Wilcox directed a handful of films in various genres for MGM during the 40s and 50s, the most successful being Lassie Come Home. But the one with the greatest lasting impact on cinema is Forbidden Planet, a sci-fi classic loosely based on Shakespeares The Tempest. Back then, despite such box office successes as War of the Worlds and The Day The Earth Stood Still, science fiction wasnt a particularly well-respected genre, and major studios were reluctant to green-light any such film which couldnt be made cheaply. With hindsight, not only is it remarkable that MGM invested a then-staggering $2 million into the project, but entrusted a director whose track record was spotty at-best (most of Wilcoxs previous films lost money). Not only that, this wasnt an alien invasion or big bug epic (both very popular in the 50s), but a deliberately-paced, thought-provoking and (for the time) cerebral sci-fi film, the kind of stuff usually only found in novels. Forbidden Planet was not a hit when first released in 1956, though its impact on the genre grew as time passed. Gene Roddenberry would later claim the film was a major influence while he was developing the original Star Trek TV series. Two of the films more pricy props, the C57-D saucer and the eternally-endearing Robby the Robot, would be reused so often in subsequent movies and TV shows that they became iconic images to sci-fi fans worldwide. Its ground-breaking visual effects - a combination of miniatures, matte paintings and animation - still look great today. Forbidden Planet is also the first film to feature an entirely-electronic music score (and synthesizers hadnt even been invented yet). Obviously, Wilcox isnt solely responsible for all this, but not bad for a guy who likely approached this film as just another MGM gig. After just one more film, he died before he was able to enjoy Forbidden Planet's legacy as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. RIP.
D.M. Anderson works and lives in Portland Oregon. He is the author of two young adult novels (Killer Cows & Shaken) and a collection of dark tales (With the Wicked). He has also published several short stories which have appeared (or will appear) in various anthologies and magazines such as 69 Flavors of Paranoia, Night Terrors, Trembles, Encounters, Implosion, Strange Fucking Stories, Perpetual Motion Machine. He documents his adventures in the dark on on his movie site, Free Kittens Movie Guide
