Interview with Earl Holliman
How did Fred McLeod Wilcox convince you to do Forbidden Planet?
“He had a lot to do with it. [He’s a] very nice guy. I had done the picture Tennessee Champ he’d done prior to this film. I played a punch-drunk prize fighter and every time you saw me, I wore a zoot suit and cap. Every time you saw me, there was a little baby harmonica which I played in my mouth. Anyway, It was a wonderful part. Really, an interesting kind of part. Anybody could have played it. But inside it, when they saw the preview and the character got all the cards, he decided he had to have me in the next movie - and this was the next movie.
They sent a script to me, I had read it, and I thought, ‘There’s no way I can play this part.’ I felt I was wrong for it. I thought I was too young for it and I didn’t know what the hell to do with it. I turned it down. And at that time it was very hard to get your money out. I think I was making 4 or 500 dollars a week shooting when I shot. I think they gave me a $100 raise and that was so terrific, I said okay.”
Do you have a lot of catching up to do with Robbie?
“Robbie and I, yes, sure. I’m trying to refresh his memory because we’d get so drunk together it was hard to remember. We’d forget what was going on. No, Robbie was a funny guy.”
When you look back, would you play any scenes differently?
“I gotta tell you, working with Robbie was not easy. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do because Robbie couldn’t do anything. He moved around but every time I had to climb. There was a very nice elderly lady, script clerk, script supervisor, and it was like she wasn’t even there. I guess she had other things on her mind. I’d say my line and then I’d get a [cheep]. I wouldn’t get Robbie and she’s talking. It really was tough. It really was tough to make those things come alive.”
Did you see anything surprising on the DVD?
“Apparently there’s quite a bit of outtakes and extra footage, stuff that was not used. At one point, the last scene in the movie, we were all gathered together while Altira, the planet, is blowing up with her father on it. They were together and I come in with a wedding cake. Everybody’s laughing and the planet’s blowing up and her father’s being blown to bits, so they took that out.”
Are you still a jokester?
“That wasn’t a joke. That was in the script. That’s what they had me doing, bringing in a wedding cake as the topper. I think when they saw it, they realized, ‘My God, we’re killing her father. You’re blowing up the planet and we’re going to all turn around and have wedding cake.’ So it didn’t make a lot of sense.”
Do you still watch sci-fi movies?
“Not really, not really. Twilight Zone, I watch that sometimes. I did the first one ever made. I did the pilot for Twilight Zone called Where Is Everybody?. One guy wandering around a town all by himself. He’s an astronaut.”
Interview with Warren Stevens
Are you sensitive about what Star Trek borrowed from Forbidden Planet?
“What’s Star Trek? I’ve always felt that this picture…laid the groundwork for Star Trek. I’m glad we were able to do something like that. Star Trek is going on and on and so is Forbidden Planet. I’m very grateful for all of that.”
How was it to work with the special effects on this film?
“Well, it’s certainly different from doing a Western. We’d point these plastic pistols and there’s nothing there, so it’s like talking to a carrot. You had to talk to the carrot. [Nothing] answers you back. We had a lot of fun. We had to manufacture it all and we didn’t know what was going to happen until we saw it in the picture. I did a lot of science fiction, not on purpose. It just happened. Work is work.”
What’s your opinion of a possible remake of Forbidden Planet?
“If they did a retake, the plot would be the same but imagine all the new discoveries, scientific discoveries they would have to incorporate now that they’ve discovered since. They’d have to put in all that.”
What did you think of the metaphysical concepts of the film?
“To present a film like this which essentially was, I don't know if you get it or not, but a lost innocence. It also concerns itself with the inner monster that is in all of us. Primarily, those two things are what this film is about. To get that across in any age, ‘50s or ‘60s, is a pretty remarkable fete.”
Did the DVD include any extras that surprised you?
“I don't know, I haven’t seen it yet. I’m looking forward to it. I understand they’ve got some lost footage and stuff like that, so I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t seen any of it yet.”
Are you still a fan of sci-fi?
“I’ve never been really a fan of science fiction. It just so happens I was in a couple of them.”
What are you a fan of?
“Good drama. Good picture-making, good drama. We never seem to remember the writer. If you don’t have the writer, you’ve got nothing.”
Do you see Forbidden Planet as a human drama?
“That had a pretty good theme. Shakespeare wrote it.”
Has this been a nice reunion?
“Very nice, yes. It’s great to see these guys again.”
How much have they changed?
“Strangely enough, not very much. I hope we still keep it that way for a long time.”
Page 2: Anne Francis Discusses the Costumes and More
