Gene Roddenberry's Cinematic Influences

Since I've become seriously interested in the development and production of Star Trek, I've found a number of books and websites which claim that Gene Roddenberry publicly admitted the influence of a few science fiction films, particularly Forbidden Planet (1956), on the program's early development. Recently, for example, Mark Clark wrote in the book Star Trek FAQ (2012) that 'Roddenberry freely credited Forbidden Planet as an inspiration for Star Trek.' However, in all my research, the only direct quote from the writer/producer that I've found about the movie directly contradicts this sentiment. When asked by a reporter in the 1970s if the Star Trek concept had been heavily influenced by Forbidden Planet, Roddenberry replied:

Definitely not...the only time I ever thought of Forbidden Planet specifically when I was laying Star Trek out was when I said to myself that here were some mistakes they made in the film that I did not want to repeat. I think one of the obvious mistakes, and one that amazed me when I saw the show, although I generally liked [it], was the fact that you had a ship capable of interstellar travel and you had a cook aboard who scrubbed pots and pans by hand and I said, 'Hey, come on, it just doesn't fit.' At least they would have had a radar range oven or something if they had interstellar capacity! But, no, I cannot remember a single time during the planning of Star Trek that I looked at another show and said, 'I will borrow this.'

--Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages (1995), p.9

After doing some research, however, it's clear that Roddenberry either misremembered events or wasn't being entirely truthful in his answer. A memo from the UCLA files, which is reprinted in David Alexander's Roddenberry biography, sheds some light on the movie's influence:

To: Herb Solow
From: Gene Roddenberry
CC: [Pato] Guzman
Date: August 10, 1964
Subject: FORBIDDEN PLANET

You may recall we saw MGM’s 'FORBIDDEN PLANET' with Oscar Katz some weeks ago. I think it would be interesting for Pato Guzman to take another very hard look at the spaceship, its configurations, controls, instrumentations, etc. while we are still sketching and planning our own. Can you suggest the best way? Run the film again, or would it be ethical to get a print of the film and have our people make stills from some of the appropriate frames? This latter would be the most helpful. Please understand, we have no intention of copying either interior or exterior of that ship. But a detailed look at it again would do much to stimulate our own thinking.

Also, would much appreciate it if you could provide me with a credit list on that picture, specifically the director, art director, special effects men, etc. Thank you.

--David Alexander, Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry (1994), p.202

Looking at Forbidden Planet and 'The Menagerie' today, it's clear that, although Star Trek is far from a one to one copy of the movie (in many ways, the film's production design has more in common with the look of Lost in Space than it does with Star Trek), it certainly was influenced by the movie:

Still from Star Trek, 'The Menagerie' (1965)

Still from Forbidden Planet (1956)

Still from Star Trek, 'The Menagerie' (1965)

Planetary matte painting from Forbidden Planet (1956)

Still from Star Trek, 'The Menagerie' (1965)

Still from Forbidden Planet (1956)

Again, I don't mean to suggest that Star Trek simply copied Forbidden Planet, but Roddenberry's memo and the accompanying images certainly demonstrate that Forbidden Planet was a stronger influence on Star Trek (particularly the first pilot) than Roddenberry was willing to admit in the 1970s. Of course, there are other similarities (and I am far from the first to notice them): both Forbidden Planet and Star Trek grounded their interstellar adventures by using contemporary naval terminology, and the relationship between Commander J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) and Dr. Ostrow (Warren Stevens) is very reminiscent of the way Kirk and McCoy would interact on Star Trek.

Still from Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

Less well known than Forbidden Planet, but of similar importance to the development of Star Trek, is the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964). Unlike Forbidden Planet, which was one of a number of films Oscar Katz, Herb Solow, and Gene Roddenberry ran on the Desilu lot during the development of the series, Robinson Crusoe on Mars was still in theatres when Gene Roddenberry saw it during the development process. Roddenberry first wrote about the film in a memo to Oscar Katz on July 21, 1964, prior to the film's Los Angeles release:

I would like to bring to your attention a science fiction film titled 'Robinson Crusoe on Mars'. As yet it is unreleased in this area, but it has been given excellent reviews in Variety and the Reporter and is regarded as a sleeper. Since it is unlike many of the pictures we have been seeing, dealing directly with planetary exploration and survival, it might be a good idea to screen this one if it is possible to obtain a print.

