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Robby the Robot
(from 'Forbidden Planet')
Robby is - arguably - the most famous film robot of all time.
He first appeared on screen in
Forbidden
Planet (1956), which is essentially a retelling of Shakespeare's
The Tempest, with Dr. Morbius as Prospero, Morbius's daughter
Altaira as Miranda, and Robby taking the role of the sprite,
Ariel.
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There seems to be much confusion in reference books and on the web as to
the 'proper' name for this robot. Almost half of the books/sites I've reviewed
use "Robbie" instead of "Robby". Although I could find no real 'proof' on
the MGM website, the original movie posters for Forbidden Planet refer to
"Robby"... that's good enough for me ! |
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About Robby |
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Robby is 7 feet 2 inches tall, and the costume weighs just under 100 pounds. |
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Robby was designed by Robert Kinoshita, based on concepts from MGM's
art-directors A. Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie and Arthur Longrun, and from writer
Irving Block. |
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Officially, MGM state that Robby cost over $125,000 to build, although the
film's co-star, Ann Francis (Altaira), insists that it actually cost over
$1 million ! |
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The Lighter Side |
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Despite a fairly forbidding (?) appearance, Robby provided most of the humorous
interludes in the film:
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When summoned by Altaira, Robby apologizes for his tardiness by saying
"Sorry miss, I was giving myself an oil-job." |
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The commander of the visiting spaceship remarks "Nice climate you have
here. High oxygen content." To which Robby replies: "I rarely use
it myself, sir. It promotes rust." |
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In once scene, the spaceship's 'good ol' southern boy' cook, Cookie, has
his treasured bottle of Bourbon snatched by Robby, who pours it inside his
'analyzer'. Cookie cheers up when Robby announces that he can replicate the
liquor, even more so when Robby asks "Will sixty gallons be sufficient
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