# Forbidden Planet (1956)



## Dave (Mar 15, 2001)

Forbidden Planet (1956) 98 minutes.

http://uk.imdb.com/Title?0049223

In 2200 a space cruiser is sent to Altair 4 to dicover the fate of a previous mission. They find two survivors and some secrets.

Intriguing plot derived fro 'The Tempest' with Dr Morbius as 'Prospero', unwittingly creating monsters from his own id. Way before it's time. An obvious inspiration for Gene Roddenberry when creating Star Trek. With 'Robby the Robot' and a young Leslie Neilsen (he wasn't always old and in 'Police Squad'). Some excellent suspense sequences, but some wooden acting and leaden dialogue - 'It's a pity they didn't lift some of Shakespeare's language' wrote 'The New Yorker' in 1977.

Also with:
Walter Pigeon, Anne Francis, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, Richard Anderson, Earl Holliman.


----------



## Charlie (Jun 4, 2002)

This still remains a SF classic. The SFX are excellent and effective and of course Robbie-the robot- is the real star. It left a lasting impression when I first saw it on Tv as a child.


----------



## ray gower (Sep 15, 2003)

*Synopsis*
An expedition is sent from Earth to Altair in the constellation of Aquilae (some 17 light years from Earth) to discover what happened to a colony of settlers on its fourth planet, Altair-4. What they discover is how and why an alien race of geniuses destroyed itself overnight while leaving their technology intact at some point in the distant, distant past.

Apart from launching the illustrious careers of Leslie Nielsen and Robby (the robot) this film is a classic of what Science Fiction films should be. As such it is a cult and if it were produced would have lead to a TV series that puts Star Trek and all the other come latelys to shame.

Okay the effects are not special, though they were good for the time, this was a big budget film. But as a tribute to telling and presenting a good story, though as a story liberally taken from Shakespear's Tempest it would be hard to go far wrong


----------



## Tabitha (Sep 15, 2003)

I haven't seen this film in about 6 years, so I can't really remember it that well, but I thought I would just weigh in to say that is it wonderful!  I remember being surprised at how, um, cerebral (!) the storyline was considering it comes straight out of the mould of 1950s scifi.  

Along with The Day the Earth Stood Still, this is probably one of my all time favourites, going to have to pick it up on DVD sometime.


----------



## ray gower (Sep 16, 2003)

Actually it is surprising how good a lot of these old sci/fi films are. Devoid of hi-tech for the effects, there is little left but the story to take notice of. 

The result is often a strong play, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Quatermass and the Pit, even This Island Earth all fall comfortably into this bracket.

I think that is why I tend to be so critical of many modern films. The fancy effects and stunts get in the way! Dare Devil being one that springs to mind, the director being so intent on using his christmas magic box of effects that it hid a perfectly good story.

Rant over. Time for a question!

Do you have any idea how many films Robby appeared in since his debut in Forbidden Planet and not just Sci/Fi ones either!


----------



## Tabitha (Sep 16, 2003)

I have no idea - he is similar to, but not the same as the robot from the Lost in Space series, isn't he?

Did he get a whole slew of spin-off movies or something.

And, on a related note, I love the poster for Forbidden Planet - it's such an archetypal image.


----------



## ray gower (Sep 16, 2003)

No, Robby was not the same one as in Lost in Space. That one walked around on wheels and only made it downwards to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. 

But he did make several appearances as a guest star in Lost in Space, along with Twilight Zone and the Thin Man.

But he has also appeared in six other films:-
Earth Girls Are Easy 
Gremlins 
Likely Stories, Volume 3 
Hollywood Boulevard
Columbo: Mind Over Mayhem
The Invisible Boy

Usually as himself, which I suppose makes him nearly as typecast as Sly Stallone! 

Also been thinking about all the remakes of the film. Star Trek has had two goes (TOS & TNG) that I can think of. 
But there was also a film starring the older Douglas and Farah Forceps(?), which I am blowed if I remember the title of, which if not a direct copy was pretty close and DULL


----------



## Dave (Sep 16, 2003)

"Saturn 3" I think!

