Forbidden Planet

Throughout the golden age of Hollywood, MGM was the studio most known for putting the “dream” in the term “dream factory. Famous for their splashy, colorful musicals, and rousing adventure pictures, MGM is also responsible for one of the classic films of the science fiction genre, which boomed in the 1950’s. Fueled by America’s “space race” with the USSR and the scary possibilities of atomic weapons, science fiction films became very popular, tapping into the public’s fear and fascination. “Forbidden Planet”, released in 1956, is regarded today as one of the smartest science fiction films of its time, thanks mostly to a dignified lead performance by Walter Pidgeon. Most of the sci fi films of the 1950’s, such as “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, involved humans coming into contact with aliens, either on Earth, or through space exploration, and the results were rarely peaceful. This ingrained equation of aliens equal bad was a trope Spielberg played with in his 1977 film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, and he can look to the films of the 1950’s for giving that film its power and emotion. “Forbidden Planet” was different, even though its plot sounds familiar (a crew is sent to investigate the disappearance of another crew some twenty years before on a small, distant planet), the film features an ingenious script, which incorporates elaborate themes of philosophy, an unconventional antagonist, and a unique setting (the distant planet, Altair-5, filled with incredible technology, wild animals, and two humans), and introduces audiences to arguably the biggest star of the film, Robby the Robot. Recently released in a sparkling two disc special edition, “Forbidden Planet” is a brainy, fascinating science fiction adventure film, that does not rely on atomic fears (a giant monster emerging from the ocean), or interplanetary suspicions (are there men on the Moon that might mean us harm?), instead telling a strong story, with decent special effects and an interesting score comprised entirely of electronic tonal sounds.

As the film begins, Commander J.J. Adams and his crew come into orbit with Altair-5, a small planet where an exploration crew of scientists had been sent to years before, but have since ceased contact. Commander Adams makes contact with the enigmatic Dr. Morbius, who claims to be the sole survivor of the previous crew and who adamantly urges Adams not to land on the planet, ominously warning them of some unspecified danger. Adams, played with a cocky sense of bravado by Leslie Nielson(!), lands anyway and with two members of his crew is escorted to the home of Dr. Morbius by an incredible robot, named Robby (a creation so beloved, the character went on to appear in additional movies and television shows, most inexplicably an episode of “The Thin Man”!). Upon arriving, Morbius introduces his daughter, Altaira, the only other living resident of the planet. Morbius tells Commander Adams of a mysterious monster that killed the entire crew after a few weeks of their inhabitance on the planet. The monster was never seen, yet it tore the other crew members limb from limb. Soon Morbius and his young daughter were all that remained, and the monster mysteriously retreated, having not returned since. The threat is still ever present though, and Morbius demonstrates the elaborate safety measures he has taken with his house (despite taking place some 1,000 years in the future, his home decor looks remarkably 1950’s), remote controlled shields cover the windows and doors, and Robby himself serves as a potentially deadly, if otherwise benevolent, guard dog. A nagging feeling that Morbius is hiding something remains with Commander Adams as he returns to his ship, specifically the mysterious monster, and the incredible Robby, who can replicate any chemical compound after a few seconds of analysis, a scientific marvel that would take centuries to innovate, yet something Morbius completed, alone, in the span of a few years. Adams is skeptical of Morbius’ story, and plans on staying for a week to properly assess the situation; his other reason being his blossoming romance with the beautiful Altaira. After their ship is ransacked one evening and two of their men killed by an unseen force, Adams returns to Morbius’ home and demands more information on the monster.

Morbius instead reveals a subterranean layer of his home, which he explains belonged to an alien race known as the Krell, who lived several thousand years before. The Krell possessed an intellect exponentially greater than that of humans, their tools for measuring the amount of brain power being used barely registers a blip when tapped into Morbius. Limited by his relatively feeble brain capacity, Morbius experimented with one of their machines and after knocking himself unconscious for several days, awoke with an IQ several hundred points higher than it was previously, a change he immediately put to use, producing Robby. Now being able to comprehend more of their writings and instruments, Morbius discovered they were on the brink of their greatest discovery before they were entirely wiped out, he guesses by the same force that killed his crew. Adams demands that the tools be brought back to Earth for analysis, but Morbius forbids it, explaining that he alone can fully decipher the mystery of the Krell and expels Adams and his men from the compound, threatening the return of the monster if they do not leave immediately. Adams returns later with the help of Altaira and tries to plug into the same machine Morbius used to increase his IQ, but his first mate does so before he can and is immediately knocked out. He briefly comes to and issues a dire warning “monsters from the id”. Adams and Morbius realize that the monster is actually coming from his own sub-conscious, the desire for more power manifesting itself as an unstoppable monster. Morbius implores Adams to escape and take his daughter with him, remaining behind to blow the planet up, destroying the Krell’s deadly technology forever. The film ends with some philosophizing by Commander Adams, which would not sound so hokey if Leslie Nielson had not gone on to star in “The Naked Gun” and “Airplane!”, yet it perfectly encompasses the film’s ambitious breadth, of exploring a menace other than nuclear powered monsters or moon men/pod people. The film was regarded as a brainy space spectacle for its day, a tag that still applies today.