Forbidden Planet
Encyclopedia
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film
directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay
by Cyril Hume
. It stars Leslie Nielsen
, Walter Pidgeon
, and Anne Francis
. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare
's The Tempest
, and its plot contains certain story analogs. Forbidden Planet was the first science fiction film that was set entirely on another planet in deep space, away from the planet Earth. It is considered one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s, a precursor of what was to come for the science fiction film genre in the decades that followed.
Forbidden Planet features special effect
s for which A. Arnold Gillespie
, Irving G. Ries, and Wesley C. Miller were nominated for an Academy Award. It was the only major award nomination the film received. Forbidden Planet features the groundbreaking use of an all-electronic music
musical score
. It also featured "Robby the Robot
", one of the first film robot
s that was more than just a mechanical "tin can" on legs; Robby displays a distinct personality and is a complete supporting character in the film.
s from the Earth. Its mission is to discover the fate of an expedition sent 20 years earlier to establish a colony on the planet. Soon after achieving orbit, the cruiser receives a radio
transmission from the surface: Dr. Edward Morbius of the Earth expedition says he needs no assistance but cautions them not to land. The starship
's captain, Commander John J. Adams, dismisses the warning, following his specific orders, and insists Morbius provide landing coordinates; Morbius reluctantly complies.
The C57-D is met by Robby the Robot
, who takes Adams, Lieutenant
Jerry Farman, and Lieutenant "Doc" Ostrow to meet Dr. Morbius. At his elegant home, Morbius explains that an unknown planetary force killed nearly all of the other members of his expedition, vaporizing their starship, the Bellerophon
, as it tried to leave the planet. Only Morbius, his wife (who died of natural causes), and their daughter Altaira survived, having chosen to stay behind on this new world they adopted. Morbius fears the crew of the C57-D will also meet the same fate. Teenaged Altaira cannot recall any man but her father; after meeting the attractive officers of the Earth ship, she becomes interested in learning about personal human relationships.
In a subsequent visit to the residence, Adams and Ostrow learn from Morbius that he has been studying the "Krell
," the ancient civilization of Altair IV who, despite being far more advanced than humanity, had all died mysteriously during a single night, some 200,000 years before – just as they had achieved their greatest triumph. Inside a still functioning Krell laboratory, Morbius shows Adams and Ostrow a device he calls a "plastic educator," capable of measuring and enhancing intellectual capacity, although its main purpose is to enable three-dimensional projection of any thought in the user's mind. Morbius explains that the captain of the Bellerophon had tried it and had been killed instantly.
When Morbius used the machine the first time he barely survived; as a result, he found his intellectual capacity had been permanently doubled. This enabled him to build Robby and the other technological marvels in his house. "Childsplay," he observes. Morbius then takes them on a tour of a vast cube-shaped underground Krell installation, 20 miles [30 km] in all directions and powered by 9,200 thermonuclear reactors. This amazing complex had been operating and maintaining itself since the extinction of the Krell, some 2000 centuries before. When asked about its purpose, Morbius only hints at some minor functions, but says it is capable of generating and functioning at practically limitless power: "the number 10 raised almost literally to the power of infinity."
Later the next night, a valuable piece of equipment in Adams's starship is sabotaged, though the posted sentries never spot the intruder. In response, Adams commands that a defensive force field
fence be set up around his ship. This defense proves to be useless, however, when whatever caused the damage returns, passes unseen and unharmed through the fence, and violently murders Chief Engineer Quinn. Later, Ostrow is confused after examining the footprints that the creature left behind, saying that it appears to violate all known evolutionary laws, "a nightmare in anyone's book."
The silent intruder returns again on the next night, and it is discovered to be invisible. Its monstrous appearance is revealed only as fiery, now bellowing outline in both the energy beams of the force field and the crew's many energy weapons directed against it in the fight that follows, both of which have no effect. Several of the ship's crew are killed by the creature, including Farman, while defending the ship. Simultaneously in a Krell laboratory, Morbius is awakened from a pitched nightmare by a scream from Altaira; at that instant, the thing in the energy beams simply vanishes.
Later, while Adams confronts Morbius at the house, Ostrow sneaks away to use the "plastic educator." His goal is to boost his intelligence and thereby solve the mystery of recent events. Like the captain of the Bellerephon, however, he is mortally injured by the process. Just before he dies, Ostrow explains to Adams that the underground installation was built to materialize and project any object that the Krell could imagine anywhere on the planet: physical creativity by mere thought. However, the Krell had forgotten one vital thing: "Monsters from the id
! Monsters from the subconscious." When confronted by Adams with these details, Morbius objects, pointing out that there are no Krell left on the planet. Adams replies that Morbius's mind – expanded by the "plastic educator" and thus able to interact with the gigantic Krell device – had created the monster that had killed the rest of his expedition 20 years earlier – after they had voted to return to the Earth; Morbius scoffs at Adams's theory.
