The Day The Earth Stood Still

Buy This Item The Day The Earth Stood Still by Fox Video  Available from Amazon  $13.77  on 11-26-2008     Beginning with a documentary style that immediately hooks the viewer, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, based on the Harry Bates short story "Farewell to the Master," becomes as much a human interest story as it does a sci-fi B-movie classic. The film soberly depicts the arrival of an alien dignitary, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), who has come to earth with his deadly robot, Gort (Lock Martin), to deliver the message that earthlings must stop warring among themselves--or else. After being shot at by ignorant, panicky military guards, Klaatu is brought to a Washington, D.C., hospital, where he begs a sympathetic but frank Major White (Robert Osterloh) to gather all the worlds leaders so he can tell them more specifically what he has come 250 million miles to warn them about. Losing patience, Klaatu slips into the human world, adapting a false identity and living at a boarding house where he meets a smart woman with a conscience, Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), and her inquisitive son, Bobby (Billy Gray). Both mother and son soon find themselves embroiled in the complex mystery of Klaatu, his message, and the governments witch hunt for the alien. Made during the cold war--when Americans were obsessed with the destructive capabilities of the atomic bomb--THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, thanks to its beautiful pacing, excellent dialogue, and haunting score by Bernard Herrmann, is still a treat for contemporary audiences. Reader Reviews "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is arguably the most religious science fiction film ever made. It is hard to miss the religious symbolism of Klaatu (Michael Rennie), the strange visitor from another planet, who explores the neighborhood under the name of "Carpenter," especially when he is killed and resurrected by his robot companion Gort (Lock Morton). The parallels between Klaatu and Christ continue as the alien brings a message for all of the people of earth that the people of earth are not all that interested in hearing. It seems that now that Earth is developing atomic power, the other inhabited planets of the galaxy are concerned that the new kids on the block are not mature enough to avoid destroying everything. I remember Michael Rennie from "Lost in Space," where he played "The Keeper," and he brings the same sort of strong, dignity to the role of Klaatu. The alien might be here to lecture the Earth people, but he sounds so reasonable in his condemnation. Besides, how can you disagree with his reasoning? Patricia Neal as Helen Benson is the calmest and most rationale female lead every seen in a science fiction film, black & white from the Fifties or any other type. Helen accepts the reality of the rather remarkable situation she and her son Bobby (Billy Gray) find themselves involved in without really batting an eye. Nor does her voice tremble when she utters the greatest alien phrase in cinematic history. Sam Jaffe is equally unperturbed as Professor Jacob Barnhardt, the smartest man on Earth, who comes back from lunch and finds somebody (Klaatu) has been editing the formula on his blackboard. In contrast to these paragons of humanity is Hugh Marlowe as Tom Stevens, who has been stepping out with the widow Benson but throws all that away to be the man who captures the fugitive alien. The man is just such a schmuck. The film is based on the Harry Bates short story "Farewell to the Master," which was first published in the October 1940 issue of "Astounding Stories." Actually, screenwriter Edmund H. North only keeps the first part of the story, when the spaceship lands on earth, Klaatu and the robot emerge, and the humanoid is shot (check out the original story if you can track it down). Of course, in the 1950s, Hollywood was always taking great liberties with classic science fiction short stories. The other great example of this would be "The Thing From Another World," based on John W. Campbell's short story "Who Goes There?" "The Day the Earth Stood Still" provides one of the most unambiguous alien messages to be found in a science fiction film (cf. "2001: A Space Odyssey"). As an extra bonus, you have Aunt Bee sharing her thoughts on aliens. This remains a classic science fiction film, a rare opportunity for the intellectualism of the genre to be given free reign on the big screen. Not my favorite Fifites sci-fi film, but certainly should be on everybody's top 10 list for the decade. However, watching the movie again this time I was struck by the fact that Robert Wise took the same sort of approach when he directed "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." The weaker moments in both of those films have a lot in common.

The Day The Earth Stood Still Available from Amazon Price: $13.77 Updated on 11-26-2008.

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