Haven't I started a thread on this already? I was sure that I had. If so, I'll merge them, if not I'm stunned, since I think it's great. I have it on video. 

The story seems much more modern to me than other films of it's time -- I'm thinking 'This Island Earth' and 'War of the Worlds' -- yet as you say, it is just a reworking of 'The Tempest' so it's really 350 years old.

I'm sure that it was an inspiration to Gene Roddenberry when developing 'Star Trek' since many themes are common to both.


----------



## Stryker (Nov 16, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Charlie _
> *This still remains a SF classic. The SFX are excellent and effective and of course Robbie-the robot- is the real star. It left a lasting impression when I first saw it on Tv as a child. *




IMO a classic sci fi that has stood the test of time.

Still love it when it comes on



Stryker


----------



## Foxbat (Dec 12, 2004)

Please post your thoughts, rants, raves, and general gibbering on the Forbidden Planet here.


----------



## polymorphikos (Dec 12, 2004)

The core theme of this Jekyll & Hyde story is excellently-done. The way that they managed to manifest the id. It's one of the most fascinating and powerful plot-devices in fiction, ranging from alcoholics to this sort of thing, and I really enjoyed seeing it brought to life. Not to mention how awesome the effects were.

Plus I want that robot.


----------



## Foxbat (Dec 12, 2004)

I agree. 

Also, it's common knowledge that this film was based on Shakespeare's The Tempest and I think it's a great example of how, even now, Shakespeare's plays can still be used to such effect. 

The high quality of special effects which, at the time of its making, must have had the same effect on audiences that the first forays in CGI had in more recent years. 

Couple this with such an intelligent plot line and it's easy to see how this film has not only survived the ravages of time but grown in stature when compared to many more recent and yet inferior Sci-Fi movies. Thoroughly enjoyable.


----------



## Leto (Dec 12, 2004)

Foxbat said:
			
		

> I agree.
> 
> Also, it's common knowledge that this film was based on Shakespeare's The Tempest and I think it's a great example of how, even now, Shakespeare's plays can still be used to such effect.


Not for me. Yet we don't study that much Shakespeare here. Thanks for the info, I'll get a copy of the play and read it with Forbiddent Planet in mind. 

On the special effects, one of the first thing which impressed me (well in fact frigthened me) the first time I saw this movie (and I was only 6) was the appearance of the electrical monster. Not really impressive as such, but the behavior of the actors help the spectaror to believe in it.


----------



## Foxbat (Dec 13, 2004)

Leto: Here's a site that more or less explains the connection between The Tempest and Forbidden Planet (although I always saw Robbie more as Ariel than Caliban)

http://www.hku.hk/english/courses2000/2037/fbplanet.htm


----------



## Leto (Dec 13, 2004)

Thanks.


----------



## mac1 (Dec 14, 2004)

Mmm, I am broke and need a copy of this, I will keep looking. No promises mind


----------



## inca (Jun 28, 2006)

Sometimes fiction is based upon real knowledge:
www.enterprisemission.com/forbidden-planet.htm
www.enterprisemission.com/corbett.htm
www.goroadachi.com/etemenanki/sc2012-1.htm
www.goroadachi.com/etemenanki/sc2012-2.htm
www.goroadachi.com/etemenanki/sc2012-3.htm
www.goroadachi.com/etemenanki/sc2012-4.htm
www.goroadachi.com/etemenanki/sc2012-b1.htm
www.enterprisemission.com/MTM.htm
www.enterprisemission.com/m2m2.html


----------



## steve12553 (Aug 19, 2006)

I'm glad to see this thread. Forbidden Planet was one of my all time favorites. Most of the special effects are decent looking to allow suspension of disbelief for even today's spoiled audiences.


----------



## sanityassassin (Aug 19, 2006)

yes a classic sci-fi film well worth a look even in todays cgi world the effects were not too bad and must have been state of the art in the 50's


----------



## Foxbat (Aug 19, 2006)

A piece of trivia: the music for Forbidden planet was  played on a Thermion...a wonderfully underused and underrated device which can create great atmospheric music.