When Altaira declares her love for Adams in defiance of her father's wishes, the invisible alien monster of Morbius' mind suddenly reappears not far from the house, coming straight for them. Robby sounds the alarm and Morbius commands him to kill it. Robby recognizes the monster as an extension of Morbius, and the only way to destroy the invisible creature would be to kill Morbius; the clash of his voiced order against the robot's programming to never harm humans shuts down Robby's circuits. The invisible creature breaks into the house and then melts its way through the nearly indestructible, thick metal doors of the Krell laboratory, where Adams, Altaira, and Morbius have now taken refuge.
Morbius finally accepts the truth: The monster is an extension of his own mind, and he tries to renounce it. When Morbius is mortally injured trying to intervene, the creature disappears permanently. While Morbius lies dying, he directs Adams to depress a vertical lever that ultimately sets the Krell complex's atomic reactors to overload. He warns them with his dying words that they must be safely away from Altair IV and in deep space within 24 hours.
From that safe distance, Adams, Altaira, Robby, and the rest of the C57-D's crew witness on the ship's viewplate the destruction of Altair IV as a distant bright flash of light that quickly fades. As Adams voices a quiet requiem
for Morbius to Altaira, the starship begins its long return journey to Earth.
in 1952 was titled Fatal Planet. The later screenplay
by Cyril Hume
renamed the film Forbidden Planet, because this was believed to have more box-office appeal. Block and Adler's drama took place in the year 1976 on the planet Mercury
. An expedition headed by John Grant was sent to the planet to retrieve Dr. Adams and his daughter Dorianne, who have been stranded there for twenty years. From then on, its plot is roughly the same as that of the final film, though Grant is able to rescue both Adams and his daughter and escape the invisible monster stalking them.
The film set
s were constructed at a Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) sound stage
on its Culver City film lot, and they were designed by Cedric Gibbons
and Arthur Longeran. This film was shot entirely inside studios, without any genuine outdoor scenes. All of its "outdoor" scenes were simply simulated with sets, visual effects, and matte painting
s.
A full-size mock-up of about three-quarters of the C57-D was built to suggest its full width of 170 ft (51 m). This simulated 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 Culver City sound stage
.
Forbidden Planet is the first film in which humans are depicted traveling in a starship
of their own construction.
Later on, C57-D models, special effects, and the full size set were reused in several different episodes of the television series The Twilight Zone
, which were filmed by CBS
at the same MGM studio location.
At a cost of about $125,000, Robby the Robot
was very expensive for a single film prop at the time. Both the electrically controlled passenger vehicle driven by Robby and the tractor-crane truck off-loaded from the C57-D starship were also constructed specially for this film. Robby later starred in the film The Invisible Boy
, and appeared in many following TV series and films. Like the C57-D, Robby (and his vehicle) appeared in various episodes of The Twilight Zone, usually slightly modified for each appearance.
The animated sequences
of Forbidden Planet, especially the attack of the "Id Monster", were created by the veteran animator Joshua Meador
, who was loaned out to MGM by Walt Disney Pictures
. 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. The bellowing, now visible Id monster, caught in the crewman's high-energy beams during the attack, is also a visual pun
on MGM's famous roaring mascot Leo the Lion
, seen at the very beginning of all the studio's films of the era.
and Metrocolor
, and with stereophonic sound
in some cinemas (either by the magnetic or Perspecta
processes). The premiere of Forbidden Planet in Hollywood was at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
, and Robby the Robot was on display in the lobby. Forbidden Planet ran every day at Grauman's Theater through the following September.
Forbidden Planet was re-released in film theaters during 1972 as one of the "Kiddie Matinee" features of MGM, with about six minutes of film footage cut to ensure that it received a "G" rating from the Motion Picture Association of America
. Video releases feature the "G" rating; however, they are all uncut.
format on MGM VHS and Betamax Video tapes in 1982, then was re-issued again by MGM/UA on widescreen VHS for the film's 40th anniversary in 1996. The film was also released on laser disc the same year by MGM/UA and later in its original CinemaScope
widescreen format from The Criterion Collection
. The Warner Bros.
company next released it on DVD
in 1999. (MGM's catalog of films had been sold to AOL-Time Warner by Turner Entertainment
and MGM/UA in 1998. Their version came with both the standard and original widescreen format on the same disc.)
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 movie poster for its 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" and a documentary Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, The 1950s and Us. Also included were miniature lobby cards and a 8 cm (3-inch) toy replica of Robby the Robot. This was quickly followed by the release of the Forbidden Planet 50th Anniversary edition in both standard DVD and HD DVD packaging. Both 50th anniversary formats were mastered by Warner Bros.–MGM techs from a fully restored, digital transfer of the film. A Blu-ray Disc
edition of Forbidden Planet was released on September 7, 2010.
and mass-market paperback
by W. J. Stuart (the mystery novelist Philip MacDonald
writing under the pseudonym), which chapters the novel into separate POV
narrations by Dr. Ostrow, Commander Adams, and Dr. Morbius. The novel delves further into the mysteries of the vanished Krell and Morbius's relationship to them. In the novel, he repeatedly exposes himself to the Krell 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's downfall, as it had for the extinct Krell. While not stated explicitly in the film (although the basis of a deleted scene found on the film's 50th anniversary DVD), 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 tameable only by a virgin.
