R.I.P. Anne Francis (1930 – 2011)

“I’m ready to go with you, darling…”

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Sitting at my desk, with a coffee by my side, I learned that American actress Anne Francis has died.  The coffee is in a Forbidden Planet mug, and the image of her limp form in Robby’s arms gives me pause.

It’s been a couple of years since I saw her in the classic Bad Day at Black Rock, and she’s popped up on occasion as I work my way through old Twilight Zone episodes.  For her place in the pantheon of genre pictures, she’s even been name-dropped in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

We just recently lost her Forbidden Planet co-star, Leslie Nielsen, and I may not look at that beloved poster image in quite the same way again.

Forbidden Planet (1956)

“One of my prized possessions is a large Forbidden Planet poster, hanging in landscape over my television set. That image is a classic: Nielsen, gritting his teeth, pointing his ray gun at Robby who (understandably) appears to be absconding with the scantily-clad Anne Francis. It never ceases to impress.”