Two weeks later, on August 3, 1964, Roddenberry had seen the film and indicated as such in a memo to Herb Solow:

As mentioned, I saw the above motion picture and considered it extraordinarily good, better than anything we have run here. Suggest we get a print when possible so that Oscar can run it for himself. Also, would like appropriate department heads and personnel here to see it. Would much appreciate your office obtaining a complete credit list for this film. Many thanks.

Still from the trailer for Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

It's easy to see why the film appealed to Roddenberry from its trailer, which opens by proclaiming, 'This film is scientifically authentic. It is only one step ahead of present reality!' Roddenberry and others would make similar audience appeals, however far-fetched, about Star Trek. Unlike Forbidden Planet, Roddenberry's interest in the complete credit list of Robinson Crusoe on Mars yielded a few important behind-the-scenes hires. The film's director, Byron Haskin, was brought on as associate producer (Haskin ended up clashing with Roddenberry, and wasn't asked back for the second pilot). The superlative Albert J. Whitlock, a matte painter for the movie, did matte paintings for 'The Menagerie' as well as several later episodes. And although Van Cleave was only considered to score the first pilot (according to a December 8, 1964 note by Gene Roddenberry), his orchestrator on Robinson Crusoe on Mars was Fred Steiner, who went on to score a number of Star Trek episodes (and an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation).

In terms of casting, both films clearly had an influence on Roddenberry and others at Desilu. In an October 14, 1964 casting memo from Gene Roddenberry to Kerwin Coughlin, Paul Mantee (the lead in Robinson Crusoe on Mars), Leslie Nielsen, and Warren Stevens were all considered for the role of Captain April (later changed to Captain Pike). Likewise, in an October 30, 1964 casting memo from Roddenberry to Herb Solow, Anne Francis was listed as one of a few possibilities for the role of Vina in 'The Menagerie.' Ultimately, none of these actors would be cast in the first pilot, but Warren Stevens (Dr. Ostrow in Forbidden Planet) and Victor Lundin (Friday in Robinson Crusoe on Mars) would later be cast in guest roles in 'By Any Other Name' and 'Errand of Mercy,' respectively.

Historian's Note: During the development of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gene Roddenberry also screened a number of recent science fiction films, including Blade Runner (1982) and Aliens (1986). The memos I have uncovered at UCLA suggest Roddenberry, Oscar Katz, and Herb Solow screened a number of films during the development of Star Trek, but Robinson Crusoe on Mars and Forbidden Planet are the only two that the archival record specifically names. I would love to know what some of the other titles were, if they've been mentioned elsewhere that I've overlooked.

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Images from 'The Menagerie' courtesy of Trek Core.

Sources:

The Gene Roddenberry Star Trek Television Series Collection (1964-1969)

Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry (David Alexander, 1994)

Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages (Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, 1995)

Star Trek FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the First Voyages of the Starship Enterprise (Mark Clark, 2012)

Films Cited:

Forbidden Planet (1956) -- DVD Version / Blu-Ray Version

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) -- DVD Version / Blu-Ray Version

Alexander Courage's 'Marvelous Malarkey'

Alexander Courage in the 1960s (The Film Music Society)

When it comes to books written by people who actually worked on the original Star Trek television series, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story is probably the most authoritative example. Having said that, it isn't a definitive volume, and there are some inaccuracies that are worth pointing out. In this post, I want to address some of the book's errors concerning the program's music.

