Must-Watch Sci Fi Movies: Ongoing series of posts looking at sci fi and fantasy films that best represent the genre and that should be on your must-watch list.
What Is It?
An object appears on radar moving at incredible speeds, setting all the countries of Earth on alert. It turns out that the bogie is a spacecraft (assuming the expected flying saucer shape that aliens in the ’50s preferred), and it lands in Washington, DC near the Washington Monument. The military surrounds the ship, and soon after, a humanlike creature emerges wearing a spacesuit. He carries a gift that he plans to offer to the President that will allow humans to study the stars, but one of the soldiers mistakes it for a weapon and shoots the visitor.
A large robot (Gort) emerges from the ship in response and begins to destroy the weapons of the military personnel. The wounded alien calls the robot off, though, and then he is rushed to a nearby hospital, where it is discovered that he appears very human under his suit and that his name is Klaatu. He explains that his mission is to deliver a message to Earth and that he must speak directly with the leaders of all the countries. He is told this would be difficult because the nations do not trust each other, and he is also informed that he must remain in confinement for the time being. He takes little heed of this, though, as he easily escapes from his detainment and decides to go among the people of Earth to better understand them. He also makes contact with a well-known scientist and, through him, tries to bring together some of the greatest minds on the planet for a meeting. But is the message Klaatu will deliver one of peace or destruction?
Cast: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Billy Gray, Hugh Marlowe
Crew: Robert Wise (Director), Edmund H. North (Screenplay), Harry Bates (Short Story)
Original Release: September 18, 1951
Why Is It a Must-Watch Movie?
The Day the Earth Stood Still gave us one of the first alien encounter movies, and it would set the standard for the genre as it rose above its B-movie expectations and delivered an excellent science fiction film with an important message that still resonates today.
A Closer Look:
Despite its trappings, The Day the Earth Stood Still is anything but the typical cheesy ’50s alien invasion B-movie. It plays around with that formula a bit (in fact, it helped establish it) with the flying saucer-shaped spaceship landing in Washington followed by a spaceman emerging, and then there are the poster-friendly shots of the massive alien robot carrying off the film’s attractive leading lady. But this is no simple exploitation film designed to fill up the drive-in and deliver cheap thrills.
Producer Julian Blaustein wanted to make a movie that tapped into the anxiety and paranoia of that era, dominated by the Cold War and the proliferation of atomic weapons. And he succeeded masterfully at that, delivering a film that utilizes genre elements to convey a message that transcends its B-movie roots. The film taps into the prejudices, short-sightedness, and petty squabbles of the human race and shows how it is ourselves — and not a supposed alien threat — that can act as our own worst enemy.
The Day the Earth Stood Still plays its story straight and shoots for broader appeal than the typical Saturday matinee creature feature, something rare for a genre film at that time. Its spaceships and robots surely appealed to younger moviegoers, but its more involved plot drew in mature viewers as well. And even though it throws in the expected cute kid, it successfully maneuvers past cliché by using that character to give Klaatu a perspective on Earth through the innocent eyes of a child.
Since its first appearance in theaters back in 1951, The Day the Earth Stood Still has worked its way into our culture with such things as the image of the infamous giant robot Gort (and his Bruce Campbell chin) as well as the phrase “Klaatu barada nikto” (which, speaking of Campbell, was used to great effect in Army of Darkness). But the movie has also endured because of its accomplishments and its craftsmanship. It had excellent production values with special effects that were first-rate and nearly flawless for the time (and actually still hold up pretty well today). This movie also gives us an intelligent, well-made film as well as a strong science fiction tale (based on the short story “Farewell to the Master” by Harry Bates), albeit one of the slower and more thoughtful entries in the medium. In this sense, The Day the Earth Stood Still can be considered a precursor to films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Andromeda Strain, and Contact, and it stands up quite well in that company. It’s slow but not plodding, a bit distant but never aloof. And Klaatu’s final speech to Earth strikes a nerve with the audience and gives us one of the all-time great monologues in film (though some might find it a bit heavy-handed).
