Film
Film · 1951 to 1957 · Streaming varies by market
The 1950s Sci-Fi Boom, Explained
Flying saucers, giant ants and pod people: why the atomic age filled cinemas with science fiction, and 10 films to start with.
Jeff Cameron · 4 min read
The Day the Earth Stood Still
A flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C., and its passenger, Klaatu, emerges with a message for all of Earth's nations, backed by a towering robot named Gort. When the military and politicians fail him, Klaatu slips into the city under an assumed name to learn about humanity. Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe and Sam Jaffe star.
Where to watch
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Our take
A flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C., and its passenger, Klaatu, emerges with a message for all of Earth's nations, backed by a towering robot named Gort. When the military and politicians fail him, Klaatu slips into the city under an assumed name to learn about humanity. Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe and Sam Jaffe star.
Why watch Made at the start of the nuclear age, it is a science fiction film about fear, militarism and responsibility rather than invasion. Robert Wise directs with sober restraint, and Bernard Herrmann's score, with its eerie theremin, set the sound of 1950s science fiction. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1995. Essential for anyone exploring classic science fiction.
What to know
Twentieth Century-Fox released the film in 1951. Robert Wise directed, from a screenplay by Edmund H. North based on Harry Bates’s 1940 short story “Farewell to the Master”. Wise later made West Side Story and The Sound of Music, but this remains one of his best-remembered genre films.
Michael Rennie, then little known to American audiences, plays Klaatu with calm authority. Patricia Neal is Helen Benson, the widow whose young son befriends him, and Sam Jaffe plays a scientist who takes the visitor seriously. The phrase “Klaatu barada nikto”, used to stop Gort, has been quoted and borrowed ever since. The film was remade in 2008 with Keanu Reeves.
If you like it
Forbidden Planet (1956) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) are other high points of the decade’s science fiction. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) revisits the idea of first contact as hope rather than threat.
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Quick answers
- Where can I watch The Day the Earth Stood Still?
- In the UK: Apple TV (rent), Prime Video (rent), Apple TV (buy) and Prime Video (buy). In Canada: Apple TV (rent), Prime Video (rent), Apple TV (buy) and Prime Video (buy). In the US: Apple TV (rent), Prime Video (rent), Apple TV (buy) and Prime Video (buy). In Australia: Apple TV (buy) and Prime Video (buy). In New Zealand: Apple TV (buy) and Prime Video (buy).
- What is The Day the Earth Stood Still about?
- A flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C., and its passenger, Klaatu, emerges with a message for all of Earth's nations, backed by a towering robot named Gort. When the military and politicians fail him, Klaatu slips into the city under an assumed name to learn about humanity. Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe and Sam Jaffe star.
- Who is in the cast of The Day the Earth Stood Still?
- The Day the Earth Stood Still stars Patricia Neal, James Hong, Snub Pollard, Sam Jaffe and Frances Bavier.
- Who directed The Day the Earth Stood Still?
- The Day the Earth Stood Still was directed by Robert Wise.
- When did The Day the Earth Stood Still come out?
- The Day the Earth Stood Still was released on 18 September 1951.
- How long is The Day the Earth Stood Still?
- The Day the Earth Stood Still runs 92 minutes (1 h 32 min).
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