Anne Francis Stars in Forbidden Planet

Word came over the transom that Anne Francis – the star of Forbidden Planet and the TV Series Honey West (one of the first Private Eye TV series featuring a female lead) has passed away.

It’s a sad moment for me and all the geeks out there – the theme song from Rocky Horror has been playing a loop in my head all day especially the line “Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet”.

She didn’t do much acting in that film – frankly with those legs she didn’t need to. But there is real pain in her voice when she realizes just how inhuman her father has become and then real sorrow at his death. Not easy to pull off when you’ve been playing the innocent object of desire all film but she did it.

The spooky thing was that Turner Classic Movies (not all of our movies are classics) has broadcast Forbidden Planet just this Sunday. Watching part of it – I had some things to do – I remained impressed at how well it held up – there are painfully dated parts like the drunken cook and such (which oddly enough a cook on a flight like this wouldn’t completely out of the question – on nuclear subs and in the Antarctic where people are isolated for long stretches from the world – good food is an important morale factor. I just don’t think they would put a drunk on a space ship. ) but overall it still has that oomph and the monster is still sinister.

Leslie Nielson who left us just a little while ago was also in this film – what I like about him is that he’s not perfect, he’s a captain of a space ship a long long way from home but he doesn’t know all the answers or even make the right moves.

But back to Anne – it’s her presence in the film is important – the tug of war between Morbius and Leslie over her is important because it sets off the id monster in Morbius – plus she looks smashing in short skirts. Really smashing.

Well good bye Anne – just another reminder, if we really really needed one that time just goes on and all things end so appericate what is here now. It’s not forever.

And Oh yes.

Happy New Year.