Robert Wise, “The Day the Earth stood Still” (1951)
Yesterday a meteor and its debris struck an area in the Urals in Russia and the planet itself narrowly avoided a collision with an asteroid. Tonight I saw “The Day the Earth stood Still” which tells of a different and fictional encounter Earth had with unexpected visitors from afar over 60 years ago. A spacecraft lands in Washington DC and an alien, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), and a robot (Lock Martin) emerge from it to the astonishment of the gathered crowds and soldiers guarding them. Klaatu tries to greet the Earthlings and tell them something important but is shot in the arm. He is hustled off to a hospital and put under guard. Deciding that the only way to deliver his message to the Earthlings and find out why they are so hostile to him is to cut through the layers of political and military bureaucracy and obfuscation and approach the people directly, Klaatu escapes and disguises himself as an ordinary human being. He ingratiates himself with a widow, Mrs Benson (Patricia Neal) and her young son (Billy Gray); through the boy Klaatu meets a scientist, Professor Barnhard (Sam Jaffe), and tells him of his mission. While Barnhard gets busy rounding up world leaders to listen to Klaatu’s message, Mrs Benson’s boyfriend Tom (Hugh Marlowe) discovers from her son who has been following Klaatu about who Klaatu is and raises the alarm with the authorities, hoping that he’ll be well rewarded. Mrs Benson however tries to get Klaatu away from the military authorities but they both fall foul of the soldiers with tragic results.
The film carries a clear anti-war theme that urges people to strive for peace, tolerance, discovering truth within ourselves and others, and overcoming our fears. Mrs Benson realises the kind of the man Tom is and discovers courage within herself. Neal underplays her character as an ordinary single working mother thrust into an extraordinary situation with a quiet grace: her performance is low-key as are all the other major roles in the film yet somehow the acting seems more memorable than it otherwise would have been had the actors been instructed to act in the melodramatic way of the time. Rennie in particular performs his role with gentlemanly dignity and not a little humour. He carries the movie on his shoulders quite lightly with help from the capable Neal and both actors are two of the main highlights of the film. The child is merely annoying and the other major characters of Tom and Professor Barnhard are sketchy and fairly stereotypical (the jealous boyfriend who finds he can rat on the new competitor, the amiable rocket scientist).
Of course the robot Gort is a big star with its size and weapons capabilities. The special effects, though sparsely used, are impressive for the time and the film’s limited budget. The interiors of the spaceship are minimal and in over 60 years have dated very little. Curious to think that Wise and his script-writer Ed North hit on the idea of getting Rennie to wave his hands to activate his interstellar Skype and turn lights and computers on; soon we Earthlings will be able to do the same to our upcoming technology! The film’s small budget meant that the film crew delivered a very streamlined spacecraft both inside and outside and only included those special effects necessary for the purpose of plot, and the result is a film whose sci-fi elements look much less antiquated than expected and which have actually acquired cult status over the years.
A strong, clear and straightforward plot, understated acting that enables character development and a theme that still resonates with audiences and which, if anything, has become more relevant to us in a world riven by political rivalries, economic and social inequalities, greater oppression and fear, and increasing manipulation and obfuscation by governments and corporations of the truth and justice for the oppressed and the weak, all of which make global war more likely, not less: these still make “The Day the Earth stood Still” a film to watch as much for what it still has to tell and teach us as for its historical value in portraying the politics of its time.