ALL SCI-FI

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Robby with Louie [from Silent Running (Universal 1972)] as seen at the end of the Daicon IV opening anime:


_________________
Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Bud Brewster]

_____________________________________

If you're wondering what threads on other message boards the MULTI-BOARD ALPHABETICAL INDEX has for Forbidden Planet, here's the ones I've found.

Impressive, huh?
_____________________________________

* Forbidden Planet (1956)

Forbidden Planet (1956) @ SFMB

Forbidden Planet (1956) @ All Sci-Fi

Cinefantastique double issue — Forbidden Planet (1956) @ All Sci-Fi

Forbidden Planet (1956) @ Alien Soup

FORBIDDEN PLANET Behind the Scenes! @ Nautilus Submarine

Forbidden Planet Fun @ Nautilus Submarine

The Gizmo - Forbidden Planet's mystery prop! @ Nautilus Submarine

Forbidden Planet C-57D and Diorama build @ Nautilus Submarine

My C-57D in AFM #57 @ Nautilus Submarine

DELUXE C-57D BUILD @ Nautilus Submarine

Forbidden Planet @ CHFB

Forbidden Planet of Hercules @ CHFB

How Many Robby The Robot Suits? @ CHFB

The Complete Film Works of Robby T. Robot @ CHFB

Robby's performance - The Thin Man vs FP @ CHFB
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Regarding the mural in Dr. Morbius' study i was always bothered that it was so washed out and blurry. I contacted an astronomer at Mt. Palomar observatory and finally got an explanation. The picture is of the Milky Way looking towards the center of the galaxy and was taken at the Mt. Wilson observatory in 1938. She sent me this color replacement.



Also this might explain the difference of screen size comparisons:



Top: CinemaScope 55 - 2.55:1 [Forbidden Planet and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea]

Standard CinemaScope - 2.35:1 [Most films of the 1950s, particulaly those from 20th Century-Fox]

Modern TV screen - 16:9 [equivalent to 1.78:1]

Ols analog TV screens - 4:3 [Equivalent to 1.33:1]
_________________
Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Butch, you may have been misinformed.

The picture of the stars you posted doesn't look much like the one in Morbius' study, and it certainly doesn't seem less "washed out and blurry" than the one in the movie.









I also learned that the 200" telescope at the Mt. Palomar observatory first went into operation in 1948 —

[orzel-w]

[Bud Brewster]

[orzel-w]

But what does Mt. Palomar not starting up until 1948 have to do with challenging the claim of a photo made at Mt. Wilson? Go back and read what Butch said the Palomar astronomer told him.
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------

[Bud Brewster]

[Gord Green]

On the old board there was a post with the actual picture that was used....and no Butch, that was NOT the one used. Unfortunatly, my copy is on my old defunct hard drive.

These are a couple of the better stills from the film :







And you can clearly see that there is little resemblance to the one you showed above.

I ran the data through my RB-83 and he confirmed it!





_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Gord Green]

ALTHOUGH......This section of Butch's picture after color enhancement and sharpening does bear some resemblance to the one in Morbius's study.


_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Despite the fact that I think the Cinefantastique article is extremely well researched, I must admit that the mural behind Morbius looks more like a painting than an actual photo of a star field.

After all, this movie had scads of artists at their disposal, and all they needed for the mural was something that looked sufficiently "celestial".

And consider the fact that in all the jpegs we've posted of Morbius' study, the mural hasn't shown a bit of color.

However, I found this picture at a site called Palomar Skies.



Here's what it says about it.
______________________________________

The image was taken using the 200-inch Hale Telescope at prime focus and it is remarkable that this was the world's best in 1961 (when it was copyrighted by Caltech). Of course pictures like this one were shot on glass photographic plates or, eventually, color film.
______________________________________

The mural in Morbius' study seems too colorless to be a photo from Mt. Palomar, and the black areas are conspicuously lacking in the stars. In photos like the one above there are always plenty of stars that are actually between the camera and the celestial object featured in the photo.

In the mural, most of the stars are grouped in the light areas. And these areas have a stylized pattern, sort of like a woman's hair in a breeze.



Look carefully at the painted background in this shot of the C-57-D. Unlike the mural, there are plenty of stars in the black areas —





— but notice how the wispy nebulae in the lower left have those wavy brushstrokes similar to the patterns in the alleged "photo of the Milky Way".





Gentlemen, compare the picture I created of Morbius in his study with an actual photo of the Milky Way —





— to the mural we see in the movie, with all that artistic stylization, not mention the way most of the stars are grouped inside the bright area . . . whereas the nebula in the actual picture above is the darker area!



_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Bud, in the 50's almost ALL star pictures were done only in black & white. Color reproductions didn't really come in until the later 60's, although there were some colorized versions earlier.
_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Well, okay, the lack of color wasn't my best argument, but the more I look at the mural after doing the fake picture with Morbius in front of an actual photo of the Milky Way, the more it looks like a rather stylized (and unrealistic) painting.

For example, we know the space backgrounds for the C-57-D shots were paintings, and therefore the cropped section below is by the artists who would have done the mural . . . . if it was a painting, too.







Here's two other examples. Notice the nebulae and stars at the bottom of this shot. Compare them to the nebula in the mural.







Notice the similarities between the two painting styles in each of the examples:

~ The large black areas with no stars

~ The large, bright stars outside the nebula

~ The concentration of small stars inside the nebula

~ The wavy shapes of the nebula gas itself

What do you think, Gord? Is it real or is it Memorex?
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

You guys are reading a lot into what Butch posted. I think you're mixing your own analysis into it and coming up with claims he and the astronomer didn't make. I'll break it down when I return from Starbux.
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------

[Bud Brewster]

_________________________________

I'm not sure what you think we're misunderstanding, Wayne. What is there to "break down"?