A classic ’50s sci-fi film was inspired by an underrated Shakespeare play

William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” was not staged until very late in his career, in 1611. Shakespeare would only write two more plays before his death, “Henry VIII” and “The Two Noble Kinsmen.” The latter he co-wrote with John Fletcher, so some Shakespearean scholars do not count it. “The Tempest” is a strange play in many ways, mainly because it doesn’t fit neatly into Shakespeare’s most frequently visited genres. This is definitely not one of the Bard’s stories. It doesn’t end in mass death, so it’s not a tragedy. But it also doesn’t end in a mass wedding, so it’s not a comedy either. Some scholars refer to “The Tempest” and several of Shakespeare’s later plays as “romances,” in the sense that they contain embedded love stories, although they are alternately comic and tragic.

Among the novels, however, “The Tempest” is by far the most popular. It is certainly staged more frequently than plays like “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” (1608) and “Cymbeline” (1610). For those unfamiliar with the plot, “The Tempest” follows a wayward wizard named Prospero who lives on a remote island with his daughter Miranda, a ghost servant named Ariel, and an earthy wild man named Caliban. Prospero uses his magic to force the shipwreck of his sworn enemy, the usurper Antonio, in revenge. Naturally, Miranda will fall in love with a prince named Ferdinand, one of the men in Antonio’s crew, forcing Prospero to reconsider his revenge.

There have been film adaptations of “The Tempest” since 1905, and has even been transposed into the genre several times. William Wellman’s 1948 western “Yellow Sky” transported the play to the Death Valley of 1867, for example. The most famous is Fred M. Wilcox’s 1956 science fiction classic, “Forbidden Planet,” which draws many elements from “The Tempest.”

To be clear, “Forbidden Planet” is only somehow close to “The Tempest.” Screenwriter Cyril Hume is not credited for adapting Shakespeare, and comparisons to “The Tempest” come mainly from critics and fans. It’s pretty much an adaptation of “The Tempest” like “The Lion King” is from “Hamlet” and/or “Henry IV, Part I”. “Forbidden Planet” is set in the 23rd century and takes place primarily on a distant world called Altair IV. Commander Adams (Leslie Nielsen) piloted a United Planets spaceship to Altair IV to investigate the disappearance of a ship called Bellerophon, which disappeared 20 years earlier.

The commander and his crew discover that Altair IV now has only three citizens left, living in perfect isolation. There’s the mysterious Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) who lives in an artificial laboratory similar to Eden’s. There is Alta (Anne Francis), his intelligent, pretty and naive daughter. And there’s Robbie (voiced by Marvin Miller), an observant robot who is both helpful and a little intimidating. We can easily see Prospero as Dr. Morbius, Miranda as Alta, and Ariel as Robbie. There is also a Caliban-type monster on this planet, as it leaves large, oversized footprints in the desert sands outside the Commander’s saucer-shaped ship. The monster is invisible, but an electric fence will later illuminate it, revealing it to be a giant, vicious monster with fangs and claws.

Much like Prospero, Dr. Morbius is something of a misanthrope. He claims that the Bellerophon survivors were killed by an alien virus and that only he and his daughter were immune.

Alta has lived on Altair IV since she was a baby, so she doesn’t know how to react to new people visiting her world and home. She is not used to being modest and Anne Francis spends part of the film in a little diaphanous tunic. She briefly entertains the lasciviousness of Lieutenant Farman (Jack Kelly). Alta is a pretty clear analogue of Miranda. Robbie the robot, on the other hand, is only like Ariel in the sense that he is a semi-magical servant of Prospero’s character. In one amusing sequence, Robbie is secretly asked to breed copious amounts of alcohol for the thirsty and horny crew members of the United Planets.

I will not reveal the secrets of Altaïr IV, nor what Dr. Morbius hid there, because these secrets deserve to be discovered organically. “Forbidden Planet” feels epic, and not just because of its Shakespearean tendencies. The film was shot in a then still somewhat new cinemascope aspect ratio of 2.40:1, an aspect ratio that debuted in major Hollywood release three years earlier with the release of “The Robe”. Moreover, “Forbidden Planet” has a strange production designbuilding both human ships and strange, advanced sci-fi technologies with aplomb. Plus, the sound is incredible, with an atmospheric score from Bebe and Louis Barron, who used new electronic instrumentation to create all-new sounds.

“Forbidden Planet” won an Oscar for its special effects. The effects are still dazzling and convincing today; this monster is 100% terrifying. Unfortunately, the film’s screenplay, inspired by Shakespeare, was not recognized. Nowadays, “Forbidden Planet” is pretty widely accepted as a redux of “Tempest,” and sci-fi fans are discovering it all the time. Even without the Shakespearean influence, this would still be one of the best science fiction films ever made.