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 | Robot | Widower | Subconscious

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		(director of photography)

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

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:

In preparing this film for production, MGM borrowed a print of This Island Earth (1955) from Universal-International.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As Morbius shows the Commander and Doctor around the Krell underground complex, sometimes they cast shadows on the ground and sometimes they do not. Also at one point their reflections can be seen in puddles of (rain)water lying on the surface on which they are walking.

Quotes:

Doc Ostrow: Morbius was too close to the problem. The Krell had completed their project. Big machine. No instrumentalities. True creation.
Commander John J. Adams: Come on, Doc, let's have it.
Doc Ostrow: But the Krell forgot one thing.
Commander John J. Adams: Yes, what?
Doc Ostrow: Monsters, John. Monsters from the Id.
Commander John J. Adams: The Id? What's that? Talk, Doc!
[Doc slumps and dies]
Commander John J. Adams: Doc?
Commander John J. Adams: [sadly] Oh, Doc. Doc.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mork & Mindy: Dr. Morkenstein (#2.5)" (1979)

Brilliant: Undiluted Pulp Science Fiction on the big screen

This is the Roman Empire of Science Fiction films. All films before lead into it, and all films since flow out of it. It captures the romance, the spirit, and the nifty look of 1950's pulp science fiction. This is one science fiction movie with a theme, not just eye candy. No matter how high humanity climbs on the evolutionary scale, no matter how advanced our technology becomes, we must never forget the primal instincts of our darker nature.

This film is a masterpiece.