Amazon.com Essentials:
A hallmark of the science fiction genre as well as a wry
commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, The Day the Earth
Stood Still is a sci-fi movie less concerned with special effects
than with a social parable. A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C.,
carrying a humanoid messenger from another world (Michael Rennie)
imparting a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent
behavior. But panic ensues as the messenger lands and is shot by a
nervous soldier. His large robot companion destroys the Capitol as the
messenger escapes the confines of the hospital. He moves in with a
family as a boarder and blends into society to observe the full range
of the human experience. Director Robert Wise (West Side Story)
not only provides one of the most recognizable icons of the science
fiction world in his depiction of the massive robot loyal to his
master, but he avoids the obvious camp elements of the story to create
a quiet and observant story highlighting both the good and the bad in
human nature. --Robert Lane