The novel also clarifies an issue only hinted at in the film. When Dr. Ostrow dissects one of the Earth type animals, he discovers that its internal structure is altogether unlike that of any real animal. The tiger, the deer, the monkey are all conscious creations by Dr Morbius and only outwardly resemble these creatures. Since the Krell's Great Machine can project matter "in any form", it can create life. The Krells' destruction was, in part, punishment for appropriating the powers of God. This is why Commander Adams says in his closing speech "...we are, after all, not God".
Anthony Boucher
dismissed the novelization as "an abysmally banal job of hackwork."
score, credited as "electronic tonalities" – partly to avoid having to pay any of the film industry music guild fees – was composed by Louis and Bebe Barron
. MGM producer Dore Schary
discovered the couple quite by chance at a beatnik
nightclub in Greenwich Village
while on a family Christmas visit to New York City
; Schary hired them on the spot to compose his film's musical score. While the theremin
(which was not used in Forbidden Planet) had been used on the soundtrack of Alfred Hitchcock
's 1945 film Spellbound
, the Barron's electronic composition is credited with being the first completely electronic
film score; their soundtrack preceded the invention of the Moog synthesizer
by eight years (1964).
Using ideas and procedures from the book, Cybernetics
: Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (1948) by the mathematician
and electrical engineer Norbert Wiener
, Louis Barron constructed his own electronic circuits that he used to generate the score's "bleeps, blurps, whirs, whines, throbs, hums, and screeches". Most of these sounds were generated using an electronic circuit called a "ring modulator". After recording the basic sounds, the Barrons further manipulated the sounds by adding other effects, such as reverberation and delay, and reversing or changing the speeds of certain sounds.
Since Louis and Bebe Barron did not belong to the Musicians Union, their work could not be considered for an Academy Award – in either the "soundtrack" or the "sound effects" categories. MGM declined to publish a soundtrack album at the same time that Forbidden Planet was released. However, film composer and conductor David Rose
later published a 7" (18 cm) single
of his original main title theme that he had recorded at the MGM Studios in Culver City during March of 1956. His main title theme had been discarded when Rose, who had originally been hired to compose the musical score in 1955, was discharged from the project by Dore Schary sometime between Christmas 1955 and New Year’s Day.
The Barrons finally released their soundtrack in 1976 on a vinyl LP
album
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 was premiered at MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention
, held in Kansas City, MO 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 there. They also introduced the first of three packed-house screenings that showed an MGM 35mm fine grain vault print in original CinemaScope and sterophonic sound. A decade later, their soundtrack was released on a music CD in 1986 for the film's 30th Anniversary, with a six-page color booklet containing images from Forbidden Planet, plus liner notes from the composers, Louis and Bebe Barron, and Bill Malone. The soundtrack is also available on disc one of the album Forbidden Planet Explored
.
, Star Trek Creator, notes that Forbidden Planet was one of the inspirations for the series Star Trek
. The Doctor Who
story Planet of Evil
was consciously based partly on Forbidden Planet.
The musical Return to the Forbidden Planet
was inspired and loosely based on Forbidden Planet and won the Olivier Award for best musical of 1989/90.
A scene from the science fiction television series Babylon 5
, set on the Epsilon III Great Machine bridge, strongly resembles the Krell 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 Great Machine was a deliberate reference to their Epsilon III homage.
The film is named alongside several other science-fiction cult films in the opening song of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
.
Lists.
had developed a remake with James Cameron
, Nelson Gidding
and Stirling Silliphant
involved at different points. 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
will produce. 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 reimagining", and "not exactly a prequel". His vision for the film will 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. As of the fall of 2011, no more information had been released about a possible Forbidden Planet remake, leading to suspicion that Straczynski's and Silver's project had gone into industry limbo
.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Cyril Hume
Cyril Hume
Cyril Hume was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 29 films between 1924 and 1966.He was born in New York, New York and died in Palos Verdes, California.-Selected filmography:* The Invisible Boy...
. It stars Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
, and Anne Francis
Anne Francis
Anne Lloyd Francis was an American actress, best known for her role in the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet , and as the female private detective in the television series Honey West . She won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy award for her role in Honey West...
. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
, and its plot contains certain story analogs. Forbidden Planet was the first science fiction film that was set entirely on another planet in deep space, away from the planet Earth. It is considered one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s, a precursor of what was to come for the science fiction film genre in the decades that followed.
