{"id":35402,"date":"2015-11-25T14:25:25","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T21:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35402"},"modified":"2022-05-07T13:42:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T20:42:00","slug":"day-the-earth-stood-still-the-1951","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35402","title":{"rendered":"Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Poster-186x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"186\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-35403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Poster-186x300.jpg 186w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Poster-79x128.jpg 79w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Poster.jpg 468w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 186px) 100vw, 186px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his bodyguard-robot Gort (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thetallestman.com\/lockmartin.htm\">Lock Martin<\/a>) land in Washington D.C. hoping to peacefully warn the Earth&#8217;s leaders that internecine violence will lead to the planet&#8217;s annihilation. When Rennie is immediately attacked, he goes undercover to learn more about the human race, befriending a widow (Patricia Neal) and her son (Billy Gray) as well as a brilliant scientist (Sam Jaffe) &#8212; but when Neal&#8217;s jealous fiance (Hugh Marlowe) learns Rennie&#8217;s true identity, he will stop at nothing to alert the authorities.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aliens<\/li>\n<li>Cold War<\/li>\n<li>Hugh Marlowe Films<\/li>\n<li>Michael Rennie Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken Identities<\/li>\n<li>Patricia Neal Films<\/li>\n<li>Peacemakers<\/li>\n<li>Ray Harryhausen Films<\/li>\n<li>Robert Wise Films<\/li>\n<li>Sam Jaffe Films<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;extremely well-directed and -acted adult film&#8221; &#8212; Hollywood&#8217;s second alien invasion flick of the 1950s after Howard Hawks&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19485\"><em>The Thing (From Another Planet)<\/em> (1951)<\/a> &#8212; features a &#8220;literate script&#8221; by Edmund H. North (&#8220;adapting a story by Harry Bates&#8221;), and an &#8220;excellent&#8221;, theremin-heavy &#8220;dramatic score by Bernard Herrman&#8221;. However, he says he would like to &#8220;exchange some of the moralizing for a couple more exciting scenes&#8221;, and notes that he doesn&#8217;t &#8220;know what to make of Klaatu&#8217;s peace plan&#8221;, given that it forces humans to &#8220;let robots like Gort patrol earth and keep the peace&#8221; as if we were grounded teenagers. He posits that the &#8220;most suspenseful scene&#8221; is the one in which &#8220;frightened Neal bravely [goes] to Gort with a message from Klaatu: &#8216;Klaatu barada nikto!'&#8221; &#8212; a line which remains one of the most famous in the annals of sci-fi cinema. <\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m ultimately a bigger fan of this cult flick than Peary: I like its intelligence, its deliberate pacing, and the crispness of Leo Tover&#8217;s atmospheric black-and-white cinematography (which is especially gorgeous in Blu-Ray). Unlike Anne Francis&#8217;s Altaira in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35424\"><em>Forbidden Planet<\/em> (1956)<\/a>, Neal is a refreshingly savvy and nuanced female protagonist:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-35406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>and Rennie is perfectly cast as an ultra-rational yet compassionate alien attempting to understand humans&#8217; &#8220;illogical&#8221; bent towards violence. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58009\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6-360x270.png 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie6.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The storyline may be a bit heavy in moralizing &#8212; with Rennie&#8217;s &#8220;Mr. Carpenter&#8221; clearly meant to symbolize a Jesus-like savior &#8212; but truthfully, we deserve it, given that our current world situation is nearly as dire now as during the Cold War. Thankfully, the film&#8217;s numerous &#8220;inconsistencies&#8221; &#8212;  i.e., the fact that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2785day.html\">&#8220;Gort, a ten-foot metal Golem, scorches his way out of a solid block of plastic, marches across a major city, burns down the wall of a jail and carries kaput Klaatu back to the Mall &#8211; and nobody sees him!&#8221;<\/a> &#8212; &#8220;only become obvious after repeated viewings&#8221;; see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2785day.html\">DVD Savant&#8217;s review<\/a> for this example and others.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> This film was remade in 2008 with Keanu Reeves but I haven&#8217;t seen that version and probably won&#8217;t.      <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Michael Rennie as Klaatu<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie4-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-35410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie4-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie4-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie4-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie4.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Patricia Neal as Helen<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58007\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4-360x270.png 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still-Neal4.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>Fine, precise direction by Wise<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-35411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Rennie.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Leo Tover&#8217;s excellent b&#038;w cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Cinematography-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-35407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Cinematography-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Cinematography-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Cinematography.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ray Harryhausen&#8217;s impressive special effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Effects.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Effects-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-35415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Effects-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Effects-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Effects-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Effects.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Good use of Washington D.C. locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Lincoln-Memorial.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Lincoln-Memorial-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-35414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Lincoln-Memorial-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Lincoln-Memorial-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Lincoln-Memorial-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Day-Earth-Stood-Still-Lincoln-Memorial.png 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Bernard Herrmann&#8217;s theremin-heavy score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, both for its historical value and as a classic of the genre. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0043456\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1951\/09\/19\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-emissary-from-planet-visits-mayfair-theatre-in.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/72439\/the-day-the-earth-stood-still#articles-reviews?articleId=145423\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=3208&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2785day.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/35717\/day-the-earth-stood-still-the\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/sciencefiction\/day-the-earth-stood-still-1951.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=2127\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-1951\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/G4XkCekXJA4\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason.&#8221; Synopsis: An alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his bodyguard-robot Gort (Lock Martin) land in Washington D.C. hoping to peacefully warn the Earth&#8217;s leaders that internecine violence will lead to the planet&#8217;s annihilation. When Rennie is immediately attacked, he goes undercover to learn more about the human race, befriending a widow (Patricia Neal) and her son (Billy Gray) as well as a brilliant scientist (Sam Jaffe) &#8212; but when&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35402\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35402"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83854,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35402\/revisions\/83854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}