The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
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Horror Movies & Sci-Fi Movies Database
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03.09.09
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A flying saucer orbits the 1950s Earth. It lands in Washington, DC, on the Mall. The lone occupant steps out and is shot by a jumpy soldier. Gort, a large and very powerful robot appears to save him and is able to melt tanks with the slightest bit of his power. The wounded alien orders Gort to stop his rampage and is taken to a hospital from which he escapes in order to learn more about this planet, even moving in as a boarder with an Earth family. When they begin to suspect him, he reveals himself, along with the news that Gort is a member of a race of super-robot enforcers invented to keep the peace of the galaxy that will destroy the Earth if provoked.
Movie Tagline:
A robot and a man . . . hold the world spellbound with new and startling powers from another planet!
Title: Day The Earth Stood Still, The
Release Date: September 18, 1951
Runtime: 92 mins
Genre: Drama
All Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Languages: English, French, Hindi
Country: USA
Colors: Black and White
Sound: Mono
IMDB Rating: 8.0
Brimstone Pit Rating: 9 - (Rate This Horror Movie)
Category: Horror Movies Starting With D
MPAA Rating: TV-G
Director(s):
Robert Wise
Cast:
Michael Rennie ...Klaatu
Patricia Neal ...Helen Benson
Hugh Marlowe ...Tom Stevens
Sam Jaffe ...Professor Jacob Barnhardt
Billy Gray ...Bobby Benson
Frances Bavier ...Mrs. Barley
Lock Martin ...Gort
Patrick Aherne ...General at Pentagon
Holly Bane ...Army Captain
Oscar Blanke ...Peddler
Marshall Bradford ...Chief of Staff
John Brown ...George Barley
John Burton ...British Radio Announcer
Wheaton Chambers ...Mr. Bleeker
Jean Charney ...Mother
Beulah Christian ...Secretary
John Close ...Captain
Louise Colombet ...French Woman
James Conaty ...General at Pentagon
Frank Conroy ...Mr. Harley
Eric Corrie ...British Soldier
John Costello ...Cockney
James Craven ...Businessman
Marjorie Crossland ...Hilda
Jack Daly ...Minor Role
Elmer Davis ...Himself - Commentator
Lawrence Dobkin ...Army Physician
Jim Doyle ...Medical Corps Major
Roy Engel ...Government Man
Charles Evans ...Major General
» [more cast members]
Producer(s):
Julian Blaustein
Writer(s):
Edmund H. North
Harry Bates
Composer(s):
Bernard Herrmann
Trailer(s):
The Day The Earth Stood Still Horror Film Trailer 1
The Day The Earth Stood Still Horror Film Trailer 2
More Movie Taglines:
- A robot and a man . . . hold the world spellbound with new and startling powers from another planet!
- The screen has never conceived a creature like this!
- From Out Of Space... A Warning And An Ultimatum
- Strange Power From Another Planet Menaces The Earth!
- What is this invader from another planet... Can it destroy the Earth?
Movie Quote(s):
- [last lines] Klaatu: I am leaving soon, and you will 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. Your ancestors knew this when they made laws to govern themselves and hired policemen to enforce them. We, of the other planets, have long accepted this principle. We have an organization for the mutual protection of all planets and for the complete elimination of aggression. The test of any such higher authority is, of course, the police force that supports it. For our policemen, we created a race of robots. Their function is to patrol the planets in spaceships like this one and preserve the peace. In matters of aggression, we have given them absolute power over us. This power cannot be revoked. At the first sign of violence, they act automatically against the aggressor. The penalty for provoking their action is too terrible to risk. The result is, we live in peace, without arms or armies, secure in the knowledge that we are free from aggression and war. Free to pursue more... profitable enterprises. Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you.
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Klaatu: I'm worried about Gort. I'm afraid of what he might do if anything should happen to me. Helen: Gort? But he's a robot. Without you, what could he do? Klaatu: There's no limit to what he could do. He could destroy the Earth.
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Mr. Harley: Your impatience is quite understandable. Klaatu: I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it. Mr. Harley: I'm afraid my people haven't. I'm very sorry... I wish it were otherwise.
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Klaatu: We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill.
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Klaatu: I won't resort to threats, Mr. Harley. I merely tell you the future of your planet is at stake.
Movie Trivia:
- The role of Klaatu was originally intended for Claude Rains.
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The role of Gort was played by Lock Martin, the doorman from Grauman's Chinese Theater, because he was extremely tall. However, he was unable to pick up Helen because he was so weak and had to be aided by wires (in shots from the back where he's carrying her, it's actually a lightweight dummy in his arms). He also had difficulty with the heavy Gort suit and could only stay in it for about a half-hour at a time.
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There were two Gort suits: one that laced up down the back for when he had his front to the camera, another that laced up in the front for the shots of his back.
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To give the appearance of seamlessness to the space ship, the crack around the door was filled with putty, then painted over. When the door opened the putty was torn apart, making the door seem to simply appear.
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Patricia Neal has admitted in interviews that she was completely unaware during the filming that the film would turn out so well and become one of the great science-fiction classics of all time. She assumed it would be just another one of the then-current and rather trashy flying saucer films that were popular at the time, and she found it difficult to keep a straight face while saying her lines.
IMDB Links:
» User Comments at imdb.com
» More information at imdb.com
Keywords:
Alien, Robot, Spacecraft, Tank ...[more]
Keywords All:
Escape, Flying Saucer, Political Protest, Space, Trapped In Elevator, Single Mother, Physicist, War Widow, Theremin, Diamond, Corpse, Anti War, Giant Robot, Screaming In Fear, Shot In The Arm, Android, Anti Nuclear, Ambassador, Friendship, Red Scare, Alien Language, Scientist, Close Encounter Of The Third Kind, Time Freeze, Panic, UFO, Radio News, Christ Allegory, Blood, Flashlight, Television Broadcast, Ultimatum, Cold War, Shot In The Back, First Contact, Messenger, Idealism, Rapid Healing, House Breaking, Interstellar Communication, Elevator, Peace Through Strength, Gift, Hope, Back From The Dead, Disaster, Broken Engagement, Lincoln Memorial, Chase Scene, Social Commentary, Mother Son Relationship, Quarantine, Blackout, Death Ray, Mathematical Equation, Healing, Power Outage, Professor, Humanity In Peril, Young Boy, Arlington Cemetery, Beautiful Woman, Military, Washington Monument, Resurrection, Disintegration, Human Alien, Alien Contact, General, Cigarette Smoking, Chalkboard, Television, Science vs Military, Fugitive, Famous Score, Boarding House, Death Of Father
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Rating: 9.0 out of 10.0 - 61 votes cast total
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