin had been used on the soundtracks of Spellbound (1945) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), the Barrons are credited with creating the first completely electronic film score, preceding the development of analog synthesizers by Robert Moog and Don Buchla in the early 1960s.
Since Bebe and Louis Barron did not belong to the Musicians Union, their work could not be considered for an Academy Award in either the "soundtrack" or "sound effects" categories; this also necessitated the "electronic tonalities" credit. MGM declined to publish a soundtrack album at the time that Forbidden Planet was released; however, film composer and conductor David Rose later published a 7-inch (18 cm) single of his original main title theme that he had recorded at the MGM studios in March 1956. Rose was originally hired to compose the musical score in 1955, but his main title theme was discarded when he was discharged from the project by Dore Schary in late December of that year. The film's original theatrical trailer contains snippets of Rose's score, the tapes of which he reportedly later destroyed.[46]
The Barrons finally released their soundtrack in 1976 as an LPalbum for the film's 20th anniversary; it was on their very own Planet Records label (later changed to Small Planet Records and distributed by GNP Crescendo Records). The LP premiered at MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Kansas City, Missouri, over the 1976 Labor Day weekend, as part of a 20th Anniversary celebration of Forbidden Planet held at that Worldcon; the Barrons were there promoting their album's first release, signing all the copies sold at the convention. They also introduced the first of three packed-house screenings that showed an MGM 35mm fine-grain vault print in original CinemaScope and stereophonic sound. A decade later, in 1986, their soundtrack was released on a music CD for the film's 30th Anniversary, with a six-page color booklet containing images from Forbidden Planet, plus liner notes from the composers and Bill Malone.[44]
A tribute to the film's soundtrack was performed live in concert by Jack Dangers, and is available on disc one of the album Forbidden Planet Explored.
Costumes and props
The costumes worn by Anne Francis were designed by Helen Rose.[47] Her miniskirts resulted in Forbidden Planet being banned in Spain; it was not shown there until 1967.[48] Other costumes were designed by Walter Plunkett.[47]
Robby the Robot was operated at first by diminutive stuntman Frankie Darro. He was fired shortly after an early scene because of his having consumed a five-martini lunch prior to the scene being shot; he nearly fell over while attempting to walk while inside the expensive prop.[49][50]
Many costume and prop items were reused in several different episodes of the television series The Twilight Zone, most of which were filmed by Rod Serling's Cayuga Productions at the MGM studio in Culver City, including Robby the Robot, the various C-57D models, the full-scale mock-up of the base of the ship (which featured in the episodes "To Serve Man" and "On Thursday We Leave for Home"), the blaster pistols and rifles, crew uniforms, and special effects shots.
In late September 2015, several screen-used items from Forbidden Planet were offered in Profiles in History's Hollywood Auction 74, including Walter Pidgeon's "Morbius" costume, an illuminating blaster rifle, blaster pistol, a force field generator post, and an original Sascha Brastoff steel prehistoric fish sculpture seen outside Morbius' home; also offered were several lobby cards and publicity photos.[51]
On November 2, 2017, the original Robby the Robot prop was offered for auction by Bonhams, and it earned US$5.3 million, including the buyer's premium. It set a new record for TCM-Bonhams auctions, surpassing the US$4 million earned for a Maltese Falcon in 2013, making it the most valuable film prop ever sold at auction.[52]
An Australian radio adaptation using the original electronic music and noted local actors was broadcast in June 1959 on The Caltex Radio Theatre.
In Stephen King's The Tommyknockers, Altair-4 is frequently referenced as the home planet of the titular alien presence.[53]
In the authorized biography of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, biographer David Alexander notes that Forbidden Planet was an inspiration for Star Trek and quotes a memo by Roddenberry in which he explicitly avoids copying the mechanics of Forbidden Planet's spaceship, but hopes for it to "stimulate our own thinking" in regards to the production of the still-in-development Star Trek TV series.[54] In the opening scene of the movie, the navigator says "We'll reach D.C. point at 1701". The registration number for the USS Enterprise is NCC-1701. There were many references to Altair IV in Star Trek. In a scene from Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984) Dr. McCoy visits a bar and orders "Altair Water".[55]
In the novel Strata by Terry Pratchett the main characters get stranded on a disc world which is driven completely by underground machinery. Close to the end, an explicit reference is made: "Didn't you ever see Forbidden Planet? Human movie. They remade it five, six times".