The performances help the film excel as well, rising several notches above the typical wooden acting and cardboard stereotypes quite common in early genre films (and still today for that matter). Michael Rennie stands out as Klaatu, manifesting curiosity and at times compassion toward the people of Earth while never losing sight of his mission to deliver a stern message to the human race. Patricia Neal manages to steer clear of the expected subordinate female role so common in genre films of that time and even demonstrates her willingness to stand up to her would-be fiancé when she questions his motives. Billy Gray takes on the cute-kid role yet never annoys or overstays his welcome. And several other familiar faces flesh out the cast and deliver strong performances in smaller roles, including Hugh Marlowe (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers), Sam Jaffe (Ben-Hur and a gazillion supporting roles), and Frances Bavier (forever remembered as Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show).
Plenty of alien invasion films would follow The Day the Earth Stood Still in the decade or more after its release, many giving us examples of B-movies at their worst (I Married a Monster from Outer Space, Cat-Women of the Moon), while some managed to stand out as better examples of craftsmanship and/or tap into the underlying id of the era (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Invaders from Mars). But The Day the Earth Stood Still represented one of the first and best examples of this formula, giving us a complete movie that transcended (while fully commanding) its exploitative elements and at the same time delivering succinctly that grand message great films aspire to.
Why Was There No Sequel?
The Day the Earth Stood Still pulled in about $1.9 million in receipts from its original U.S. release on a budget of less than $1 million, which counted it as successful for that time. And while a second film could have involved Klaatu checking back in on the people of Earth — particularly during the 1960s at the height of Cold War tensions — movie studios were not as focused on sequels at that time.
Developing a franchise was not a priority — the James Bond films and the Planet of the Apes series would begin that trend for genre entries in the ’60s — and the story and impact of The Day the Earth Stood Still were considered to have been successfully delivered in one film. This was also a more expensive entry for the sci fi genre, and it did not count as a runaway hit, so no sequel was pursued.
Should It Be Rebooted?
I would argue no, but Hollywood did it anyway in 2008 with Keanu Reeves in the role of Klaatu. And as expected, this Blockbuster Era entry focused more on the special effects and less on the story and characters. Ultimately, it delivered a more vapid version of the original and is not well remembered. Nor did it count as a box office hit, breaking even at best with $233 million in global receipts versus a budget of $80 million.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a well-known film, though, and the entertainment industry will almost certainly take another stab at it at some point. And this is one that could be brought back and updated, perhaps turning out rather poignant in our current political environment. But it would need a creative team that respects the message of the original film and doesn’t try to turn it into a CGI-overload blockbuster. It could even potentially be turned into a franchise if done right. Personally, I would rather see them leave this one alone — especially after what happened with the first reboot — but if the right talent were involved, perhaps it could work.
Interesting Facts:
Director Robert Wise got his start in Hollywood as a sound-effects editor and later as a film editor, and he worked with Orson Welles on 1941’s Citizen Kane. He may be best known for musicals like West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965), but he has three major sci fi films as part of his résumé: The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Andromeda Strain (1971), and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).
Spencer Tracy was originally considered for the role of Klaatu, but producer Julian Blaustein wanted someone not as familiar to audiences. Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck pushed for Tracy but ultimately agreed to Michael Rennie because he was not well known to American movie-goers at the time and would seem more alien. Rennie would go on to become a familiar face with genre audiences, guest-starring in such shows as Lost in Space, Batman, The Time Tunnel, The Invaders, and more.
The infamous phrase “Klaatu barada nikto” was issued by Klaatu to Gort, but what does it really mean? Read more about that at Cult-SciFi.com.
Where Can You Watch It?
The film is widely available on DVD and Blu-ray, and you can purchase it VOD. It is not currently available for streaming on any of the major services.
