ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Gentlemen, the mysterious device we call The Gizmo has been found!

A member of the Classic Horror Film Board replied to a post shown below which I placed.

Here's the text of my posts. His reply is further down.
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After spending many hours over the last few days converting Photobucket jegs to Imgur jpegs on All Sci-Fi — a mind-numbing process that makes me hope Photobucket CEO John Corpus will soon trip and fall into a vat of acid so that he dissolves into a bleached skeleton — I suddenly remembered our long-running discussion about The Gizmo and how many different movies and TV series we found out it had appeared in.

For the benefit of newcomers who may not be familiar with the discussion, The Gizmo is the prop shown in the background during this scene of Forbidden Planet —






— an object which captured my imagination a few years ago when it became an obsession of mine. I wanted to know if it was made specifically for Forbidden Planet or if it originated in some other manner.

The spirited discussion about this prop (which is documented on both this thread and on one at All Sci-Fi for this movie), eventually included comments from members who discovered that the prop we see in Forbidden Planet was originally seen in a late 1930s serial, Mandrake the Magician

Our research also revealed that the prop frequently appeared in other movies and TV series during the 1950s and 1960s — always in alter versions, with attachments added or subtracted from one appearance to the next!

It was prominently featured in one scene from Earth vs the Flying Saucers the same year it appeared in Forbidden Planet!







Throughout the long and distinguished career of this gorgeous prop, it has captured the imagination of sci-fi fans and inspired their visions of the future. It has demonstrated the scope of mankind's technological abilities and lured our brightest minds to reach for the stars!

The prop we fondly refer to as The Gizmo has appeared in episodes of various series like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Science Fiction Theater.







But what we never discovered . . . and what I still yearn to know . . . is just where this remarkable piece of movie memorabilia is TODAY!

What eventually happened to The Gizmo, and who now possesses this device?

All the props used in Forbidden Planet are considered valuable collectors items today, but this dazzling device has fallen into obscurity and no longer commands the attention or respect it deserves!





I want to know where The Gizmo is today!

I actually sent a Facebook message to Bill Malone — the foremost authority on the subject of Forbidden Planet — asking him about this prop. But his answer was a short message which dismissed it as probably being an old prop which MGM borrowed for the movie!

He didn't know what it was either!





So, that's where the mystery currently stands. A Hollywood treasure has been lost, and there seems to be no clues as to where it now resides.

I present this challenge to the members of All Sci-Fi. Where is The Gizmo today?

I want to know . . . and I don't think I'm alone!
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Wonder of wonders, CHFB member BoonsburgEgg left me this reply on Jul 17, 2019, but didn't find it until today!

Here's what he says.
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BoonsburgEgg

I think this is what you are looking for.

I found it rusting away at a junkyard, along with all the other classic movie and TV props in my workshop that were thrown out when the Vectrex Prop house closed. Everything was just sold as scrap and was being crushed.

Mother and I had to make quite a few trips to the west coast to save what we did. You can see a better resolution of all the props in my workshop on Boonsburg.com — just click the picture of the workshop at the top of the site, (it makes a nice screen saver if you are into that kind of stuff.

The Gizmo is sitting on top of the cabinet that is next to the SOLD sign). I found all the blinking light computer props from Twilight Zone (TOS), Outer Limits (TOS), Close Encounters (TOS), and lots of other classic stuff including Man From Uncle, etc. I also found the crystal ball from the Wizard of Oz their too and sold it and donated money to NJ charities.

Thank you for your help identifying it as coming from Mandrake — I knew it was too well made to not be a starring piece in a serial. I found all the other stuff you also found too, but the Mandrake prop was the missing one for me. If you notice in the old movies and tv shows, the neon tubes are broken, yet they still kept renting it out like that.

If you go to BoonsburgEgg on youtube you will find some vids shot inside my workshop with The Gizmo sitting on top of the cabinet too.

Thanks for your help!



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

[Pow]

Wonderful to know that the "Gizmo" has been saved and restored by a fan. It is a part of film history for one of the greatest science fiction movies ever produced.

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's BoonsburgEgg's website, which a numerous videos of the wonders in his collection.


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

[Gord Green]

Another FANTASTIC tour!

Forbidden Planet, Second Morbius Study Tour Blender, 3D Modelling


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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]

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My Lord, Mr. Green, you've done it again!

You've provided us with yet another incredible video which has enriched and broadened our vision our Forbidden Plaant so much that we feel like we've been watching an edited version of it for the last 60+ years!

The skilled artists who have expanded the designs of Morbius' study obviously have a perfect understanding of the man's genius . . . far beyond what the 96-minute feature film was able to convey to the intellects of the "average people" who watched it in 1956.

I'm confident that the "above average people" here in All Sci-Fi can appreciate what this video presents.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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One of Robby's lesser-known cameos was a nightmare which Shirley Booth had in the series Hazel, when she was worried about being replaced by automation!

When Robby comes through the door, I was afraid the ring of the left side of his head was gong to be snapped off!

____________ Robby The Robot Replaces Hazel!


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

[Maurice]

[Bud Brewster]

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Robby's brief (and potentially disastrous) cameo made me realize just how carefully all his scenes were done in Forbidden Planet.

For example, he always had plenty of room to move around — never going through tight places.

In the YouTube clip, he barely manages to get through the kitchen door. In fact, he actually bumps against the door on the right side — which is fortunate, because he actually came close to breaking off the horizontal ring on the left side!

And he only handled two objects in the movie — the blaster and the bottle of bourbon. Neither of them were a problem for his thick fingers.

Even when he hands George Baxter the breakfast tray, Robby is careful to let George take it from him before he bends forward to far, lest he fall over!

We love dear old Robby . . . but he moves around a bit like a hippopotamus!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Maurice]