What is the Mystery of the "Forbidden Planet" (1956)?
What is the Mystery of the “Forbidden Planet”(1956)? Sci-fi movies from the 50s are often underwhelming and “corny.” But this one is different. The ambience, sounds, and the sombre feel was different. It tells you to sit down, stop fidgeting, and silently watch the unfolding drama. This is something big and you need to take it seriously. So, what is the mystery of the “Forbidden Planet?”
Thapson
Yep, you got that right. As soon as the credits roll, you will be transfixed. My mind stopped wandering, and was totally focused on the screen. This was serious stuff and unlike any sci-fi movie I had seen from that period. And it changed the tone of the genre forever.
Synopsis
Arrival at Altair IV
In the 23rd century, the C57D, an interplanetary cruiser captained by Commander Adam (Leslie Nielsen’s acting debut), approaches the planet Altair IV to the soundtrack of foreboding, suspenseful 1950s electronic sounds. Altair is located many light years from Earth and the task of the crew on the spacecraft is to investigate the silence from the colony of scientists who arrived here 20 years earlier.
As the ship nears the planet, the crew prepare to decelerate and commence spatial navigational maneuvers. Once it attains orbit, the cruiser is scanned by radar and discouraged by ground control. Identifying himself as Dr. Morbius, declares he is doing well and doesn’t require any assistance or visitors. They are further warned that their safety henceforth is not guaranteed. This intrigues the crew, but they land on the planet anyway.
Discovery
On the planet, the crew learns that of all the scientific party, the reclusive Dr. Morbius and his twenty-year-old daughter who hasn’t known any humans other than her father are the only survivors. They and a highly and advanced Robot, named Robby, who is programmed to not harm humans.
The crew learn of a civilization, the Krells, that existed on the planet far advanced than Earth’s. The fantastic technology they created still exists and Dr. Morbius has been trying to understand at least some of it.
The team also ends up having to contend with an invisible destructive monster wandering their landing site.
Who were the mysterious Krells, and why did they vanish? What happened to the other Earth scientists? How does the team tackle the monster? The answers in the movie are what makes this movie one of the most unique of sci-fi movies.
Primary Cast
Walter Pidgeon as Dr. Morbius
Walter Pidgeon does a stellar job as Dr. Morbius. His arrogance borders on the humorous at times, but it likely reflects what he has experienced on the planet. In any case, we aren’t aware of his personality prior to any transformation he may have undergone.
Leslie Nielsen as Commander Adams
Leslie Nielsen’s role has likely immortalized him for this role. While his acting career went through many changes, the fact that he made his movie debut with this role is noteworthy. And he does a good job having to share screen space with the likes of one as established as Walter Pidgeon.
Anne Francis as Alta Morbius
Playing the role of Dr. Morbius’ impressionable daughter, Anne Francis does an acceptable job of playing a woman who has never met men before, albeit in a quintessentially 50s style. Her interactions with the men of the starship provides some humorous content as they all vie for her attention.
My Take
The movie sees the pairing of visually stunning special effects (for that time) and a great storyline, based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” resulting in one of the most influential sci-fi films ever produced in Hollywood. Cutting edge for its time, it forms the blueprint for similar themed content for decades to come.
Discussing the special effects used in the movie is a topic unto itself. And the story remains a classically intriguing as we are still far from the stage of space travel envisioned in “Forbidden Planet.”
Overlooking some obvious idiosyncrasies of 1950s culture, the movie stands the test of time quite well. These being the liberal use of weapons, saucer like spacecraft, and attitudes which would be considered sexual stereotyping this day. Overall, the movie is a feast for the eyes and brain and one can only imagine its reception when first released.
Interesting Trivia
While the shooting of the movie was completed in 6 months, tweaking of the special effects added over an year to its making.
“Robby” the robot cost around $125,000 – making it the most expensive prop at the time.
The actor inside the Robby costume was fired and replaced for coming to the shoot drunk and almost falling and damaging the contraption.
Some sound effects used were actually malfunctioning electronic parts.
Originally the C57D starship was meant to go to Mercury, but this was changed to Altaire IV. This planet does actually exist.
Anne Francis’ costumes were considered too risqué for the time, and the movie was banned in Spain for this reason for ten years.
Until this movie, the sci-fi genre of movies was relegated to B-movie status. Forbidden Planet changed that.
Disney Studios were involved in some of the animation work for the movie.
BreadCrustCouncil / YouTube.com
Conclusion
I suspect, like me, most viewers of this movie would have watched it much later than when it was released. As such you would be prone to comparing it to the later offerings from this genre.
Hence one needs to watch “Forbidden Planet” with its release date in mind to fully appreciate it. That said, I think it is likely to remain a classic regardless until such time when we have traveled to the very furthest star systems. Until then, I’d like to think that the “truth is indeed stranger than fiction,” hence the scenario of this story may not be so far-fetched.
It is this timelessness that makes this movie so endearing and worth watching for all fans of the sci-fi genre.
I’ll be back with another movie review soon. Feel free to submit your views or critique using the link below.
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