Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

A UFO lands in Washington D.C., and out of it emerges a tall humanoid alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and a giant robot called Gort. The American military being what it is, shoots right on cue, resulting in Gort obliterating all military hardware present on the scene. Klaatu and Gort aren’t here to fuck around, folks. In fact, Klaatu says he has a message that he must deliver to all of the Earth’s political leaders. Obviously, the humans are reluctant to go along with this, so Klaatu decides to lay low by assuming a different name (Carpenter) and finding lodging with widow Helen (Patricia Neal) and her impressionable son Bobby (Billy Gray), who immediately takes a liking to the stranger. Klaatu decides to try a different tact in delivering his message, by seeking out renowned scientist Dr. Barnardt (Sam Jaffe) in getting powerful people to listen to his message. What is that message? You’ll have to find out for yourself, or keep reading the review I suppose (You’ve been warned). Hugh Marlowe plays a stuffy suitor for Helen, who doesn’t like the cut of this Carpenter’s jib.

 

A lot of 50s American sci-fi got caught up in ‘red scare’ themes/propaganda, but this 1951 Robert Wise (“The Body Snatcher”, “Run Silent, Run Deep”, “The Haunting”) flick has something different to say. It’s an anti-nuclear film (and pretty much anti-war as well), and as a result, it has proven to have lasted longer in its reputation/reception than any of those anti-Commie pics have. It’s also just a really fun, well-made movie. Based on a short story by Harry Bates and scripted by Edmund H. North (“Damn the Defiant!”, “Patton”), it’s not perfect, but it has a brain in its head and something to say, albeit with the occasional corny line or two. Director Wise (aptly named in this case) treats things as seriously as possible, without quite making a docudrama. Add to that a fantastic, otherworldly Theremin score by Bernard Herrmann (“Citizen Kane”, “Vertigo”, “Psycho”, “Taxi Driver”) and you’ve got a landmark in 50s science-fiction cinema.

 

Have the FX dated? Sure, but compared to other 50s sci-fi films, they’re still rather good. Even better is the art deco set design of the spaceship interior, and the robot Gort is an iconic visage in movie history. Meanwhile, the B&W cinematography by Leo Tover gives the film a shadowy, but also lovely, stark quality. The film is obviously anti-nuclear, but it’s also worth pointing out that the military open fire on the martian here after 30 seconds of screen time. That’s something to think about, I’d say. I mean, talk about being trigger-happy, the film definitely nails the ‘shoot first’ mentality of humans, especially Americans. Add to that the fact that the young boy’s father died in war, and one unforgettable image of all of those soldiers’ graves is brilliant. It’s actually quite surprising that this thing got released in 1951 when you think about it, it’s pretty different in its message. You might also pick up on a Christ figure in Michael Rennie’s alien Klaatu, who at one point goes by the name ‘Carpenter’, which is interesting. Director Wise claims he wasn’t aware of the allegory at the time, but it’s obvious that screenwriter North knew what he was doing. Klaatu’s threats of violence to the people of Earth might sound a tad hypocritical, but he says that it’s all humans understand, so the film gets away with it. It also somehow gets away with a lack of action. Klaatu gives the leaders of nations a verbal spanking, but it’s startlingly free of violence, outside of the initial reaction by the American military. Given the themes at play here, it’s a good and correct decision, however.

 

Some of the actors fare better here than others, with Patricia Neal and Sam Jaffe definitely taking top honours. Neal, sounding a bit like Katharine Hepburn but less annoying, was a seriously underrated actress whose career was derailed by health issues, unfortunately. She’s lovely as always here, and has a cynical way about her that allows her to not come off like a total June Cleaver. She’s likeable, and probably the most impressive of the cast here. Sam Jaffe was quite simply one of the best and most durable character actors in cinematic history. Playing the scientist here is a pitch-perfect use of him. As the humanoid alien (admittedly a lack of imagination by the film there) Klaatu, British actor Michael Rennie’s large stature is put to good use, especially in shadowy scenes that have him comparable to the robot Gort. His actual performance is a tad stiff (Spencer Tracy apparently turned the role down, and Claude Rains was unable to accept due to prior commitments. Both would’ve been excellent), but I actually liked that Klaatu’s warnings to humanity came off as a tad condescending. Dude doesn’t have time to suffer fools, and we’ve apparently been very, very foolish. He also gets an amusing bit with young Billy Gray where he explains the meaning of inertia to the boy…and does it in the most technical way possible. Yeah, that’s not gonna go over his head at all. Getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop is Hugh Marlowe, not a great actor to begin with, but playing the rather colourless boyfriend of Patricia Neal doesn’t give him a damn thing to work with, either. He’s probably the weakest part of the film, as even the dated FX are still OK. Young Billy Gray, meanwhile, is a tad too ‘Golly gee whillikers!’ for my taste, but you may tolerate him a bit more than me.

 

Imperfect, but this landmark 50s sci-fi flick contains iconic imagery, aims higher than most thematically, and succeeds extremely well in its aims. Best of all, it’s under 90 minutes long. It gets in, does its thing, and leaves before becoming tiring. A must-see.

 

Rating: A