The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe

Synopsis:
Fear and panic sweep the nation when a UFO touches down in Washington DC.

Impressions:
I'll drive both myself and you crazy if I spend this review going on about how much better this is than its cruddy '08 remake, so I'm going to try not to even talk about the remake. This movie was a major step toward taking scifi seriously, bringing together a good budget, a serious director and a strong cast to deliver a well-written story. It averts the tropes of the common alien invasion story and is surprisingly cosmopolitan for the time of its release. Michael Rennie has great screen presence as Klaatu and I particularly like Sam Jaffe as Professor Barnhardt. Patricia Neal is also pretty good as the female lead and Billy Gray is fairly tolerable as child characters go, though he's definitely got the 50's "gee whiz" kid thing going on. I will say that the special effects are nothing outstanding, but this isn't an effects-driven movie, so it's fine. This is one of those movies that deserves a place in your collection.

Rating:
Own It