----------



## j d worthington (Aug 19, 2006)

Actually, I think you're thinking of *The Day the Earth Stood Still*, where Bernard Hermann used that wonderful instrument. The score for *Forbidden Planet* was by Louis and Bebe Barron, who also created the "cybernetic circuits" used for it. (I have a copy of the soundtrack which, thankfully, has some rather decent liner notes.)

According to the Barrons: "In scoring FORBIDDEN PLANET -- as in all of our work -- we created individual cybernetic circuits for particular themes and leit motifs, rather than using standard sound generators. Actually, each circuit has a characteristic activity pattern as well as a 'voice'."

And, on the subject of the old 1950s SFF films -- this is exactly my complaint against so many modern films in the genre; *Independence Day*, for instance, is simply a REALLY big-budget remake of *Earth vs. the Flying Saucers*, with a few tweaks. Fun, but essentially mindless and less engaging than the original, I'm afraid, for all its faults. And *The Incredible Shrinking Man*, which uses the metaphor of Scott Carey's shrinking to examine the diminution of man in the modern world (the novel, of course, went even further, being able to explore some of the aspects of the perceived threats on a sexual level as well, as the man's role in so many other ways became less and less tenable). Even some of the lesser films of the period have a lot more meat to offer than most of what we're seeing now -- at least from Hollywood. They've forgotten, it seems, how to use fantasy and sf as metaphor in a skillful way; either it's all comic-book, or it's so heavy-handed that a two-year-old gets the message five minutes into the film. These older films may not have had much of a special-effects budget, and they have their share of corn, but they really were intent on telling a story, and having characters (especially in the better grade films) that were three-dimensional and that one could relate to and see oneself in.


----------



## Foxbat (Aug 19, 2006)

I think you are correct about the music.  I can only hold my hands up high and say...'It's a fair cop guv'


----------



## steve12553 (Aug 19, 2006)

Foxbat said:
			
		

> I think you are correct about the music. I can only hold my hands up high and say...'It's a fair cop guv'


 
Both scores were quite and effectively eerie. Easy to confuse. But JD usually knows his stuff. I lived for those movies when I was a kid.


----------



## j d worthington (Aug 19, 2006)

Ummm... thanks, guys.

*shuffles feet embarrassedly* Uh, I hate to mention this, in light of that, but ... ummm ... I think the instrument was actually the theremin, named after the inventor, Leo Theremin. (I really am beginning to sound pedantic... eeesh!) Actually, though I've not seen it, there was a documentary on Prof. Theremin and the invention of his instrument, as I recall, as well... 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just go hide in the corner for a while.....


----------



## DXTR (Jul 7, 2007)

*Anyone remember this movie, it got laser fences*

I am looking for the name of this movie I saw when I was a kid.

The plot is something along these lines. We follow the crewof a spaceship sent to planet where at least two expeditions have gone missing. When the crew arrives at this dusty planet they find their spaceships intact. They locate their base and discover that no one is there. It seems to be abandoned, and yet they find traces of a fight. The crew sets up a number of laser fences to war off any possible danger. It turns out that the former crews where whiped out by stone like creatures who comes alive when someone bleeds on the ground. Then they discover that the laserfences do not keep the creatures out, at first they are just reluctant to cross the laser fences, but eventually they cross them, leaving the crewto fight their way back to their ship, two of the crewmembers end up on a hill back to back with their laser guns as a sort of Custers last stand.
This is how I remembered the movie plot. It might not have happened this way as it was aired on danish television almost 25 years ago. I believe the movie is british (??) and from the 70's or early 80's. Someone suggested that it could be an episode of Space 1999, but I am pretty sure that this is not the case, as I recall it as a full length feature movie. But I could be wrong.

Anyone?

Regards
DXTR


----------



## areader (Jul 7, 2007)

*Re: Anyone remember this movie, it got laser fences*

Forbidden Planet? Forbidden Planet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## DXTR (Jul 7, 2007)

*Re: Anyone remember this movie, it got laser fences*

ahh I found it myself, it is called The Killings at outpost Zeta"


----------

