#7: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (dir. Robert Wise)
Klaatu barada nikto!
The original version of The Day the Earth Stood Still became a favorite of mine instantly on first viewing when I saw it as a teenager. The reason for seeking it out might be a bit obvious to other movie nerds. When my dad and I watched Army of Darkness together, he informed me that the words Ash spoke in order to retrieve the book of the dead were from a great science fiction movie from the 1950s that he loved and recommended. Naturally, I had to seek it out and it confirmed the fact that I’ll forever be a pacifist.
Loosely based on the Harry Bates short story “Farewell to the Master” Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still can be considered one of the earliest examples of a science fiction movie that worked as spectacle entertainment while also being a message picture, a not too subtle one with the main protagonist bluntly stating, “Knock off this nuclear bomb shit or you will be destroyed” and it’s through this societal lens that we get one of the best examples in the genre, one that would later be greatly explored by Gene Rodenberry on his television series Star Trek among many others. (Not to mention the fact that Wise went on to direct the very first Star Trek movie).
For this alien invasion tale, screenwriter Edmund H. North penned a very tight and simple script one that director Robert Wise then utilized with a documentary-style approach, so as to give the film a more believable quality to offset its more fantastic elements. The arrival of a flying saucer and its subsequent landing in Washington, D.C. is treated as “Breaking News” and the military’s reaction to such an impromptu visit from outer space is only one of many of those believable aspects that Wise peppers throughout the film.
On a busy afternoon in Washington DC, reports come in from all over the globe of a ‘flying saucer’ apparently en route to the US capitol. The DC lands at the capitol grounds, as Army and National Guardsmen mobilize and quickly cordon off the area surrounding the large, featureless flying saucer. Emerging from an elegantly protracting ramp are two beings; an apparently humanoid alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his 8 ft. robotic companion, Gort. Tensions are high as all pistols and mobile assault batteries are trained on the two visitors. Shocking I know!
The helmeted Klaatu, his human facial features obscured, produces a small cylinder which is immediately mistaken for a weapon by a hair-triggered young soldier who shoots the alien in the shoulder. Immediately, the powerful Gort retaliates by vaporizing several of the mobile gun platforms with high-powered energy beams emanating from a visor in its helmet. Before the robot can continue its attack, it’s called off by the wounded Klaatu in their mutual language. The wounded alien is then rushed to Walter Reed Army Hospital as the powered-down robot stands in a silent immobile vigil by the spaceship.
Klaatu tries his best to convince a politician that he needs to speak with all of the world leaders, not just the President of the United States. This proves harder than anticipated, most politicians not known for global thinking, which forces Klaatu to bid adieu to the government’s hospitality and find out for himself what makes the people of Earth tick. Taking on the guise of mild-mannered Mr. Carpenter he rents a room where he meets widow Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray), whom he befriends, and it’s from Bobby that he learns much of Earth’s history and culture. Later he meets up with professor Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe) in the hope that if politicians won’t come together for the common good maybe men of science will. Imagine if an alien representative from the film Arrival actually came down and wanted to learn more about us.
Unfortunately, before a meeting of intellectuals can begin, Klaatu is hunted down by the authorities using information supplied by Helen’s self-serving asshole insurance salesman boyfriend, Tom Stevens. He is shot down and killed, his body locked in a cell. Before he dies, however, he gives Helen a message to take to Gort, knowing that Gort will otherwise automatically retaliate with mass destruction. Helen then averts this destruction with the now famous message: “Klaatu barada nikto.” In response to the message, Gort retrieves Klaatu’s body and takes it back to the ship, where he uses advanced technology to resurrect his fallen leader.
A lot happens on the alien visitor’s journey including a meeting with a scientist that goes very well. Both Helen and Bobby see no intention from Klaatu to be anything but civil and inquisitive. However, the military response to an invasion is always seen as a threat. Nobody ever wants to talk, listen, they want to react. This film was released in the midst of the Korean War and the beginnings of McCarthyism. It took the source material and made it modern, relatable and grounded. There is no doubt it had a unique relevance for a being an “alien invasion” movie by unambiguously advocating for peace and grounding its pulp story in a sociological study.
