The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 black-and-white science fiction film that tells the story of a humanoid alien visitor who comes to Earth with a warning. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe, under the direction of Robert Wise. Screenwriter Edmund H. North was inspired by Harry Bates' short story "Farewell to the Master". The score was composed by Bernard Herrmann and is notable for its use of two theremin electronic instruments.

Plot

A flying saucer lands on the Ellipse in President's Park, Washington, D.C. Klaatu (Michael Rennie) emerges and declares he has come on a mission of goodwill. However, when he opens a small, menacing-looking device, he is shot and wounded by a nervous soldier who mistakes it for a weapon. In response, a large robot called Gort steps out of the ship and disintegrates all weapons present without harming the soldiers. Klaatu orders him to stop and explains the "weapon" was a gift to the President that could have been used to study life on other planets. Klaatu is taken to Walter Reed Hospital, where he recovers. The doctors analyze Klaatu, learning he is 78 years old and that his people's average lifespan is 130. The military attempt to enter Klaatu's ship, but find it impregnable, while Gort remains motionless.

Klaatu meets the President's secretary, Mr. Harley (Frank Conroy), and reveals he has a message he wants the whole world to hear. Unfortunately, Harley notes the divided world leaders cannot even agree on a meeting place for such a momentous occasion. When Klaatu suggests he live among ordinary people to get to know them better, Harley rebuffs him and has him locked inside his room. Klaatu escapes to a boarding house, assuming the alias "Mr. Carpenter", the name on the laundry label of a suit he has taken. Among the boarding house residents are Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), a secretary at the Department of Commerce, and her son Bobby (Billy Gray). Helen is a widow; her husband was killed in World War II. The next morning, Klaatu listens to a paranoid radio commentator as well as the boarders' speculation over the breakfast table; one (Frances Bavier) suggests that it might be the work of the Soviets.

When Helen's boyfriend, Tom Stephens (Hugh Marlowe), plans a day-trip getaway for the two of them, Klaatu offers to take care of Bobby. Bobby takes Klaatu on a tour of the city, including a visit to his father's grave in Arlington National Cemetery, where Klaatu learns with dismay that most of those buried there were killed in wars. The two next visit the Lincoln Memorial and the heavily-guarded spaceship, where Gort stands motionlessly on guard. Klaatu, impressed by the inscription of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, is hopeful that Earth may harbor people wise enough to understand his message. When he asks Bobby to name the greatest person in the world today, Bobby mentions a leading American scientist, Professor Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe), who lives nearby. Bobby takes Klaatu to Barnhardt's home. The professor is absent; Klaatu goes into his study and helps solve an advanced mathematical n-body problem written on a blackboard, before leaving his address with the housekeeper.

Later, government agents escort Klaatu to see Barnhardt, who has seen the correction to his work as a calling card which could not have been faked. Klaatu warns the professor that the people of the other planets are concerned for their safety because human beings have developed atomic power. Barnhardt offers Klaatu the opportunity to speak at an upcoming meeting of scientists he is organizing at the spaceship; Klaatu accepts. Barnhardt is stunned when Klaatu declares that, if his message is rejected by Earth's leaders, "Planet Earth will be eliminated". The professor pleads for Klaatu to first provide a minor demonstration of his power as a warning. Klaatu returns to his spaceship the next evening to implement the professor's suggestion, unaware Bobby watched him enter the ship. He tells Helen and Tom what he has seen when they return from an evening out – Helen notices her son's shoes are soaking wet, while Tom finds a diamond – the currency of Klaatu's people – in Carpenter's room. Tom takes the diamond to three separate jewelers the following day, who all note they have never seen anything like it. When Bobby tells him what he saw, Klaatu meets Helen at work to clarify his intent. While riding in an elevator, it stops. A montage sequence shows that Klaatu has suppressed electric power all over the world – with the exception of critical systems such as hospitals and planes in flight. After the blackout, the authorities step up their manhunt for Klaatu, quarantining the city so no one can enter or leave.