Robert H. Justman, who worked tirelessly on the series as assistant director ('The Menagerie'), associate producer ('Where No Man Has Gone Before' and the first two seasons), and finally co-producer (the first two-thirds of the third season, after which he left the program), was an integral contributor to the music of the series. After the two pilots, he took over the role of hiring composers to work on the series, and was a consistent presence during spotting sessions, often tasked with handling those key meetings with the composers himself. Alexander 'Sandy' Courage had been hired to score both pilot episodes, and Justman recalled the composer's subsequent work on the series:

Owing to his involvement at Fox arranging the music for the film Doctor Dolittle, Sandy could do only two of the first season’s episodes [‘The Man Trap’ and ‘The Naked Time’]. Nevertheless, owing to the ‘royalty’ issue, it’s no wonder Sandy Courage lost all enthusiasm for the series and liking for Gene Roddenberry. Despite my efforts to convince him to score second-season episodes, Sandy never returned to Star Trek. 

--Bob Justman, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story (1996), p.185

Thanks to the detailed liner notes by Jeff Bond accompanying last year's Star Trek: The Original Series Soundtrack Collection released by La-La Land Records, we now know this version of events isn't correct. Although it is true that Alexander Courage didn't return to score any individual episodes during the second season of Star Trek, he did record thirty minutes of library music for it -- some newly composed -- on June 16, 1967. And, during the program's final season, Courage returned to score two more episodes: 'The Enterprise Incident' (recorded August 5, 1968) and 'Plato's Stepchildren' (recorded October 25, 1968). Bob Justman had left the series by the time the score for 'Plato's Stepchildren' was recorded, but he was definitely around during the recording sessions for 'The Enterprise Incident.' Nearly thirty years after the fact, his memory must have been a bit foggy.

In regards to the royalty issue, it was the cause of some friction between Courage and Roddenberry, but the book overstates the effect it had on their working relationship. Inside Star Trek: The Real Story does reprint a tense October 3, 1967 letter from Roddenberry to Courage reminding the composer of their contractual arrangement, which allowed the executive producer to receive fifty percent of all royalties to the Star Trek theme music as long as he wrote a lyric (whether it was used or not didn't matter). However, unless that letter was sent months after the issue first arose, it is unlikely that it had any impact on Courage's absence during the program's second season. By October 3, 1967, more than half of the season had been filmed and all of the year's complete original scores had been recorded (four partial scores were recorded later). More than likely, Courage was unavailable for the same reason he couldn't score the entirety of the first season: he was still busy with his arranging duties on Doctor Dolittle and other commitments at Fox.

In an interview recorded four years after the Solow/Justman book was published, Courage downplayed any rift between him and Roddenberry over the theme music royalties:

There wasn't any rift, really, with Gene. What happened with Gene was a I got a phone call once…it was Gene’s lawyer, [Leonard] Maizlish. He said, ‘I’m calling you to tell you that since you signed a piece of paper back there saying that if Gene ever wrote a lyric to your theme that he would split your royalties on the theme.’

Gene and I weren't enemies in any sort of way. It was just one of those things…I think it was Maizlish, probably, who put him up to doing it that way, and it’s a shame, because actually if he’d written a decent lyric we could have both made more money.

--Alexander Courage, Archive of American Television Interview (February 8, 2000) 

Future Star Trek vocalist Loulie Jean Norman in 1941

There's one other error related to Alexander Courage's music in the Solow/Justman book worth pointing out, this one from Herbert F. Solow, who was Star Trek's Executive in Charge of Production from the first pilot until the penultimate episode of the second season. Solow writes:

Business Affairs had prepared a rerun cost schedule indicating who must be paid additional money every time an episode was repeated. It was pointed out that while no musicians would receive rerun fees under the agreement with the American Federation of Musicians, the soprano singer, Loulie Jean Norman, having been hired under a Screen Actors Guild agreement, had to be treated as an actress. She would receive rerun fees. 

The money was small, but the issue was huge. If money could be saved for the rest of Star Trek's life by replacing a human sound with an electronic sound, why shouldn't a reasonable management make the change? It was a good argument. 

I called [Robert Justman] and told him not to hire the soprano again for the new [second] season. He wasn't happy, but the change was made. Since Sandy Courage never watched the series after the first season, he was totally unaware of the change until we informed him twenty-seven years later.