“The film at first seems to go off the rails at the end. Klaatu's final speech essentially boils down to the fact that these aliens live in a fascist police state. It would completely destroy the film if he didn't include the line "we're not perfect" in it; this messianic figure brings humanity not salvation in redemption and forgiveness, but in the Old Testament fury of a vengeful God. The film does not suggest this as a practical solution so much as a condemnation of human pettiness, which is where it succeeds. It's not saying this alien superiority is ideal. It's just saying we need to quit being awful.”
Klaatu delivers his final speech to the humans of Earth: “I am leaving soon, and you’ll forgive me if I speak bluntly. The universe grows smaller every day and the threat of aggression by any group anywhere can no longer be tolerated. There must be security for all, or no one is secure. Now this does not mean giving up any freedom, except the freedom to act irresponsibly.” More words are said from him in a final monologue that still resonates today, especially as it seems in 2024, we are on the verge of another world war.
Perhaps The Day the Earth Stood Still turned out as good as it did is mostly due to the fact that Robert Wise didn’t try and “showcase” a particular shooting style and allowed the film to unfold in a very realistic manner, adding to that the incredibly talented cast of actors on display, particularly Patricia Neal as a strong single parent. Billy Gray is also surprisingly endearing as young Bobby whose performance proved he was one of the best child actors of his era and, of course, we have the then-unknown Michael Rennie whose performance gave the character a sense of noble gravitas that elevated was not normally attributed to science fiction films, back that up with Bernard Herman’s stellar score - one of the earliest and best uses of the Theremin - and we get a film that set a new standard for the sci-fi genre and its inclusion of what some would call “certain subversive elements” all went towards making this film practically timeless.
“All of the players fit their roles like gloves, from Michael Rennie’s benevolent, unostentatious Klaatu, through Sam Jaffe’s knowing and wise Professor Jacob Harnhardt, right through to 12-year-old Billy Gray’s remarkable un-precocious Bobby. It’s Patricia Neil’s magnetic everywoman that wins me over every time, though. I’m continuously amazed her coy fluid sultriness didn’t propel her to greater heights. The real star of the show, though, is director Robert Wise; a man with a remarkable talent for pacing and pulling the best possible performances out of his actors. I think Wise, who effortlessly switched genres and brought us classics like The Sound of Music, West Side Story, The Haunting, Executive Suite, and the Andromeda Strain is one the most unsung masters of cinema. The timelessness of The Day the Earth Stood is a testament to its greatness amongst science fiction. It’s warnings of nuclear power as relevant today as it was when the film was made at the birth of the cold war; but something else struck me on this re-watch. The central question it leaves us with is would we prefer safety over free will, and that is probably more topical today than when it was first asked.”
The Day the Earth Stood Still is an effective counterpoint to any number of paranoid alien invasion films of the 1950s such as The War of The Worlds. It also influenced several other films that represented aliens in a positive light. One of the most effective of these is Jack Arnold’s It Came from Outer Space (1953), in which an alien craft crashes on earth due to mechanical difficulties, but in which the aliens otherwise have no interest in earth or earthlings (who, of course, greet them with suspicion and violence). A similar film made decades later that is even more grounded in a portrayal of grief is John Carpenter’s underrated Starman, my first exposure to the great Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. That’s another film that holds a special place in my heart and contains an all-time great score, influencing the kinds of instrumentals I began creating.
"Your impatience is quite understandable."
"I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it. "
"I'm afraid my people haven't. I'm very sorry... I wish it were otherwise."
The above dialogue exchange still stays with me to this day as it did on first viewing three decades ago. This remains a thought-provoking film that was an early experience of how genre storytelling really reflects humanity as a whole - both its imperfections and possibilities. But it also showcased the inevitability of impulsive reactions to the unexpected. If anything, human beings should have less power and better listening skills. I realize that the military/police state is more about safety, protecting its people and ensuring that any outside force doesn’t cause harm.
A film like this may reduce those with weapons to being villainous and reactionary, but I think that’s often accurate especially when you’ve seen how some police officers react with harsh cruelty and aggressive confrontation toward minorities. That’s for another film analysis entirely. The Day the Earth Stood Still reminded me at a young age that we should remain open-minded instead of prone to violence. Though even as recently as a film like Oppenheimer shows, we may head towards self-destruction regardless because, well, we can’t help ourselves. Regardless, as preachy as it might be, take the words that Klaatu says at the end to heart. I know I still try to.