Forbidden Planet (1956)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Fred M. Wilcox

Writers:

Cyril Hume (screenplay)
Irving Block (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 March 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

IT'S OUT OF THIS WORLD! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Monster | Philologist | Space | Genius

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Walter Pidgeon	...	Dr. Edward Morbius
Anne Francis	...	Altaira 'Alta' Morbius
Leslie Nielsen	...	Commander J. J. Adams
Warren Stevens	...	Lt. 'Doc' Ostrow M.D.
Jack Kelly	...	Lt. Jerry Farman
Richard Anderson	...	Chief Quinn
Earl Holliman	...	Cook
Robby the Robot	...	Himself
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
Richard Grant	...	Crewman Silvers
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Best	...	Crewman (uncredited)
William Boyett	...	Crewman (uncredited)
Frankie Darro	...	Robby the Robot (uncredited)
Marvin Miller	...	Robby the Robot (voice) (uncredited)
Les Tremayne	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred M. Wilcox		(as Fred McLeod Wilcox)

Writing credits
Cyril Hume		(screenplay)
Irving Block		(story) and
Allen Adler		(story)
William Shakespeare		(play "The Tempest") uncredited

Produced by
Nicholas Nayfack	....	producer

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey

Film Editing by
Ferris Webster

Production Design by
Irving Block		(uncredited)
Mentor Huebner		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Arthur Lonergan

Set Decoration by
Hugh Hunt
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett		(costumes: men)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Rhein	....	assistant director

Art Department
A.D. Flowers	....	set dresser: trees (uncredited)
Mentor Huebner	....	production illustrator and storyboards (uncredited)
Arthur Lonergan	....	designer: Morbius house and Krell lab (uncredited)
Glen Robinson	....	special prop designer and builder: ray guns, accessories (uncredited)

Sound Department
Wesley C. Miller	....	recording supervisor (as Dr. Wesley C. Miller)

Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	special effects
Joshua Meador	....	special effects
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects
Irving G. Ries	....	special effects
Doug Hubbard	....	special effects (uncredited)
Robert Kinoshita	....	robot builder (uncredited)
Glen Robinson	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Franklyn Soldo	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bob Abrams	....	animation effects (uncredited)
Joe Alves	....	assistant effects illustrator (uncredited)
Max Fabian	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)
Howard Fisher	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Henri Hillinck	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Bob Trochim	....	animator (uncredited)
Matthew Yuricich	....	matte painting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Helen Rose	....	costumes: Anne Francis

Editorial Department
Charles K. Hagedon	....	color consultant

Music Department
Bebe Barron	....	composer: electronic tonalities
Louis Barron	....	composer: electronic tonalities

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (network premiere) (pan/scan)
• Criterion Collection, The (1989) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Turner Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print Panavision)

Other Companies

• Walt Disney Productions  Joshua Meador through courtesy of
• GNP Crescendo Records  soundtrack (1995)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (as Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:Approved (certificate #17605) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | UK:U | Argentina:Atp | West Germany:12

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The Spaceship C57D, models and full-size prop was actually used in seven episodes of "The Twilight Zone" (1959). The list is as follows by season, "Third from the Sun", "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", "The Invaders", "To Serve Man", "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby", "Death Ship" and "On Thursday We Leave for Home". Robby's vehicle does appear in one episode. In "The Rip Van Winkle Caper", at the end when the final surviving gold thief is dying, a futuristic car stops and he begs for water. This is Robby's vehicle. The crew's outfits were used in a number of episodes, not to mention also in The Time Machine (1960) along with some props. The flickering force-field fence-posts appeared in Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961) and were last seen being placed at the bottom of the ocean in Around the World Under the Sea (1966/I).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As the vehicle driven by the robot first drives up to the residence, there is a tow cable visible in the foreground, partially obscured by the bushes. This cable is most visible behind the vehicle as it leaves the scene.

Quotes:

Doc Ostrow: You ought to see my new mind... it's up there in lights...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Firewall (2006)

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.