FORBIDDEN PLANET

* * * ½

STARRING: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Earl Holliman

1956, 98 Minutes, Directed by: Fred McLeod Wilcox

Description: 1956 pop adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Walter Pidgeon is the Prospero figure, presiding over a paradisiacal world with his lovely young daughter and their servile droid. When the crew of a spaceship lands on the planet, they become aware of a sinister invisible force that threatens to destroy them. — Amazon.com

Ambitious 1950s movie that is basically a sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Some of the special effects (revolutionary for its time) may look tacky by today's standards but its intelligent storyline makes up for it. (The Star Trek television series' concept would later on borrow liberally from this movie.)

And then there's the bonus of the beautiful Anne Francis gallavanting about in a swimming pool and a classic robot called Robbie.

Don't be put off by the Shakespeare reference. It isn't anywhere as heavy and cerebral as that would make it seem. This is a very likeable movie . . .
 

• Read a review of Forbidden Planet on DVD (Two-Disc 50th Anniversary Special Edition) Forbidden Planet on DVD (Two-Disc 50th Anniversary Special Edition)

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