Forbidden Planet features special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s for which A. Arnold Gillespie
A. Arnold Gillespie
Albert Arnold Gillespie was an American cinema special effects artist.-Early years:Gillespie joined MGM as a set designer in 1925, a year after it was founded. He was educated at Columbia University and the Arts Students League. His first project was the silent film Ben-Hur, released that same year...
, Irving G. Ries, and Wesley C. Miller were nominated for an Academy Award. It was the only major award nomination the film received. Forbidden Planet features the groundbreaking use of an all-electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
musical score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
. It also featured "Robby the Robot
Robby the Robot
Robby the Robot is a fictional character who has made a number of appearances in science fiction movies and television programs after his first appearance in the 1956 MGM science fiction film Forbidden Planet.-Overview:...
", one of the first film robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s that was more than just a mechanical "tin can" on legs; Robby displays a distinct personality and is a complete supporting character in the film.
Plot synopsis
Early in the 23rd century, the United Planets Cruiser C57-D has been sent to the planet Altair IV, 16 light-yearLight-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s from the Earth. Its mission is to discover the fate of an expedition sent 20 years earlier to establish a colony on the planet. Soon after achieving orbit, the cruiser receives a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
transmission from the surface: Dr. Edward Morbius of the Earth expedition says he needs no assistance but cautions them not to land. The starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
's captain, Commander John J. Adams, dismisses the warning, following his specific orders, and insists Morbius provide landing coordinates; Morbius reluctantly complies.
The C57-D is met by Robby the Robot
Robby the Robot
Robby the Robot is a fictional character who has made a number of appearances in science fiction movies and television programs after his first appearance in the 1956 MGM science fiction film Forbidden Planet.-Overview:...
, who takes Adams, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Jerry Farman, and Lieutenant "Doc" Ostrow to meet Dr. Morbius. At his elegant home, Morbius explains that an unknown planetary force killed nearly all of the other members of his expedition, vaporizing their starship, the Bellerophon
Bellerophon
Bellerophon or Bellerophontes is a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside of Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his greatest feat was killing the Chimera, a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a...
, as it tried to leave the planet. Only Morbius, his wife (who died of natural causes), and their daughter Altaira survived, having chosen to stay behind on this new world they adopted. Morbius fears the crew of the C57-D will also meet the same fate. Teenaged Altaira cannot recall any man but her father; after meeting the attractive officers of the Earth ship, she becomes interested in learning about personal human relationships.
In a subsequent visit to the residence, Adams and Ostrow learn from Morbius that he has been studying the "Krell
Krell
In the classic 1956 science fiction film, "Forbidden Planet", the extinct race of advanced beings of the planet Altair IV are known as the "Krell"...
," the ancient civilization of Altair IV who, despite being far more advanced than humanity, had all died mysteriously during a single night, some 200,000 years before – just as they had achieved their greatest triumph. Inside a still functioning Krell laboratory, Morbius shows Adams and Ostrow a device he calls a "plastic educator," capable of measuring and enhancing intellectual capacity, although its main purpose is to enable three-dimensional projection of any thought in the user's mind. Morbius explains that the captain of the Bellerophon had tried it and had been killed instantly.
When Morbius used the machine the first time he barely survived; as a result, he found his intellectual capacity had been permanently doubled. This enabled him to build Robby and the other technological marvels in his house. "Childsplay," he observes. Morbius then takes them on a tour of a vast cube-shaped underground Krell installation, 20 miles [30 km] in all directions and powered by 9,200 thermonuclear reactors. This amazing complex had been operating and maintaining itself since the extinction of the Krell, some 2000 centuries before. When asked about its purpose, Morbius only hints at some minor functions, but says it is capable of generating and functioning at practically limitless power: "the number 10 raised almost literally to the power of infinity."
Later the next night, a valuable piece of equipment in Adams's starship is sabotaged, though the posted sentries never spot the intruder. In response, Adams commands that a defensive force field
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
fence be set up around his ship. This defense proves to be useless, however, when whatever caused the damage returns, passes unseen and unharmed through the fence, and violently murders Chief Engineer Quinn. Later, Ostrow is confused after examining the footprints that the creature left behind, saying that it appears to violate all known evolutionary laws, "a nightmare in anyone's book."
The silent intruder returns again on the next night, and it is discovered to be invisible. Its monstrous appearance is revealed only as fiery, now bellowing outline in both the energy beams of the force field and the crew's many energy weapons directed against it in the fight that follows, both of which have no effect. Several of the ship's crew are killed by the creature, including Farman, while defending the ship. Simultaneously in a Krell laboratory, Morbius is awakened from a pitched nightmare by a scream from Altaira; at that instant, the thing in the energy beams simply vanishes.
Later, while Adams confronts Morbius at the house, Ostrow sneaks away to use the "plastic educator." His goal is to boost his intelligence and thereby solve the mystery of recent events. Like the captain of the Bellerephon, however, he is mortally injured by the process. Just before he dies, Ostrow explains to Adams that the underground installation was built to materialize and project any object that the Krell could imagine anywhere on the planet: physical creativity by mere thought. However, the Krell had forgotten one vital thing: "Monsters from the id
Id, ego, and super-ego
Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described...
