A Forbidden Planet Krell laboratory door lock

MGM, 1956. Yellow, red, and black circular dish decorated with geometric shapes and lines, out of which juts a gray rotating handle with clear plastic tips, all of which is housed in a gray circular and asymmetrical base with two pointed plastic tips at either side of the dial. This is one of two Krell door locks featured in Forbidden Planet which were located on either side of the Krell laboratory door. Upon turning the handle, a light would pulsate on the lock and the Krell lab door would raise or lower. In the film, Walter Pidgeon (Dr. Morbius) is privy to the technologically advanced workings of the Krell, a now-extinct race that was the victim of its own intelligence. When Leslie Nielsen (Commander Adams) arrives from earth and is shown the Krell lab by Dr. Morbius, he sees that it contains highly advanced devices such as a music box (similar to a CD player), an "educator" machine capable of increasing a human's intelligence, as well as an unlimited energy source. Art director Arthur Lonergan spared no expense in creating sets that were visually enticing but which supported the storyline rather than detract from it. The design of the Krell lock is just one of many in Forbidden Planet which set the standard for future science fiction films. Accompanied by a set of xerographic blueprints of the Krell lock and its inner and outer mechanisms, and a set still from the film.
30.5 x 42.5 x 11.5 in.