‘Forbidden Planet’ saucer lands at auction
After 38 years, a “lost” Hollywood artifact with a truly cosmic history has resurfaced and, no surprise, it’s headed straight for the auction block.
On Thursday, the iconic flying saucer from the 1956 MGM classic “Forbidden Planet” will be auctioned in Calabasas Hills and is expected to fetch between $80,000 and $120,000, which would be a nice payday for its owner, a North Carolina man who had the prop stored in his garage and didn’t realize its market value.
The silver saucer is 82 inches in diameter and constructed of wood, steel and fiberglass, according to the Profiles in History auction house.
The miniature was the chief prop used to create the memorable screen images of United Planets Cruiser C-57D in the landmark sci-fi film that starred Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen and Jack Kelly. The film made a major sci-fi imprint on midcentury pop culture and was an inspiration for “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry. It was also paid homage by filmmaker George Lucas, who borrowed a line of its dialogue for “Star Wars.”
The saucer ended up in the busy MGM prop department and was used for half a dozen episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” including the memorable “To Serve Man” episode. Then, around 1970, it was sold at a studio auction, but there was no record of who bought it.
“It just disappeared, essentially,” said Joseph Maddalena, owner of Profiles in History.
The saucer turned up hanging in the garage of a North Carolina man who decided recently to find out what the old model ship might be worth.
--
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