! Monsters from the subconscious." When confronted by Adams with these details, Morbius objects, pointing out that there are no Krell left on the planet. Adams replies that Morbius's mind – expanded by the "plastic educator" and thus able to interact with the gigantic Krell device – had created the monster that had killed the rest of his expedition 20 years earlier – after they had voted to return to the Earth; Morbius scoffs at Adams's theory.
When Altaira declares her love for Adams in defiance of her father's wishes, the invisible alien monster of Morbius' mind suddenly reappears not far from the house, coming straight for them. Robby sounds the alarm and Morbius commands him to kill it. Robby recognizes the monster as an extension of Morbius, and the only way to destroy the invisible creature would be to kill Morbius; the clash of his voiced order against the robot's programming to never harm humans shuts down Robby's circuits. The invisible creature breaks into the house and then melts its way through the nearly indestructible, thick metal doors of the Krell laboratory, where Adams, Altaira, and Morbius have now taken refuge.
Morbius finally accepts the truth: The monster is an extension of his own mind, and he tries to renounce it. When Morbius is mortally injured trying to intervene, the creature disappears permanently. While Morbius lies dying, he directs Adams to depress a vertical lever that ultimately sets the Krell complex's atomic reactors to overload. He warns them with his dying words that they must be safely away from Altair IV and in deep space within 24 hours.
From that safe distance, Adams, Altaira, Robby, and the rest of the C57-D's crew witness on the ship's viewplate the destruction of Altair IV as a distant bright flash of light that quickly fades. As Adams voices a quiet requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
for Morbius to Altaira, the starship begins its long return journey to Earth.
Cast
- Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
as Dr. Edward Morbius - Anne FrancisAnne FrancisAnne Lloyd Francis was an American actress, best known for her role in the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet , and as the female private detective in the television series Honey West . She won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy award for her role in Honey West...
as Altaira "Alta" Morbius - Leslie NielsenLeslie NielsenLeslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
as Commander John J. Adams - Jack KellyJack Kelly (actor)Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of "Bart Maverick" in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962...
as Lt. Jerry Farman (the starship's pilot) - Warren StevensWarren StevensWarren Stevens is an American stage, screen, and television actor.Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens began his acting career after serving in the U.S. Army Air Force as a pilot during World War II. He trained at The Actor's Studio in New York, received notice on Broadway, and thereafter...
as Lt. "Doc" Ostrow - Richard AndersonRichard AndersonRichard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
as Lt. Quinn (the starship's engineer or "quantum mechanic") - Earl HollimanEarl Holliman-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
as "Cookie" (the ship's cook) - George WallaceGeorge D. WallaceGeorge Dewey Wallace was an American stage and screen actor.Wallace co-starred with Mary Martin in the Broadway musical Jennie and was nominated for a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for playing the male lead in New Girl in Town opposite Gwen Verdon...
as the bosun, Steve - Bob Dix as Grey
- Jimmy Thompson as Youngerford
- James DruryJames DruryJames Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
as Strong - Harry Harvey, Jr. as Randall
- Roger McGee as Lindstrom
- Peter Miller as Moran
- Morgan Jones as Nichols
- Richard Grant as Silvers
- Frankie DarroFrankie DarroFrankie Darro was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Darro...
, the stuntman inside moving Robby the Robot (uncredited) - Marvin MillerMarvin Miller (actor)Marvin Elliott Miller was an American film and voice-over actor. Possessing a deep, baritone voice, he began his career in radio in St. Louis, Missouri before becoming a Hollywood actor...
, voice of Robby the Robot (uncredited) - Les TremayneLes TremayneLes Tremayne was a radio, film, and television actor. Born Lester Tremayne in England, he moved with his family at the age four to Chicago, where he began in community theatre. He danced as a vaudeville performer and worked as amusement park barker...
as the Narrator (uncredited) - James BestJames BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
as a C-57D crewman (uncredited) - William BoyettWilliam BoyettWilliam Boyett was an American actor best known for his work as the low-key but authoritative Sergeant William 'Mac' MacDonald on the police drama Adam-12...
as a C-57D crewman (uncredited)
Production
The original screen story by Irving Block and Allen AdlerAllen Adler
Allen Adler was an American writer, also involved in theater in various ways. With Irving Block he wrote the story for the screenplay for Forbidden Planet, based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, but was a victim of the Second Red Scare and was blacklisted from the film industry.-Biography:Adler was...
in 1952 was titled Fatal Planet. The later screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Cyril Hume
Cyril Hume
Cyril Hume was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 29 films between 1924 and 1966.He was born in New York, New York and died in Palos Verdes, California.-Selected filmography:* The Invisible Boy...
renamed the film Forbidden Planet, because this was believed to have more box-office appeal. Block and Adler's drama took place in the year 1976 on the planet Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
. An expedition headed by John Grant was sent to the planet to retrieve Dr. Adams and his daughter Dorianne, who have been stranded there for twenty years. From then on, its plot is roughly the same as that of the final film, though Grant is able to rescue both Adams and his daughter and escape the invisible monster stalking them.
