Forbidden Planet

Fred M Wilcox, USA 1956, 98 minutes

One of the all-time classic sci-fi movies, Forbidden Planet features many things of interest, including Leslie Nielsen in an early role before he was appearing in every spoof film ever made, some (still) very impressive special effects, and the first musical score for a film created entirely electronically.

The story is based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, but is transfered to the year 2200 ad, Commander Adams (Nielsen) and his crew land on the planet of Altair-4, which is home to only two remaining (human) inhabitants - Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis). The other inhabitants of the planet have all been killed by some invisible, unstoppable monster, which has for some reason left Morbius and Altaira unharmed. Living with them is Robby the Robot (perhaps the real star of the film), one of the legacies of the previous inhabitants of the planet. They've left amazing technologies, but no trace as to why they disappeared.

Not long after Adams and his crew turn up, the monster responsible for the deaths of the original colony raises up its head again, and there is little time to find out what it is before another rescue mission will be needed...

The `music' in Forbidden Planet is instantly noticeable. In fact, it isn't credited as music at all, but `electronic tonalities', and is something out of the ordinary - electronic beeps and whistles with an almost living quality that you'll either love or loathe. It was originally meant to be accompanied by a more traditional orchestral score, but was found to fit so well with the film that the electronic soundtrack was extended to the whole picture. This is a much bolder move than anything being done at the moment in the movie industry, with today's climate of tie-in compilation soundtrack albums. Would anyone dare to do a similar thing with a sci-fi movie today?

"An endearing winner" - Time Out

Review by Jonathan Caryl
Taken from EUFS Programme 1996-97