Klaatu manages to enlists Helen's aid, but Tom tells the authorities of the alien's location. Helen and Klaatu take a taxi to wait at Barnhardt's home until the conference. Klaatu tells Helen that if anything should happen to him, she must go to Gort and say, "Klaatu barada nikto." When they are spotted, Klaatu tries to flee but is shot dead. Gort awakens, killing two guards before Helen gives Klaatu's message to him. Gort gently carries her into the spaceship, retrieves Klaatu's corpse, and temporarily revives him. Klaatu steps out of the spaceship and addresses the assembled scientists, explaining that humanity's penchant for violence and first steps into space have caused concern among the other space faring worlds, who have created a race of robot enforcers like Gort and given them absolute power to deal with any violence. He warns that the people of Earth can either abandon warfare and peacefully join these other nations or be destroyed, adding that "The decision rests with you." He then enters the spaceship and departs.

Cast

• Michael Rennie as Klaatu / Mr. Carpenter. Spencer Tracy and Claude Rains were originally considered for the part.^[2]
• Patricia Neal as Helen Benson
• Hugh Marlowe as Tom Stevens
• Sam Jaffe as Professor Jacob Barnhardt
• Billy Gray as Bobby Benson
• Frances Bavier as Mrs. Barley
• Lock Martin as Gort
• H. V. Kaltenborn*, Elmer Davis*, Drew Pearson*, and Gabriel Heatter,* well-known broadcast journalists of that time, appeared as themselves

* Not credited on-screen.

Production

Producer Julian Blaustein set out to make a film that illustrated the fear and suspicion that characterized the early Cold War and Atomic Age. He reviewed over 200 science fiction short stories and novels in search of a storyline that could be used, as the genre was well suited for a metaphorical discussion of such grave issues. Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck green-lighted the project, and Blaustein contracted Edmund North to draft a screenplay based on elements from the Bates story.^[3]

Principal outdoor photography for The Day the Earth Stood Still was shot on 20th Century Fox sound stages and its studio back lot (now Century City), with a second unit shooting background plates and other scenes in Washington, D.C. The film's stars never traveled to Washington for the making of the film.^[3]

In a DVD commentary track, interviewed by fellow director Nicholas Meyer, director Robert Wise stated that he wanted the film to appear as realistic and believable as possible, in order to drive home the work's core message against armed conflict in the real world. Also mentioned in the DVD's documentary interview was the original title for the movie, "The Day the World Stops".

Wise and Blaustein were both liberal, and Blaustein said his aim with the film was to promote a "strong United Nations".^[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed in August 1951 and was Bernard Herrmann's first soundtrack after he moved to Hollywood. Herrmann chose unusual instrumentation for the film including violin, cello, and bass (all three electric), two theremin electronic instruments (played by Dr. Samuel Hoffman and Paul Shure), two Hammond organs, a large studio electric organ, three vibraphones, two glockenspiels, two pianos, two harps and three trumpets, three trombones, and four tubas.^[5] Unusual overdubbing and tape-reversal techniques were used, as well. 20th Century Fox later reused the Herrmann title theme in the original pilot episode for Irwin Allen's 1965 TV series Lost in Space.

1. "Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare" – 0:12
2. "Prelude/Outer Space/Radar" – 3:45
3. "Danger" – 0:24
4. "Klaatu" – 2:15
5. "Gort/The Visor/The Telescope" – 2:23
6. "Escape" – 0:55
7. "Solar Diamonds" – 1:04
8. "Arlington" – 1:08
9. "Lincoln Memorial" – 1:27
10. "Nocturne/The Flashlight/The Robot/Space Control" – 5:58
11. "Elevator/Magnetic Pull/The Study/The Conference/The Jewelry Store" – 4:32
12. "Panic" – 0:42
13. "Glowing/Alone/Gort's Rage/Nikto/The Captive/Terror" – 5:11
14. "The Prison" – 1:42
15. "Rebirth" – 1:38
16. "Departure" – 0:52
17. "Farewell" – 0:32
18. "Finale" – 0:30

Themes

In a 1995 interview,^[3] producer Julian Blaustein explained that Joseph I. Breen, the film censor installed by the Motion Picture Association of America at the 20th Century Fox studios, balked at the portrayal of Klaatu's resurrection and limitless power. At the behest of the MPPDA, a line was inserted into the film: When Helen asks Klaatu if Gort has unlimited power over life and death, Klaatu explains that he has only been revived temporarily by advanced medical science and states that the power of resurrection is "reserved to the Almighty Spirit".^[3][6] Of the elements in the film that he added to Klaatu's character, Screenwriter Edmund North said: "It was my private little joke. I never discussed this angle with Blaustein or Wise because I didn't want it expressed. I had originally hoped that the Christ comparison would be subliminal".^[7] The fact that the question even came up in an interview is proof enough that such comparisons did not remain subliminal, but they are subtle enough that it is not immediately obvious to all viewers which elements of the film were intended to make Klaatu comparable to Christ. And yet, North did endeavor to do so, and evidence exists for some elements:

