The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Directed by Robert Wise. Starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, Hugh Marlowe, Frank Conroy, Frances Bavier, Billy Gray. [G]

Intelligent, well-acted science fiction yarn of an alien visitor (Rennie) from a distant planet arriving in Washington D.C. to communicate to all of the world leaders a dire message. He’s wounded during his initial greeting by the trigger-happy military, and takes refuge at a boarding house along with single mom Neal, boyfriend Marlowe, and son Gray; meanwhile, a robot called Gort stands by near the flying saucer, silent and unmoving and indestructible. The dialogue creaks on a few occasions, and despite its iconic identity in the annals of classic sci-fi, Gort isn’t much more menacing than the Tin Man, but this is otherwise a first-rate genre effort with Christ symbolism that actually works and a sobering (if obvious) message that has the power to resonate. Scripted by Edmund H. North from a Harry Bates short story (“Farewell to the Master”). Composer Bernard Herrmann’s usage of electronic strings and theremin proved a trend-setter for countless science fiction features to follow. Remade in 2008.

81/100