For sci-fi fans the 1956 film "Forbidden Planet" was a film ahead of its time. Featuring an all-white cast (non-jewified white future, unlike Star Trek), excellent plot and script, and good special effects (for it's time), and not to mention the lovely looking Anne Francis. Much recommended.

As a matter of record, Gene Roddenberry based Star Trek on Forbidden Planet. As a side note, the actor who played the doctor in FP turned up years later as a guest star on ST. FP was even nominated for an Academy Award for its special effects, so advanced were they for that time. However, it lost out to a movie about a wandering Jew - "The Ten Commandments".

Warren Stevens as he appeared in 1956's Forbidden Planet (second from left) and then, ten years later, as a guest star on the original Star Trek series:
http://estraven.silverday.net/warren/images/fbmeet.jpg http://estraven.silverday.net/warren/images/rojankirk.jpg

On in the UK on Sunday afternoon (Channel 5) will be watching.

Thank you for reminding me of this movie, Jim Crowe. This is a childhood favorite, and it still holds up (for me,anyway). And it is always cool to see Leslie Nielsen in a serious role.

http://sfstation.members.easyspace.com/fbcol14.jpg

Great film. Loosely based upon Shakespeare's The Tempest. Certainly a sad reminder of what real sci-fi once offered. Now we have science fiction with mud's in the central role, e.g. The Chronicles of Riddick and I, Robot.

Great film. Loosely based upon Shakespeare's The Tempest. Certainly a sad reminder of what real sci-fi once offered. Now we have science fiction with mud's in the central role, e.g. The Chronicles of Riddick and I, Robot.
Yes, I remember watching Forbidden Planet as a boy when it premiered in 1956, and it made an impression upon me. However, I'd like to recommend the book, written by W.J. Stuart. It is based on the movie, but very well written and gives a loy more depth to the characters then the movie had, told from the viewpoints of Ostrow, Adams, and Morbius. As a boy, I read it dozens of times. I think it's out of print, but many libraries carry it. The author of the novel was a well-known screenwriter...he did the screenplay for Rebecca...and the characters are shown strong and free of any modern racial guilt. It's a strong film that keeps a dream-like sense of outer space, and the use of the Id as the enemy is clever. But read the book.