Forbidden Planet

"Earthmen on a fabulous, peril-journey into outer space!"

1956 1h 38m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 1,106🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes●80Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 55,938

Science FictionAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

“Earthmen on a fabulous, peril-journey into outer space!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Walter Pidgeon
Dr. Edward Morbius
Anne Francis
Altaira Morbius
Leslie Nielsen
Commander John J. Adams
Warren Stevens
Lt. 'Doc' Ostrow
Jack Kelly
Lt. Jerry Farman
Earl Holliman
Cookie
Richard Anderson
Chief Engineer Quinn
George D. Wallace
Bosun

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fred M. Wilcox
Writers: Cyril Hume, Irving Block, Allen Adler
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.9M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

70 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fred M. Wilcox, shot by George J. Folsey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bebe Barron. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Earthmen on a fabulous, peril-journey into outer space!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0049223 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fred M. Wilcox directs. George J. Folsey behind the camera. Bebe Barron scores. Ferris Webster cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.9M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
270 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Fred M. Wilcox, shot by George J. Folsey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Bebe Barron. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Earthmen on a fabulous, peril-journey into outer space!".
8IMDB entry: tt0049223 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9The top-rated still from this film on TMDB has 7 community votes — a signal the frame composition stuck with viewers.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "flying saucer", "rescue mission", "space", "alien planet".
11Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: George J. Folsey
Original score: Bebe Barron
Editing: Ferris Webster
Production design: Mentor Huebner
Costume design: Helen Rose
Makeup / hair: William Tuttle
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,900,000
Box office: $3,250,000
Return: 171% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Forbidden Planet (1956)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 80/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 55,938 votes
MPAA: G

