THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL - 1951
20th Century Fox
Rating: N/A |
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Exposition is like bad tasting medicine. The best way to give it to somebody is to
sneak it in along with something that tastes good. If you give it all
in one big dose it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. That's why I hate
movies that begin with a ten or twenty minute let's-get-to-know-the-characters
expositionrama. And that's why I like movies that draw you in by having
a flying saucer land on the White House lawn.
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL was directed by Robert Wise (CURSE
OF THE CAT PEOPLE, THE
ANDROMEDA STRAIN) and written by Edmund H. North (SINK THE BISMARK!, METEOR), based
on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates.
The story
opens with news reports of a strange craft detected on radar circling
the globe at speeds up to 4000 miles per hour (several of the reporters seen here were actual newsmen of the early 50's, giving
a much more realistic flavor for theater audiences of the era).
The saucer is seen over Washington D.C. and comes in for a landing in
a city park on the Mall (a grassy area in front of the capital building - I exaggerated a bit about the White House lawn).
Crowds surround the vehicle and the military takes charge.
We don't have to wait long. The ship opens and a man wearing a spacesuit walks
out. He says he comes in peace but when he reaches into a pocket an overeager
soldier fires. The man drops and the crowd gasps as a huge robot steps
outside. The robot proceeds to disintegrate every rifle, tank and artillery
piece in sight. It would have done more but a word from the spaceman stops
the destruction.
The spaceman is Klaatu (Michael Rennie: THE POWER, CYBORG 2087,
THE LOST WORLD [1960]). He is taken to Walter Reed hospital and
is well treated but kept in a locked room (something he finds amusing). The hospital staff is amazed by Klaatu's powers
of recovery.
Back at the saucer the giant robot (we later find out his
name is Gort - he's played by the very tall Lock Martin: INVADERS FROM
MARS, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN) remains motionless as well
as impervious to all tests. The military decides to encase the metal monster
in plastic to keep him from moving around.
Klaatu meets with Mr. Harley (Frank Conroy: MIGHTY JOE YOUNG),
a man from the government, and is disappointed to discover that a meeting
of all the heads of state on Earth can't be convened immediately. Klaatu
is disdainful and dismissive (and kind of a jerk)
of our "petty squabbles" here on Earth. Don't these foolish
Earthlings know why he's here? Don't they understand what's going on?
Well, no, of course they don't. And Klaatu decides he doesn't understand them either
so he makes his escape and - since he looks perfectly human and speaks
English (learned by listening to our broadcasts) - easily blends in with the populace. He takes the name "Carpenter"
(one of several Jesus references) and rents a room from Mrs. Barley (Francis Bavier, better known in TV land as Aunt Bea). There he befriends a young boy named Bobby (Billy Gray: THE NAVY VS. THE NIGHT MONSTERS, WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS, THE VAMPYRE WARS) and his single mother Helen Benson (Patricia Neal: STRANGER FROM VENUS, GHOST STORY).
The discussions around the dinner table at the boarding house reveal the near panic of
the general public, knowing that an escaped alien is wandering around
the city. Rumors of destruction and invasion are everywhere, although
opinions vary as to exactly how alien Klaatu is. Mrs. Barley makes it
clear she thinks it's all a communist plot.
Klaatu does some sightseeing with Bobby and seems truly fond of the boy, which is
an interesting contrast to threats Klaatu made earlier to Mr. Harley.
In order to be taken seriously he asked if he needed to do something drastic,
like destroy New York City. As later events make clear, he was quite serious.
Klaatu is likable in many ways but make no mistake: this is not a nice
guy. He's here on a mission and will do whatever it takes.
And what is that mission? For that, you have to see the movie. And when you do
you'll better understand this
!!!SCIENCE MOMENT!!!:
When Mr. Harley questions Klaatu about his trip, Klaatu reveals that he
traveled 250 million miles to get to Earth. He's coy about exactly what
planet he comes from, saying only, "Let's just say we're neighbors."
But given these clues his homeworld could only be Mars or Venus. Keep
in mind this is 1951, before we knew just how thin Mars' atmosphere was
and back when we still thought Venus was a humid, cloud covered jungle
world instead of the sulphuric acid cloud inferno that it is. The movie
sort of acknowledges this because when Klaatu leaves the hospital we briefly
see the newspaper headline: "Martian Escapes!"
This is an excellent movie that certainly rises far above the many bad sci-fi
flicks that come from this era. But there is a political undertone here
that people sometimes miss. Klaatu isn't an invader exactly but he does
have a "do it our way or die" agenda.
He doesn't scare me, though. But just to be safe I'm giving this movie four shriek
girls.
This review copyright 2004 E.C.McMullen Jr.
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