The film set
Set construction
Set construction is the process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of a production to create the set for a theatrical, film or television production...
s were constructed at a Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
on its Culver City film lot, and they were designed by Cedric Gibbons
Cedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
and Arthur Longeran. This film was shot entirely inside studios, without any genuine outdoor scenes. All of its "outdoor" scenes were simply simulated with sets, visual effects, and matte painting
Matte painting
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...
s.
A full-size mock-up of about three-quarters of the C57-D was built to suggest its full width of 170 ft (51 m). This simulated starship was surrounded by a huge, painted cyclorama
Cyclorama (theater)
A cyclorama is a large curtain or wall, often concave, positioned at the back of the stage area. It was popularized in the German theater of the 19th century and continues in common usage today in theaters throughout the world...
featuring the desert landscape of Altair IV. This one set took up all of the available space in one Culver City sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
.
Forbidden Planet is the first film in which humans are depicted traveling in a starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
of their own construction.
Later on, C57-D models, special effects, and the full size set were reused in several different episodes of the television series The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, which were filmed by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
at the same MGM studio location.
At a cost of about $125,000, Robby the Robot
Robby the Robot
Robby the Robot is a fictional character who has made a number of appearances in science fiction movies and television programs after his first appearance in the 1956 MGM science fiction film Forbidden Planet.-Overview:...
was very expensive for a single film prop at the time. Both the electrically controlled passenger vehicle driven by Robby and the tractor-crane truck off-loaded from the C57-D starship were also constructed specially for this film. Robby later starred in the film The Invisible Boy
The Invisible Boy
The Invisible Boy is a science fiction film, directed by Herman Hoffman, and starring Richard Eyer and Philip Abbott. It is the second film appearance of Robby the Robot, a famous science fiction character, who first appeared in Forbidden Planet , which is set in the 23rd century. Released by...
, and appeared in many following TV series and films. Like the C57-D, Robby (and his vehicle) appeared in various episodes of The Twilight Zone, usually slightly modified for each appearance.
The animated sequences
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
of Forbidden Planet, especially the attack of the "Id Monster", were created by the veteran animator Joshua Meador
Joshua Meador
Joshua Meador was an animator, special effects artist, and animation director for the Disney studio. He was a member of the team that created the special effects for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , for which the Walt Disney Studio won an Academy Award...
, who was loaned out to MGM by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
. 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
Goatee
Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
beard, suggesting its connection to Dr. Morbius, the only character with this physical feature. The bellowing, now visible Id monster, caught in the crewman's high-energy beams during the attack, is also a visual pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on MGM's famous roaring mascot Leo the Lion
Leo the Lion
Leo the Lion may refer to:* Leo the Lion , the mascot of Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer* Leo the Lion , an anime series by Osamu Tezuka; the sequel to Kimba the White Lion...
, seen at the very beginning of all the studio's films of the era.
Release
Forbidden Planet was first released on April 1, 1956, across the United States of America in CinemaScopeCinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
and Metrocolor
Metrocolor
Metrocolor is the trade name used by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for films processed at their laboratory. Virtually all of these films were actually shot on Kodak's Eastmancolor film.-External links:* at Internet Movie Database...
, and with stereophonic sound
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
in some cinemas (either by the magnetic or Perspecta
Perspecta
Perspecta was a directional motion picture sound system, invented by the laboratories at Fine Sound Inc. in 1954. As opposed to magnetic stereophonic soundtracks available at the time, its benefits were that it did not require a new sound head for the projector and thus was a cheaper...
processes). The premiere of Forbidden Planet in Hollywood was at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
, and Robby the Robot was on display in the lobby. Forbidden Planet ran every day at Grauman's Theater through the following September.
Forbidden Planet was re-released in film theaters during 1972 as one of the "Kiddie Matinee" features of MGM, with about six minutes of film footage cut to ensure that it received a "G" rating from the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
. Video releases feature the "G" rating; however, they are all uncut.
Home media
Forbidden Planet was first sold in the pan and scanPan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...
format on MGM VHS and Betamax Video tapes in 1982, then was re-issued again by MGM/UA on widescreen VHS for the film's 40th anniversary in 1996. The film was also released on laser disc the same year by MGM/UA and later in its original CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
widescreen format from The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
. The Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
company next released it on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 1999. (MGM's catalog of films had been sold to AOL-Time Warner by Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
and MGM/UA in 1998. Their version came with both the standard and original widescreen format on the same disc.)
