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The W.E. "Wes" Shank Collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Memorabilia
Lot 48

Forbidden Planet

14 May 2019, 13:00 PDT
Los Angeles

Sold for US$8,825 inc. premium

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Forbidden Planet

MGM, 1956. U.S. one sheet poster, folded, framed. Directed by Fred McLeod Wilcox. Promoted as "Far and away, the most provocative and unusual adventure film you've ever seen," this thriller established its continued status as one of the most innovative science fiction films ever made when Robby the Robot, its star, sold here at Bonhams in 2017 for a record-breaking $5.375 million. As MGM's first foray into science fiction, it takes place in the 23rd century and tells the tale of a mission led by Commander Adams (Leslie Nielsen), who visits Altair IV, a planet that was the subject of an exploration 20 years earlier and from which no one returned. He discovers Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis), and a unique robot named Robby. Adams finds that Morbius holds tightly to the highly advanced technology on this planet, the power of which Morbius feels Earth is not prepared for. Along with this, Adams is confronted with a destructive unknown force that turns out to be Morbius' subconscious, otherwise known as the Id monster. While Adams contemplates these and other life-threatening dangers, he makes time for romance with Altaira, whose risqué space clothing and skinny dipping incite both his wrath and his senses! Interestingly, it has been written that Forbidden Planet is loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. Francis once attributed its success to the fact that all of the actors "made a point to take the story seriously." Oddly, the poster art depicts Robby the Robot as an evil alien; in reality, Robby plays a sympathetic character with only good intentions.
27 x 41 in.

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