One of the most beloved of 1950s science fiction films, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" has become a cult classic. Much discussed and praised, its reputation often prevents legitimate examination of its many flaws.

It was directed by Robert Wise, who would become perhaps the most successful directors during the early-mid 1960s ("West Side Story", "The Haunting", "The Sound of Music"). Another famous name is composer Bernard Herrmann, noted for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock.

The film begins with a UFO landing in Washington D.C. It is quickly surrounded by soldiers with tanks and bazookas. Two figures emerge from the spaceship: a stiff, indestructible robot and a man. He is an alien named Klaatu from 'a planet 250 million miles away'. However, he looks and sounds as if he was raised in Ohio. Except that he's smarter than anybody else.

Anyway, he has an important message for Earthlings. Be peaceful in outer space, or be destroyed. Klaatu refuses to meet with the President, stating that he'd prefer meeting all of the Earth's leaders at once. It's a surprise, then, that he has so much time to spend with preadolescent Bobby (Billy Gray), a golly gee whiz kid with understanding mother Helen (Patricia Neal). Helen has an older, dislikable boyfriend (Hugh Marlowe) who is suspicious of the curious stranger who keeps hanging around Helen and Bobby.

When a film's most famous line is "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!", you know that it has problems. Burdened with a low budget, an unintentionally humorous script, and several tedious passages, the direction is wisely executed with straight faces all around. Except for Klaatu, who often dons a wry smirk similar to the kind that adults patronize young children with. Discussion on the film concludes that Klaatu is a Christ figure, but his big, destructive robot friend is decidedly Old Testament.

Certainly the story is much different than most B-movie sci-fi films from the 1950s, although the overly praised, cheesy theremin score seems familiar. There's no monsters with tentacles, or giant insects or lizards on the rampage. However, when the robot lifts a limp Patricia Neal, it is reminiscent of the classic still from "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954). Space exploration was yet to begin in 1952, and the vast new frontier held promises, fears and excitement that have since abated.

Patricia Neal would later be able to demonstrate her acting skills in more desirable films ("Operation Pacific", "A Face in The Crowd", "Hud"). Like Steve McQueen in "The Blob", or Michael Landon in "I Was a Teenage Werewolf", enduring an embarrassing low budget horror film was sometimes a rite of passage for rising Hollywood stars. (57/100)




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