Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) by Andrew B — 10 Nov 2010

Not only did director Robert Wiseâ(TM)s seminal, science fiction saga âThe Day The Earth Stood Stillâ? espouse traditional American values and Cold War tensions, but the atmospheric, black & white film also influenced a generation of alien invasion movies.

Most early sci-fi movies occurred primarily on planet Earth. A mysterious flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C., and an eloquent spokesman from another planet warns earthlings that they must curb their destructive impulses.

Wise and âOnly the Valiantâ? scenarist Edmund North forged the first truly exceptional sci-fi film of the 1950s with âThe Day The Earth Stood Still.â? Solid production values distinguished this far-fetched but intriguing thriller.

Basically, aliens land on Earth and a trigger-happy military wants to obliterate them. The idea that an alien would masquerade as a human to try and understand our mind-set and culture before it passes judgment on mankind is pretty liberal.

Wise manages to depict a public spectacle from an objective perspective as well as relate a smaller, more intimate story about the relationship between the alien and a single parent mother and her impressionable son.

Despite its suspenseful doomsday plot, âThe Day The Earth Stood Stillâ? isnâ(TM)t a humorless bore. Choice lines of dialogue and the reactions which they elicit give the film a sly sense of humor. One item which enhances the atmosphere here is âCitizen Kaneâ? composer Bernard Herrmannâ(TM)s use of an electronic musical instrument called the Theremin that evokes an uneasy feeling.

The bell-shaped spaceship with its retracting passageway and the looming hulk of a robot became iconic symbols that other filmmakers would pay tribute to in their variations on the plot. Clearly, âThe Day The Earth Stood Stillâ? exemplifies those sci-fi films about benevolent aliens who are not committed to the wholesale destruction of mankind.

Interestingly enough, Twentieth Century Fox could not persuade the Pentagon to contribute U.S. Army vehicles so the company persuaded the National Guard to take up the slack and provide them with tanks, artillery and troops.

Wise learned about the project from studio chieftain Darryl F. Zanuck who recommended him to see âBroken Arrowâ? producer Julian Blaustein. According to Wise, Zanuck wasnâ(TM)t as interested in producing a socially relevant thriller as much as he was intent on making an audience pleaser.