1950's Sci-Fi and Shakespeare

Yes, it's true. Some science fiction aficionados probably already know this. When one thinks of 1950's sci-fi, some images immediately come to mind: giant ants, giant mantises, giant grasshoppers, and, believe it or not, a giant woman. Bad make-up, bad dialog, bad comedy, and bad acting (with few exceptions), were the pillars of science fiction from this era and, admittedly, I loved it.

The producers got this gorilla costume at a discount - it was missing the head.

So what does giant, radioactive insects have to do with a 15th century playwright? Nothing. Well, almost nothing. There is one movie from the 50's, however, that stands out from the crowd and is actually a remake of a famous Shakespearean tragedy. The film is Forbidden Planet. The play is The Tempest.

First, let's look at some of the finer points of the movie:

• A very young, Leslie Nielson as the captain. I kept waiting for a joke every time he spoke.
• A Richard Anderson appearance as the doctor, who went on to play Oscar Goldman from The Six Million Dollar Man.You can see his real hair in this movie.
• Earl Holloman plays a goofy cook. He goes on to be a regular on Police Woman, where he plays a goofy cop.
• Special effects by Disney. I was reminded of Fantasia.
• Robbie the Robot. Ok, it was a guy in a bubbly suit, but he was still cool.
• It may have been an early influence to Star Trek - a military navy organization traveling through space right down to using inertial dampeners for slowing down from light speed.

The robot is portrayed as the bad guy here. Sorry, Robbie.

Some story elements of Forbidden Planet are as such: a man and daughter are marooned on an uninhabited planet where the man has powers he gained from being on the planet facilitated by an extinct, advanced alien race. The man also has a robot who does his bidding and is plagued by a mysterious invisible killer "force."

Wow. Sounds amazingly original. Before you petition Hollywood to remake this classic, let's take a look at The Tempest.

Some story elements from The Tempest are thus: a man and daughter are marooned on an uninhabited island where the man has powers he gained from being on the island facilitated by a deceased sorceress. The man also has a slave who does his bidding and is plagued by a mysterious killer.

Hmm... sounds familiar. Not that Hollywood would shy away from reusing (stealing) ideas.

All in all, the movie is considered a classic and is well worth the time to watch.. And there's even a giant in it!