IMDb > The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Day the Earth Stood Still
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The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 9)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) -- An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) -- Doctors discuss the mystery of the extremely health alien as they light up cigarettes.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) -- An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) -- Movieplayer.it - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 37% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Edmund H. North (screenplay)
Harry Bates (story)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Day the Earth Stood Still on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

28 September 1951 (USA) more

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller more

Tagline:

A robot and a man . . . hold the world spellbound with new and startling powers from another planet! more

Plot:

An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination more

NewsDesk:
(278 articles)

Scores from Outer Space
 (From SoundOnSight. 30 September 2009, 7:38 PM, PDT)

Cinematical Seven: Our Alien Friends
 (From Cinematical. 18 August 2009, 8:02 PM, PDT)

User Comments:

One of the ten best Sci-Fi movies of all time! more (323 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Additional Details

Runtime:

92 min | Germany:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Hindi

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Italy:T | USA:Approved (PCA #15271) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1969) | Canada:G (video rating) | South Korea:12 (2004) | Brazil:Livre | Germany:12 (f) | Netherlands:12 | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Ireland:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:U


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Some reference works state that "Adventures of Superman" (1952) star George Reeves appeared as a television news reporter with eyeglasses in one sequence. This is not true. The actor playing the role bears no resemblance to Reeves, and in a 1995 interview with Reeves biographer Jim Beaver, director Robert Wise stated unequivocally that it is not Reeves in the role. It appears that someone jumped to conclusions based on the image of a reporter wearing glasses and thus resembling roughly the image of Superman alter-ego Clark Kent. Reeves had nothing to do with the film in any capacity. more

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: A photograph shows the famous publicity still with Gort to the left of the photo and helmet-clad Klaatu to the right and slightly behind his robot, waving at the crowd. This never happened: Gort only came out after his master was shot down, therefore at this point in the movie both aliens were not seen together on the vessel for that photograph to be taken. Additionally, at the end of the movie, Klaatu is not wearing his helmet when he waves goodbye to Helen and Gort has long disappeared inside the spaceship. However, this being the 1950's, the current journalistic "truth in media" standards had not yet been adopted, so it is entirely possible (in fact, probable) that the newspapers simply took various photographs of Klaatu, the gizmo in his hand, Gort and the space ship and com posited them together to produce the image used. This was a widespread and accepted practice among newspapers at the time (most notoriously in the 1920's) and while very few respectable, mainstream newspapers resort to such photo tampering, even today tabloids like The Weekly World News still employ similar methods. more

Quotes:

[first lines]
American Radar Operator: Holy Mackerel! Call headquarters. Get the lieutenant.
more

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 10 Top 10 (2008) (TV) more


FAQ

Was Gort played by a robot or a real actor?
From what planet did Klaatu originate?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
more
99 out of 123 people found the following comment useful.
One of the ten best Sci-Fi movies of all time!, 6 December 2004
10/10
Author: mlcushing from Edmonton Alberta

This was one of the first sci-fi movies I ever saw and one by which I gage all others. Before there was 'Star Wars' there was 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. It brought together all that later sci-fi movies strive for. A solid story, believable characters and, for the day, great special FX. It was an examination of society at the time and the racial prejudice that permeated all levels of life. It studies mans fear of the unknown and the violent reaction it produces even today, and how the love of one person can change the course of events for the better. It's a movie that can still stand on its own even by today's standards and should never be remade.

But that's just my opinion.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (323 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Was this considered a 'B' movie when released? shellsmachine
Patricia Neal lord_malasombra
Klaatu's interesting behavior mickeyone
Klaatu Barada Nikto trainspotted15
Location of the original Gort joehoward123
A Matrix Connection? mrpie81
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