• Klaatu brings a message of peace.^[8]
• Klaatu is revived from the dead for a short time by the robotic Gort, as Jesus is resurrected, and the resurrection was not temporary, originally.^[9]
• Klaatu gives a climactic statement of his mission, and then lifts off into space in his ship; Jesus gave a final address to his disciples before 'ascending into heaven' (New Testament, Acts Chapter 1).^[8][9]

Speculations upon which elements were added by the screenwriter to make Klaatu's character Christlike, or occurrences included in the story which are comparable to the Bible story of Christ:

• He adopts the name John Carpenter. New Testament accounts sometimes call Jesus the "carpenter's [Joseph's] son".
• Klaatu declares the position of his people before the powers of the world; although Jesus most commonly spoke before crowds of the common people, his character was also tested in confrontations with the powerful.
• Klaatu lecturing Professor Barnhardt (played by Jewish actor Sam Jaffe with Einstein's hairdo) on his own area of expertise, on his own blackboard, is a parallel to the young Jesus lecturing the rabbis in the temple.
• Klaatu escapes the government, believing the company and knowledge of the common people to be more valuable to his mission than that of the established order. Jesus repeatedly took it upon himself to point out the value of the poor, pariahs, and outcasts, which even his followers questioned, and considered that his work with them was his most valuable.
• Klaatu gives Helen the famous phrase to be repeated to Gort in the event of Klaatu's death, and this soon transpires; Jesus actions at the Last Supper are repeated by his followers after his death, and he warns that his death will soon come both at the Last Supper, and at night in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before the apprehension by the Roman soldiers that leads to his death.
• Klaatu's death at the hands of soldiers echoes the death of Jesus; just as Jesus' crucifixion was carried out by soldiers, so is Klaatu's killing.
• Gort removes the body of Klaatu from a locked jail cell; Jesus' body is removed from a sealed tomb by an angel.
• Klaatu revives from death to give his ultimate message regarding his purpose to the people of Earth then ascends into space; Jesus revives from death to give his ultimate message regarding his purpose to his mother and Mary Magdalene then ascends into Heaven.

Reception

The film was moderately successful when released, grossing $1.85 million. Variety praised the film's documentary style, and the Los Angeles Times praised its seriousness, though it also found "certain subversive elements". The Daily Worker's reviewer was unimpressed and felt it was not inspirational enough. The film earned more plaudits overseas: the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave the filmmakers a special Golden Globe Award for "promoting international understanding". The French magazine Cahiers du cinéma were also impressed, with Pierre Kast calling it "almost literally stunning" and praising its "moral relativism".^[4]

The film was attacked from some quarters, due to actor Sam Jaffe's politics.^[3] Jaffe, a liberal, was listed on the Red Channels pamphlet, a self-described listing of performers sympathetic to communism. The film's explicit message of peace, in combination with its dark outlook regarding human society, struck a chord with audiences, earning it lasting acclaim. The movie is ranked seventh in Arthur C. Clarke's List of the Best Science-Fiction Films of All Time, just above Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, for which Clarke himself wrote the screenplay. In 1995, The Day the Earth Stood Still was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". In 2008, it was voted as the fifth best science fiction film ever made as part of the AFI's 10 Top 10.^[10]

Lou Cannon and Colin Powell believed the film inspired Ronald Reagan to discuss uniting against an alien invasion when meeting Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. Two years later, Reagan told the UN "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world."^[4]

References

Further reading

• North, Edmund H. (1951-02-21). "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Original Script. ScifiScripts.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
• Leroy W. Dubeck, Suzanne E. Moshier, and Judith E. Boss (1994). "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science Through Science Fiction Films. Springer. pp. 249–252. ISBN 1-56396-195-4. 

External links

• The Day the Earth Stood Still at the Internet Movie Database
• The Day the Earth Stood Still at Rotten Tomatoes
• Bates, Harry (October 1940). "Farewell to the Master (full text)". Astounding Stories, The Nostalgia League. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
• The Evening of the Second Day Ray Bradbury's 1981 sequel outline