The Day The Earth Stood Still

A well meaning space alien lands on the Earth to deliver his message of peace and the dangers of nuclear weapons. Great special effects, especially his robot pal, Gort.

Klaatu knows if he is killed, Gort will destroy the world so he tells Helen the words that will keep that from happening.

Klaatu has asked to meet with all the leaders of the Earth and an official tries to explain why this is not possible.

A strange craft lands in Washington DC and a visitor steps out and offers peace and good will.

Doctors discuss the mystery of the extremely health alien as they light up cigarettes.

After a soldier shoots Klaatu, the giant robot Gort appears and attacks, turning tanks to slag with a strange ray.

A well meaning space alien lands on the Earth to deliver his message of peace and the dangers of nuclear weapons. Great special effects, especially his robot pal, Gort.

Beginning with a documentary style that immediately hooks the viewer, The Day the Earth Stood Still, based on the Harry Bates short story 'Farewell to the Master,' becomes as much a human interest story as it does a sci-fi B-movie classic. The film soberly depicts the arrival of an alien dignitary, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), who has come to earth with his deadly robot, Gort (Lock Martin), to deliver the message that earthlings must stop warring among themselves--or else. After being shot at by ignorant, panicky military guards, Klaatu is brought to a Washington, D.C., hospital, where he begs a sympathetic but frank Major White (Robert Osterloh) to gather all the world's leaders so he can tell them more specifically what he has come 250 million miles to warn them about. Losing patience, Klaatu slips into the human world, adapting a false identity and living at a boarding house where he meets a smart woman with a conscience, Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), and her inquisitive son, Bobby (Billy Gray). Both mother and son soon find themselves embroiled in the complex mystery of Klaatu, his message, and the government's witch hunt for the alien. Made during the cold war--when Americans were obsessed with the destructive capabilities of the atomic bomb--The Day the Earth Stood Still, thanks to its beautiful pacing, excellent dialogue, and haunting score by Bernard Herrmann, is still a treat for contemporary audiences.