A Series of Writings on Films that I feel are essential for film lovers, coupled with films that are personal to me. Spoilers for those you haven't seen the film.
I'm always interested in how films can act as metaphors for themselves, either by accident or design. Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still is about an alien sending a message to the human race: do not continue to war amongst yourselves or you will be destroyed. Just as the film is about a messenger, the film is a messenger. In lieu of an actual space emissary the film acts as a cautionary warning. While Wise's film may appear quaint to many modern viewers the film's message was and remains powerful in its bluntness, and its influence on later science fiction films cannot be overlooked. It's also just a very well made film with good performances and tight pacing.
The film begins with a flying saucer landing in Washington. A being in a space-suit (Michael Rennie) emerges, along with a robot named Gort (Lock Martin). After being shot by a soldier, the spaceman is taken to the hospital where it is revealed he is a humanoid named Klaatu. Klaatu tells the President's secretary he has a message he wishes to communicate to all the world leaders. The secretary tells him it's not possible to arrange a meeting. Later Klaatu escapes from the hospital. He goes to a boarding house under the name of Mr. Carpenter. There Klaatu befriends Bobby (Billy Gray), the son of a war widow, Helen Benson (Patricia Neal). Klaatu asks Bobby who the smartest man is on the planet, to which Bobby answers Professor Jacob Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe). Klaatu convinces Barnhardt to gather renowned scientists at the spaceship so Klaatu can deliver his message. But first Klaatu must display his power nonviolently.
Spencer Tracy and Claude Rains were considered for the part of Klaatu but producer Julian Blaustein believed a lesser known actor would work better for conveying an alien quality to American audiences. The head of 20th Century Fox, Daryl F. Zanuck, suggested British actor Rennie, who had gotten his start in an uncredited role in Alfred Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936) and made his American film debut in The Black Rose (1950) alongside Tyrone Power and Orson Welles. Rennie turned out to be the perfect choice. He brings an amused but slightly sinister quality to the role; but Rennie never plays Klaatu as a hero or villain, just someone with a mission. He's cold and objective about its importance and what he needs to achieve it. But he's also capable of warmth, as in his scenes with Bobby; and he inevitably turns to our other main character, Helen, for help.
While Helen at first doesn't believe Billy when he tells her he saw "Mr. Carpenter" enter the space ship, Klaatu tells her the truth during his nonviolent display of power- switching off the electricity across the world. Klaatu asks for Helen's help and I can see why he trusts her. Neal conveys trustworthiness and maturity. Helen is dating a man named Tom Stevens (Hugh Marlowe) who also discovers Klaatu's identity. Tom only cares about becoming famous by exposing Klaatu, in contrast to Helen who cares about his mission.
Neal started her career on Broadway and won Best Featured Actress in a Play for Another Part of the Forest at the first Tony Awards in 1947. A few years later she would star in the film version of The Fountainhead (1949) with Gary Cooper. After The Day the Earth Stood Still, she would win the Best Actress Oscar for Hud (1963) and co-star in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Neal supposedly thought The Day the Earth Stood Still would just be another flying saucer film and had difficulty keeping a straight face while delivering some of her lines; but she helps ground the film and give it the necessary human element. The scene where Neal delivers the film's iconic phrase- "Klaatu barada nikto"- which stops Gort from destroying humanity- is also the film's most suspenseful moment.
After Gort has been prevented from causing harm he brings Klaatu back to life via a machine on the ship. When Helen asks if Gort has the power of life and death Klaatu responds that only "the Almighty Spirit" has this power, meaning his resurrection is only temporary. This reference was at the behest of the censors who didn't like the scientific explanation for resurrection. It's this reference that has led to Klaatu being interpreted as a Christ like figure.
Wise and writer Edmund H. North added this line reluctantly. They believed it under-minded the idea of Klaatu's race being God-like. I understand Wise and North's issue but I'd argue it reinforces the Christ metaphor and adds another layer of mystery to the film. Is this Almighty Spirit the human idea of God or something else entirely? Could this spirit have some basis in science rather than being strictly spiritual? The line is vague enough to allow interpretation.
Wise described himself as "journeyman director," someone who doesn't a specific directorial style but who acquits themselves to different genres. But despite his modesty Wise's career is very impressive. After starting out as a sound and music editor at RKO Pictures he would become a film editor. Wise edited what many consider to be the greatest film of all time- Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941, for which he received an Oscar nomination. He then directed additional footage for Welles' follow-up The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). Wise's first directorial credit was The Curse of the Cat People (1944), which he finished after it's director Gunther von Fritsch was fired for falling behind schedule. Wise would receive two Best Director Oscars for West Side Story and The Sound of Music (the former he shared with Jerome Robbins). And he directed what I think- along with The Innocents (1961)- is the definitive haunted house movie, The Haunting (1963). His last major film was Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), which for its noted problems has some visually stunning moments.
I love how Wise and his cinematographer Leo Tover- who photographed William Wyler's The Heiress- make certain scenes in this film feel like a film-noir, a sci-fi-noir you could say. The scenes I'm thinking of are when Klaatu first returns to the ship and near the end when Helen confronts Gort and then is on the spaceship. Tover's use of shadows invoke the noir atmosphere. Wise chose Bernard Herrmann to score the film. Herrmann used two theremins to create the film's unusual sound. The film's main theme is ominous, mysterious and must importantly, other-worldly. I think it epitomizes what I think of as the sound of 50s or old school sci-fi.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a direct and efficient film. Klaatu delivers his message and leaves. There's no sentimental goodbyes to Helen and Billy. We are simply left to ponder how humanity will respond. I talked at the beginning of how the film is a metaphor for itself. Coming back to that: just like the scientists at the film's end, we the audience is gathered to witness Klaatu's message. The message is terrifying in its implications but sobering as well. The ending doesn't strive for optimism but acts as a precursor to a unseen larger story. Part of me would have loved to see Rennie and Neal back in a sequel but it probably for the best the film stands alone. The ending's chilling ambiguity will forever remain untainted.
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