A scene from the science fiction TV series Babylon 5, set on the Epsilon III Great Machine bridge, strongly resembles the Krell's great machine. While this was not the intent of the show's producer, the special effects crew, tasked with creating the imagery, stated that the Krell's machine was a definite influence on their Epsilon III designs.[59] Also, Season 2 episode 5 "The Long Dark" features an invisible creature, that when shot is made visible with very similar effects as the invisible creature from Forbidden Planet.
The Time Tunnel's pilot episode featured a matte shot of huge underground buildings and people running across a walkway above a giant power generator, in homage to the scene of the Krell's underground complex.
For the film's 50th anniversary in 2006, DAW Books released an original mass-market paperback anthology of new science fiction short stories, Forbidden Planets, all of which were inspired by the film.
Fallout: New Vegas's DLC Old World Blues uses multiple references, including Doctor Mobius as a reference to Morbius in the film, the protectrons being modeled after Robby the Robot, and The Forbidden Dome being based on the film's title.
In the first Mass Effect game, while examining the planets in the Gagarin system of the Armstrong Nebula, specifically on the planet's Junthor survey feed, a reference is made to "Monsters from the id".
Author George R. R. Martin cites Forbidden Planet as his favorite science fiction film and states that he owns a working full-size Robby the Robot replica.[60]
In the Firefly film Serenity, one of the vehicles they examine on the planet Miranda has "C-57D" stenciled on its side.
In the Columbo (TV series) episode "Mind Over Mayhem" (1974), a robot called "MM7" is featured. Its top half is almost identical to Robby the Robot as he appears in the 1956 film. Differences in the hands, chest panel, and a metal skirting replacing the legs suggest it is not the original film prop.
In the Castle episode "Law & Murder" (2011[61]) Forbidden Planet is playing at the Angelika Film Center. Castle, who is a fan of the film, invites his daughter to go with him to see it, but she has made other plans. At the end of the episode, Beckett tells Castle she is going to see it, and by feigning ignorance ("Forbidden Planet? Is...Is that the one with the robot?") Castle succeeds in getting Beckett to treat him to see the film.
New Line Cinema had developed a remake with James Cameron, Nelson Gidding, and Stirling Silliphant involved at different times. In 2007, DreamWorks set up the project with David Twohy set to direct. Warner Bros. re-acquired the rights the following year and on October 31, 2008, J. Michael Straczynski was announced as writing a remake, Joel Silver was to produce.[63] Straczynski explained that the original had been his favorite science fiction film, and it gave Silver an idea for the new film that makes it "not a remake", "not a re-imagining", and "not exactly a prequel". His vision for the film would not be retro, because when the original was made it was meant to be futuristic. Straczynski met with people working in astrophysics, planetary geology, and artificial intelligence to reinterpret the Krell back-story as a film trilogy.[64] In March 2009, Straczynski reported that the project was abandoned, and that a new script was requested.[65]
On November 15, 2024, Brian K. Vaughan was announced to be writing a new screenplay for the remake.[66]
^Hollywood Auction 74. California: Profiles in History. 2015. pp. 325–328. Lot 885: Forbidden Planet hero illuminating laser rifle. (MGM, 1956) Est. US$30,000 – $50,000. Lot 886: Forbidden Planet hero illuminating laser pistol. (MGM, 1956). Est.US$20,000 – $30,000. Lot 889: Force Field generator post from Forbidden Planet. Est. US$8,000 – $12,000. Lot 890: Walter Pidgeon "Dr. Morbius" costume from Forbidden Planet. (MGM, 1956). Est. US$20,000 – $30,000. Lot 891: Original Sascha Brastoff Prehistoric Fish steel sculpture used in the home of Dr. Morbius in Forbidden Planet. (MGM, 1956). Est. US$8,000 – $12,000. (Auction took place September 29, 30, October 1, 2015. Catalog 83MB PDF and Prices Realized List PDF available at ProfilesinHistory.comArchived September 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.)
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