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 3 nominations total

Also by

Fred M. Wilcox

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-08-12
★ 9/10
Your mind refuses to face the conclusion. Forbidden Planet is directed by Fred M. Wilcox and stars Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, and Leslie Nielsen. Screenplay is written by Cyril Hume from an original story by Irving Block & Allen Adler (original title being Fatal Planet). It is a CinemaScope production out of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and is shot in Eastman Color (not Metrocolor as suggested on some sources) by cinematographer George J. Folsey. The piece features a novel musical score (credited as "electronic tonalities") by Louis & Bebe Barron. Loosely based around William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest", the story sees Nielsen and the crew of the C-57D spaceship sent to the remote planet of Altair IV. Where once was a colony of Earthlings, now the only inhabitants are Dr Morbius (Pidgeon), his daughter Altaira (Francis) and Robby, a highly sophisticated Robot that Morbius has built. It transpires from Morbius that all civilisations on Altair IV were wiped out by an unseen force, but not before he himself was able to use some of the knowledge gained from the Krell race to build Robby and the Plastic Educator. However, it's not before long something starts stalking and killing the men of the C-57D. They must get to the bottom of the mystery or they too will be wiped out. The 50s was of course the decade of the "B" movie. A decade where science fiction schlockers and creaky creature features ruled the drive in theatres. As paranoia of potential nuclear war and technology spiralling out of control gripped America, film studios grasped the opportunity to make a cash killing whilst providing an entertainment stress release courtesy of science fiction based movies. Be it giant insects, creatures or alien invaders, there were some fun - some bad - and some rather smart movies that hit the silver screen. Falling into the latter category is "Forbidden Planet", an intelligent and excellently produced movie that is one of the few that genuinely holds up well over 60 years since it was first released. To delve further would be unfair to potential newcomers to the film, but in short the piece carries interesting motifs such as sexual awakening, the power of the sub-conscious, or more appropriately the perils of a repressed conscious. Basically it's a Freudian twister, and then some. Also lifting Forbidden Planet a long way above those men in rubber suit movies of the decade is the production value of the piece. True, the budget was considerably larger than what was normally afforded the genre (almost $5 million), but every penny is up there on the screen. The CinemaScope really brings to the front the sets and visual effects, while the Eastman Color fully enhances the animations and matte paintings on offer. The whole look and feel of the movie points to it being later than 1956, so it's no surprise to see musing on the home format extras such luminaries like Spielberg, Lucas, Cameron & Scott, since Forbidden Planet has influenced as much as it has enthralled. With one of the cleverest stories in the genre, one of its best ever robots (Robby would become a star all on his own) and certainly the best spaceship landing ever, "Forbidden Planet" is a genre high point and essential viewing for those interested in said genre pieces. 9/10
Wuchak2022-06-09
★ 9/10
The 50's prototype Sci-Fi film and... Anne Francis I didn't see "Forbidden Planet" (1956) until a full four decades after it's debut. I've seen it a few more times since then and here's what strikes me: For one, although Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry is undeniably great, practically every primary aspect of Trek is present in "Forbidden Planet," which was released almost a decade before the first Star Trek pilot episode was produced (!). You name it: warp drive, Captain/First Officer/Doctor triumvirate, alluring space females, beam down/up (in a visual sense, at least), etc., it's all here in "Forbidden Planet." The flick combines Shakespeare's The Tempest with psychological concepts. The invisible id monster is horrifying when finally viewed. It looks like a serious rendition of the Tasmanian Devil. The concept of the monster is a fascinating revelation and I wasn't expecting such mature commentary in a 50's sci-fi flick. Furthermore, Dr. Morbius' elaboration on the former inhabitants of his planet, the Krell, is awe-inspiring to this day and the archaic special effects hold up well. This was the first major film to be set wholly in space and one of the first to feature an entirely electronic score (perhaps better described as a soundtrack). One thing that really blows me away every time I catch this flick is, of course, Anne Francis, who plays Altaira (or Alta for short), in her cute space outfits. I've heard some people complain about the scene where we are led to believe that Alta (Francis) is skinny-dipping, only to plainly observe that she's wearing a loose skin-colored bathing suit. Is this a cop-out on the filmmakers' part because it was 1956? Not at all because the bathing suit is clearly visible once she steps out of the water. Despite her sheltered innocent nature, let's give Alta some credit -- she was obviously playing a little coquettish joke on the Captain, to shock him and stir his mounting desire (which obviously worked). Please remember that "Forbidden Planet" is from 1956 and so understandably has dated aspects, like the sound effects, small portions of goofy dialogue, the Captain's communicator, etc. Regardless, it must be HAILED as the honored blueprint for numerous sci-fi films and TV series to come. The film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot entirely in the studio in Culver City, SoCal. GRADE: A
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-12-22
★ 2/10
A sci-fi landmark that, however, is quite dated and has aged poorly. I confess that I expected more from this film. Its impact at the time is undeniable, and it is a renowned classic of sci-fi cinema. In fact, we can almost say that it is part of the “pantheon” of founding films of this genre of cinema, as it was one of the first big-budget sci-fi films with a great public impact. The best thing this film has to give us is its almost inexhaustible creativity. It is quite evident that the team of creators had time to create and develop ideas and the studio decided to allow its specialists wide margin of maneuver. When this is combined with an appropriate budget and a serious investment in high quality special, visual and sound effects, we have what it takes for a film that is visually impactful and capable of seducing us. I can only imagine how the public at the time reacted to this film: my reaction is different. In fact, our perspective has to be different: more than sixty years have passed since the premiere and the technical and technological advances in cinema, as we know, have accustomed us to other types of visuals and effects, and thus, this film does not manages to surprise and delight in the same way it enchanted the public when it was made. This is not a defect of the film, it is almost a “defect” of the audience, which in this specific case is me. The cast has some well-known names. It was interesting to see Leslie Nielsen much younger and playing a radically different type of role than the ones I'm more used to seeing. Walter Pidgeon also does a very good job and, despite not liking the character, I recognize Anne Francis' effort and talent. And despite being a character and not an actor, Robbie is delightfully likeable. The biggest problem with this film turns out to be its age: it is a dated film that has aged quite poorly, and may have difficulty finding new audiences capable of enjoying it nowadays. But it wasn't because of the visual issues and effects that I found it so dated. It was due to the intrinsic machismo in the plot, in the conception of the characters and in the idiotic romance that is included in the film. The film is a mirror of a mentality that, for us, is unacceptable and regressive, in which women are obedient and submissive to any and all male desires. I can foresee some of my friends screaming with the force of their indignation if they had to see this film. Since I am not even remotely close to feminist causes, this is not a problem for me, but it is still a sign of how dated this film is.