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 movie poster for its cover. Both DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and high definition HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
formats were available in this deluxe package. Inside both premium packages were the films Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy
The Invisible Boy
The Invisible Boy is a science fiction film, directed by Herman Hoffman, and starring Richard Eyer and Philip Abbott. It is the second film appearance of Robby the Robot, a famous science fiction character, who first appeared in Forbidden Planet , which is set in the 23rd century. Released by...
, The Thin Man
The Thin Man (TV series)
The Thin Man is a half-hour weekly television series based on the mystery novel The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The 72 episodes were produced by MGM Television and shown on NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959 on Friday evening.-Overview:...
episode "Robot Client" and a documentary Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, The 1950s and Us. Also included were miniature lobby cards and a 8 cm (3-inch) toy replica of Robby the Robot. This was quickly followed by the release of the Forbidden Planet 50th Anniversary edition in both standard DVD and HD DVD packaging. Both 50th anniversary formats were mastered by Warner Bros.–MGM techs from a fully restored, digital transfer of the film. A Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
edition of Forbidden Planet was released on September 7, 2010.
Novelization
After the film was released, a novelization quickly followed in both hardcoverHardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
and mass-market paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
by W. J. Stuart (the mystery novelist Philip MacDonald
Philip MacDonald
Philip MacDonald was an English author of thrillers.-Life and work:...
writing under the pseudonym), which chapters the novel into separate POV
Point of view (literature)
The narrative mode is the set of methods the author of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical story uses to convey the plot to the audience. Narration, the process of presenting the narrative, occurs because of the narrative mode...
narrations by Dr. Ostrow, Commander Adams, and Dr. Morbius. The novel delves further into the mysteries of the vanished Krell and Morbius's relationship to them. In the novel, he repeatedly exposes himself to the Krell 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's downfall, as it had for the extinct Krell. While not stated explicitly in the film (although the basis of a deleted scene found on the film's 50th anniversary DVD), the novelization compared Altaira's ability to tame the tiger (until her sexual awakening with Commander Adams) to the medieval myth of a unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
being tameable only by a virgin.
The novel also clarifies an issue only hinted at in the film. When Dr. Ostrow dissects one of the Earth type animals, he discovers that its internal structure is altogether unlike that of any real animal. The tiger, the deer, the monkey are all conscious creations by Dr Morbius and only outwardly resemble these creatures. Since the Krell's Great Machine can project matter "in any form", it can create life. The Krells' destruction was, in part, punishment for appropriating the powers of God. This is why Commander Adams says in his closing speech "...we are, after all, not God".
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
dismissed the novelization as "an abysmally banal job of hackwork."
Soundtrack
Forbidden Planets innovative electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
score, credited as "electronic tonalities" – partly to avoid having to pay any of the film industry music guild fees – was composed by Louis and Bebe Barron
Louis and Bebe Barron
Bebe Barron and Louis Barron were two American pioneers in the field of electronic music...
. MGM producer Dore Schary
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...
discovered the couple quite by chance at a beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
nightclub in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
while on a family Christmas visit to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; Schary hired them on the spot to compose his film's musical score. While the theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
(which was not used in Forbidden Planet) had been used on the soundtrack of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1945 film Spellbound
Spellbound (1945 film)
Spellbound is a psychological mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1945. It tells the story of the new head of a mental asylum who turns out not to be what he claims. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll. It is an adaptation by Angus...
, the Barron's electronic composition is credited with being the first completely electronic
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
film score; their soundtrack preceded the invention of the Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
by eight years (1964).
Using ideas and procedures from the book, Cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
: Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (1948) by the mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and electrical engineer Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener was an American mathematician.A famous child prodigy, Wiener later became an early researcher in stochastic and noise processes, contributing work relevant to electronic engineering, electronic communication, and control systems.Wiener is regarded as the originator of cybernetics, a...
, Louis Barron constructed his own electronic circuits that he used to generate the score's "bleeps, blurps, whirs, whines, throbs, hums, and screeches". Most of these sounds were generated using an electronic circuit called a "ring modulator". After recording the basic sounds, the Barrons further manipulated the sounds by adding other effects, such as reverberation and delay, and reversing or changing the speeds of certain sounds.
Since Louis and Bebe Barron did not belong to the Musicians Union, their work could not be considered for an Academy Award – in either the "soundtrack" or the "sound effects" categories. MGM declined to publish a soundtrack album at the same time that Forbidden Planet was released. However, film composer and conductor David Rose
David Rose
David Rose was a British-born American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, and orchestra leader. His most famous compositions were "The Stripper", "Holiday for Strings", and "Calypso Melody"...
later published a 7" (18 cm) single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
of his original main title theme that he had recorded at the MGM Studios in Culver City during March of 1956. His main title theme had been discarded when Rose, who had originally been hired to compose the musical score in 1955, was discharged from the project by Dore Schary sometime between Christmas 1955 and New Year’s Day.