--Herb Solow, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story (1996), p.351-352

Solow's memory of this decision (which he reiterates and laments in his May 26, 2008 interview with the Academy of American Television) is at least partially incorrect. Five different versions of Star Trek's familiar theme music were recorded during the original run of the series.  Three of them featured soprano vocals from Loulie Jean Norman; two of them did not.

1. The first version of the theme was recorded for 'The Menagerie' on January 21, 1965,  conducted by its composer, Alexander Courage. This version reflects Courage's original conception of the theme, which mixed Norman's soprano voice roughly equally with a muted trumpet, flute, vibraphone, and an organ. (For the second pilot, Courage wrote an alternate main title theme for the series, but this went unused in favor of the original theme when "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was broadcast as part of the first season).

2. The second version of the theme was recorded on August 19, 1966, during the scoring sessions for 'The Man Trap,' and was arranged and conducted by Alexander Courage. This version replaced the soprano vocals with an electric violin. It was used during the first batch of episodes to be aired on NBC, although I haven't been able to determine precisely how many.  Although I had hoped they would present an answer to this question, apparently the LaserDiscs feature the original mono soundtracks for everything except the main title music (despite being advertised as such, the otherwise superlative Blu-Ray sets do not actually have the show's original broadcast audio).

3. The third version of the theme was recorded on September 20, 1966, during the scoring sessions for 'The Corbomite Maneuver,' 'Balance of Terror,' and 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' and was arranged and conducted by Fred Steiner, who would become the program's most prolific composer. It was used during the rest of season one and featured a cello.

4. The fourth version of the theme was recorded on June 16, 1967 and was arranged and conducted by Alexander Courage. This version was extended to accommodate DeForest Kelley's title card and, at Gene Roddenberry's behest, was rearranged as a soprano solo performed by Loulie Jean Norman. This performance was used during the second season.

5. The fifth and ultimately final version of the theme was recorded on June 25, 1968.  This was the same arrangement that Alexander Courage had done for the second season, but union rules required a new recording, which Wilbur Hatch conducted. Loulie Jean Norman again was the soprano vocalist.

Based on this information, we can correct a few items in Solow's version.  The soprano was dropped when the production began on the first season, not the second.  If this came as a surprise to Alexander Courage in 1996, it was because he had forgotten after thirty years had passed, not because he had never been told (he arranged and conducted the electric violin version) or didn't watch the series after the first season (he scored two third season episodes and wrote library cues for the second season).  If Loulie Jean Norman's vocal was dropped after 'The Menagerie' to avoid paying rerun fees, the issue must have been resolved, because the singer was re-hired to perform the theme and other cues for seasons two and three.

Thanks to Trek BBS user and author Christopher L. Bennett for helping me get the various versions of the main title straight.

Historian's note: The title of this post comes from an interview in which Courage was asked about science fiction and he said, "I have to confess to the world that I am not a science fiction fan. Never have been. I think it's just marvelous malarkey, so you write some marvelous malarkey music that goes with it."

Update (7/10/2013): Blog reader Scott has informed me in a comment below that, unfortunately, the LaserDiscs don't have the original main title audio from the first season, either.  I've updated the content of this post to reflect this information.  Thanks for answering my question, Scott!

Update (1/17/2015): Blog reader and Star Trek music expert Neil B. recently pointed out the correct recording session in which the third version of the main title was recorded. This post previously indicated the third version was recorded on August 29, 1966, with the score to 'Charlie X,' but that information was incorrect. Thanks for the correction, Neil!

Update (6/13/2020): Added image credit for the 1960s portrait of Alexander Courage. Learn more about The Film Music Society, where the original image is held, by visiting their website.

Sources:

Inside Star Trek : The Real Story (Herbert F. Solow and Robert H. Justman, 1996)

The Music of Star Trek: Profiles in Style (Jeff Bond, 1999)

Alexander Courage Interview, Archive of American Television (February 8, 2000)

Herbert F. Solow Interview, Archive of American Television (May 26, 2008)

Star Trek: The Original Series Soundtrack Collection (Liner Notes by Jeff Bond, 2012)