The Most Important Sci-Fi Film Of All Time Is A 1950s Masterpiece

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 3 seconds ago

Every modern piece of science fiction owes a debt to those who have come before. It can be fascinating to look back and see things fans take for granted that originally came from the works of Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, or classic serials including Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. The 1956 movie Forbidden Planet news to be up there with the titans of science fiction considering how much it has influenced everything that’s come after it. Forbidden Planet introduced so many concepts to Hollywood sci-fi productions we take for granted today it’s hard to imagine a world without them.

Shakespeare IN SPPPPAAACCCEEE

For starters, Forbidden Planet is entirely set out in space with no scenes on Earth. That doesn’t sound like a big deal today, but in 1956, that had never been done before. The planet of Altair IV also looks better than any sci-fi landscape before thanks to massive matte backdrops. Filming used CinemaScope and Eastmancolor, making it the first sci-fi film to have color, which created the sweeping vistas and cause all of the little details, from the outfits to Robby the Robot’s nuts and bolts, to pop. 

The story of Forbidden Planet, as with so many other films to come, takes an existing story and applies a coat of sci-fi paint over the top of it. In this case, it’s Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) fills the role of Prospero, while his daughter Alta (Anne Francis) is the analogue to Miranda. The hero is Commander John Adams of Starship C-57D, played by acclaimed dramatic actor Leslie Neilsen, long before Airplane and The Naked Gun. There’s no winking to the camera on Altair IV, and while parts of the story haven’t aged well at all, it’s far beyond the B-movie schlock that other studios were putting out in the 50s. 

Robby The Robot Changed Everything

The largest cultural impact Forbidden Planet has had is Robbie the Robot. It’s never mentioned outright, but Robby is bound by Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics: A robot may not injure a human, must obey human orders unless they contradict the First Law, and must protect its own existence so long as it doesn’t work against the First or Second Law. When Robbie refuses to stop a rampaging energy monster because he can tell it was born from Morbius’ sub-conscious, that’s the First Law in action. 

Robby is the first time a robot in a Hollywood movie was given a personality. Without Robbie, we’d have no C-3PO and no “Danger Will Robinson.” Using a dry, sardonic wit, Robby paved the way for robotic characters instead of simply robotic props. His design was even different thanks to the clear dome on top that allowed us to see his inner workings while his limbs were maneuverable enough to perform gestures. 

Highly Advanced Ancient Civilizations Started Here

It’s less obvious, but Forbidden Planet also introduced to Hollywood the concept of ancient civilizations leaving behind technology we barely understand. This has been used in Star Trek, Stargate, The Fifth Element, it’s hard to think of a modern sci-fi series that doesn’t go down this road. The Krell on Altair IV are never seen, but their presence is felt through the entire second half of the film. Morbius wants to keep their technology away from Earth, Adams thinks humanity would benefit from it, and that right there is half of all sci-fi plots. 

Forbidden Planet is the Rosetta Stone of science-fiction. There’s something from it used in every series and film that’s followed. Even 70 years later, it’s still a perfectly watchable film that with a few tweaks here and there, could have been an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. If you want to see the origins of science fiction yourself, the film is currently streaming for free on Tubi and Plex.