The Day the Earth Stood Still

Did You Know?

• Spencer Tracy and Claude Rains were originally considered for the part of Klaatu.
• Bernard Herrmann's title theme was reused in the original pilot episode of Irwin Allen's 1965 TV series Lost in Space.
• The film's tank bears the 'Brave Rifles' insignia of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Plot

A flying saucer lands on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and is surrounded by soldiers and tanks. A humanoid in a spacesuit emerges, announcing he comes in peace, but a nervous soldier shoots and wounds him. A large robot, Gort, emerges from the saucer and disintegrates the soldiers' weapons before the alien, Klaatu, orders him to stop. Klaatu explains the broken device he carried was a gift for the President. After surgery at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Klaatu heals his wound with a salve. The Army cannot open the saucer, and Gort stands motionless outside. The President's secretary, Mr. Harley, visits Klaatu, who insists his message must be delivered to all world leaders simultaneously. Harley deems this impossible and rejects Klaatu's request to live among ordinary people. Klaatu escapes, takes a suit labeled 'Maj. Carpenter,' and rents a room in a boarding house under that name. Among the residents are widow Helen Benson and her son Bobby. Bobby shows Klaatu the city, including the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, where Klaatu learns most of the dead are soldiers. Klaatu asks who the greatest living person is, and Bobby suggests Professor Barnhardt. At Barnhardt's home, Klaatu solves a three-body problem on the blackboard and leaves his contact information. That evening, a government agent takes Klaatu to Barnhardt. Klaatu tells Barnhardt that other planets are concerned about Earth's aggressiveness with atomic power and that if his message is ignored, Earth could be eliminated. Barnhardt agrees to gather scientists worldwide at the saucer and suggests Klaatu provide a demonstration of his power.

Metaphors

Producer Julian Blaustein noted that film censor Joseph Breen objected to Klaatu's resurrection and limitless power. At the MPAA's request, a line was added in which Klaatu explains that Gort only revived him temporarily and that power is reserved to the Almighty Spirit. Screenwriter Edmund North said the Christ comparison was his private joke, intended to be subliminal. Klaatu's escape from the hospital involves stealing the clothing of a Maj. Carpenter, an allusion to Jesus's adoptive father's profession. His actions are misunderstood, and he is killed by military authority. At the film's end, Klaatu, restored to life, ascends into the night sky. Other parallels include his coming to Earth with a message for all mankind, befriending a child, possessing wisdom beyond any human, and giving a sign of his power. A British radar technician, upon observing the spaceship's speed, exclaims 'Holy Christmas!'

Production

Producer Julian Blaustein originally worked under the titles Farewell to the Master and Journey to the World, aiming to illustrate Cold War and Atomic Age fears. He reviewed over two hundred science fiction stories before Darryl F. Zanuck approved the project. Edmund North wrote the screenplay based on Harry Bates's 1940 story, completing the final revision on February 21, 1951. Science fiction writer Raymond F. Jones served as an uncredited adviser. Set designers Thomas Little and Claude Carpenter collaborated with architect Frank Lloyd Wright on the spacecraft design. Paul Laffoley suggested the interior was inspired by Wright's Johnson Wax Headquarters. Wright described the exterior as imitating an experimental substance that acts like living tissue, healing without a scar. Principal outdoor photography was shot on 20th Century Fox sound stages and its back lot, with a second unit filming in Washington, D.C., and Fort George G. Meade. The shooting schedule ran from April 9 to May 23, 1951, and the primary actors never traveled to Washington.

Legacy

The Day the Earth Stood Still was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. In 2001, it ranked number 82 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills and number 67 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers. In 2008, AFI's 10 Top 10 ranked it the fifth best science fiction film. The New York Times selected it as one of 'The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made' in 2004. Ringo Starr used a modified scene of the ship and Klaatu for the cover of his 1974 album Goodnight Vienna. Lou Cannon and Colin Powell believed the film inspired Ronald Reagan to discuss uniting against an alien invasion with Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. Reagan later told the United Nations that differences would vanish if facing an alien threat. The film appears in the opening scene of the first episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Willie Nile released an album titled The Day The Earth Stood Still in 2021, whose title track contains the phrase 'Klaatu Barada Nikto.' The film is considered one of the best of 1951 and appears on Arthur C. Clarke's list of the 12 best science fiction films. It holds a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Tony Magistrale describes it as one of the best examples of early techno-horror. The film was dramatized as a radio play on January 4, 1954, for Lux Radio Theatre, with Michael Rennie reprising his role.