The Day the Earth
Stood Still (1951) is an American science fiction film directed by Robert
Wise and starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Hugh Marlowe. The
supporting cast includes Sam Jaffe, Frances Bavier, and Billy Gray. Lock Martin
portrayed Gort, the robot.
A flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C. and is quickly
surrounded by the United States Army. The alien says he comes “in peace and
with good will.” But when he displays an object that looks like it a
weapon, a nervous soldier shoots and injures the spaceman. Gort, a tall and
imposing robot destroys the soldiers’ weapons causing the amassed crowd to run
in fear.
Klaatu, the alien, is taken to Walter Reed Hospital and
recovers quickly. He escapes from the hospital and finds himself at
a boarding house where Helen Benson (Neal) and her son, Bobby (Gray) live. “Mr.
Carpenter” befriends the Bensons and tries to learn more about the people on
the planet he has come to warn.
Slowly, it becomes obvious that Mr. Carpenter is the man
from space. Helen’s boyfriend Tom Stevens (Marlowe) discovers this and is
willing to turn him in for the “prestige” he think it will bring.
Klaatu’s message for the world: stop fighting with one
another and be careful in your development of nuclear weapons or we will destroy
your planet!
Robert Wise (1914 - 2000) was an American director, producer, and
editor. Wise began his movie career at RKO as a sound and music editor. For
several years, he worked with senior editor William Hamilton. Wise’s first solo
film editing credits were on Bachelor Mother (1939) and My Favorite Wife (1940). He was the film editor on Citizen Kane and was nominated for an Academy Award for Film
Editing. Wise got his chance to direct at RKO from Val Lewton, the producer of
horror classics like Cat People (1942). The Curse of the Cat People (1944) was the first film that Wise received director
credit for. He eventually directed films noir, westerns, melodramas, and
science fiction. Some popular films directed by Wise include The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Executive Suite (1954), I Want to Live! (1958), which earned Wise his first Oscar nomination
for Best Director. He went on to win Best Director Oscars for West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965).
Michael Rennie (1909 – 1971)
was British stage, film, and television actor. Rennie was a popular leading man
and character actor in Hollywood during the 1950s. Perhaps his most famous role
is as space visitor Klaatu in the science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Rennie played St. Peter in The Robe (1953), the first movie filmed
in Cinemascope. That same year he starred opposite Jeanne Crain in the mystery Dangerous Crossing. He continued to play
lead and supporting roles throughout the 1950s and also acted in live
television.
Patricia Neal (1926 - 2010) was an American film and stage
actress. Neal gained fame on Broadway, winning the 1947 Tony Award for Best
Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Another Part of the Forrest. Coincidentally, 1947 was the first year the Tony
Awards were presented. Hollywood came calling and Neal signed a contract with
Warner Bros. In 1949, she made three films including The Fountainhead co-starring Gary Cooper. In 1951 she starred in the
science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. In the early 1950s, she left Hollywood to go back
on the stage. She returned to the screen in 1957's A Face in the Crowd co-starring Andy Griffith. She co-starred with Audrey
Hepburn and George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany's and she won the Academy Award for Best
Actress in 1963 for Hud. Neal continued to act in film, stage, and television until
2009.
Hugh Marlowe (1911 – 1982) Was an American stage, radio,
film, and television actor. He is probably most famous for portraying
playwright Lloyd Richards in All About Eve (1950). Other famous roles include The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). Some of his other films
include Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Twelve O’Clock High (1949), Night
and the City (1950), Rawhide
(1951), and Monkey Business (1952).
Later in his career, he played family patriarch Jim Matthews on the NBC soap
opera Another World from 1969 until
his death in 1982.
The Day the Earth Stood Still trivia
- Lock Martin who played Gort the robot was nearly seven-feet tall.
- Patricia Neal had no idea the film would become a classic. Supposedly, she had a tough time keeping a straight face when she said, “Gort, Klaatu barado nikto.”
- Broadcast journalists from the 1950s were used in the film to make it seem more realistic.
- Spencer Tracy was interest in playing Klaatu, but the producer, Julian Blaustein thought the audience would have many expectations about the character with Tracy in the lead. Blaustein held out for Rennie, then unknown to most Americans.
- Frank Lloyd Wright influenced the design of the flying saucer.
- Sam Jaffe had an engineering degree which was a perfect background for his characterization in the film as Professor Jacob Barnhardt.
Click HERE to watch the film
on YouTube.
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discussion on June 3, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you’ll
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Discussion questions
- Did you find this film was realistic?
- This film was made in the early years of the Cold War. Do you think that influenced the plot?
- This was one of the first science fiction films with an A budget and cast. Did the production impress you?
- What did you think of the casting of Michael Rennie as Klaatu? Do you think the producer was right to cast him rather than a well-known actor like Spencer Tracy?
- Did anything about the film surprise you?
- Given the fact that it was made in the early ‘50s, does the film hold up in the 21st century?
- What did you make of Klaatu taking the name of Carpenter?
(1949). She made another film that year with Reagan (
), but it was the over-the-top film version of Ayn Rand's bestselling novel, 
, that received all the attention. Although not a critical or commercial success, the chemistry between Neal and costar Gary Cooper kept the pages of movie fan magazines burning for several years. In reality, Neal and Cooper had a very torrid love affair that almost destroyed Cooper's marriage and Neal's sanity. When the relationship collapsed, Neal suffered a nervous breakdown and abandoned Hollywood for Broadway. Ironically, she starred in another Helman play, a revival of 
. During its run, Hellman introduced Neal to children's author Roald Dahl. The two were married in 1953.
(1957), costarring Andy Griffith. Film fans would have to wait until 
(1961) to see Neal on the big screen again.
(1963) costarring Paul Newman in the title role. For what many considered a supporting role, Neal won an Oscar as the best actress of the year. Major film roles started coming Neal's way again including Otto Preminger's big-budget World War II classic 
(1965). In a cast of many Hollywood notables, Neal received third billing behind John Wayne and Kirk Douglas.
(1967), but turned it down, thinking it was too soon for her to return to the screen. A year later, she took the lead role in 
. It was a remarkable comeback; Neal was nominated once again for Best Actress. She lost the award to Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn, who tied that year, but it was a personal and professional triumph for Neal. Although more major film roles didn't come her way, Neal consistently worked in movies and TV, including 
released in 2009. 