The Barrons finally released their soundtrack in 1976 on a vinyl LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
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 was premiered at MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention
34th World Science Fiction Convention
The 34th World Science Fiction Convention was named MidAmeriCon and was held in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 2–6 September 1976, at the historic Radisson Muehlebach Hotel and nearby Phillips House hotel. The convention committee was chaired by Ken Keller, who had also chaired the "KC in '76" bid...
, held in Kansas City, MO over the 1976 Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
weekend, as part of a 20th Anniversary celebration of Forbidden Planet held at that Worldcon
Worldcon
Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...
; the Barrons were there promoting their album's first release, signing all the copies sold there. They also introduced the first of three packed-house screenings that showed an MGM 35mm fine grain vault print in original CinemaScope and sterophonic sound. A decade later, their soundtrack was released on a music CD in 1986 for the film's 30th Anniversary, with a six-page color booklet containing images from Forbidden Planet, plus liner notes from the composers, Louis and Bebe Barron, and Bill Malone. The soundtrack is also available on disc one of the album Forbidden Planet Explored
Forbidden Planet Explored
Forbidden Planet Explored is a double album by Jack Dangers. The first CD is a live performance of the soundtrack to Forbidden Planet while the second CD is sci-fi sound effects.-Liner notes:...
.
Track list
The following is a list of compositions on the CD:- Main Titles (Overture)
- Deceleration
- Once Around Altair
- The Landing
- Flurry Of Dust – A Robot Approaches
- A Shangri-La In The Desert / Garden With Cuddly Tiger
- Graveyard – A Night With Two Moons
- "Robby, Make Me A Gown"
- An Invisible Monster Approaches
- Robby Arranges Flowers, Zaps Monkey
- Love At The Swimming Hole
- Morbius' Study
- Ancient Krell Music
- The Mind Booster – Creation Of Matter
- Krell Shuttle Ride And Power Station
- Giant Footprints In The Sand
- "Nothing Like This Claw Found In Nature!"
- Robby, The Cook, And 60 Gallons Of Booze
- Battle With The Invisible Monster
- "Come Back To Earth With Me"
- The Monster Pursues – Morbius Is Overcome
- The Homecoming
- Overture (Reprise) [this track recorded at Royce Hall, UCLA, 1964]
Influence
The biography of Gene RoddenberryGene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
, Star Trek Creator, notes that Forbidden Planet was one of the inspirations for the series Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. The Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story Planet of Evil
Planet of Evil
The plot was deliberately conceived by Philip Hinchcliffe, Robert Holmes and Louis Marks as a mixture of the film Forbidden Planet and the novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In addition, Marks had been reading science magazine articles about antimatter, and decided to write a...
was consciously based partly on Forbidden Planet.
The musical Return to the Forbidden Planet
Return to the Forbidden Planet
Return to the Forbidden Planet is a Jukebox musical by playwright Bob Carlton based on Shakespeare's The Tempest and the 1950s science fiction film Forbidden Planet ....
was inspired and loosely based on Forbidden Planet and won the Olivier Award for best musical of 1989/90.
A scene from the science fiction television series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, set on the Epsilon III Great Machine bridge, strongly resembles the Krell 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 Great Machine was a deliberate reference to their Epsilon III homage.
The film is named alongside several other science-fiction cult films in the opening song of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
.
Reception
The film appeared on two American Film InstituteAmerican Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Lists.
- AFI's 100 Years of Film ScoresAFI's 100 Years of Film ScoresPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores is a list of the top 25 film scores in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute in 2005.-The List:-External links:**...
– Nominated - AFI's 10 Top 10AFI's 10 Top 10AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
– Nominated Science Fiction Film
Remake
New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
had developed a remake with James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Nelson Gidding
Nelson Gidding
Nelson Roosevelt Gidding was an American screenwriter specializing in adaptations. A longtime collaboration with director Robert Wise began with Gidding's screenplay for I Want To Live! , which earned him an Oscar nomination...
and Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Dale Silliphant was an American screenwriter and producer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, moved to Glendale, California as a child, graduated from Hoover High School, and was educated at the University of Southern California...
involved at different points. In 2007, DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
set up the project with David Twohy
David Twohy
David Neil Twohy is an American film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Twohy was born in Los Angeles County, California...
set to direct. Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
re-acquired the rights the following year and on October 31, 2008, J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
was announced as writing a remake. Joel Silver
Joel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
will produce. Straczynski explained that the original had been his favorite science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film, and it gave Silver an idea for the new film that makes it "not a remake", "not a reimagining", and "not exactly a prequel". His vision for the film will not be retro, because when the original was made it was meant to be futuristic. Straczynski met with people working in astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, planetary geology
Planetary geology
Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites...
and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
to reinterpret the Krell back-story as a film trilogy. As of the fall of 2011, no more information had been released about a possible Forbidden Planet remake, leading to suspicion that Straczynski's and Silver's project had gone into industry limbo
Limbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
.