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The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)

1951 US science fiction horror film directed by Robert Wise

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 black-and-white science fiction film about a humanoid alien Klaatu, who comes to warn the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.

We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill.
Directed by Robert Wise. Written by Edmund H. North.
From Out Of Space... A Warning And An Ultimatum! taglines

Klaatu

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The universe grows smaller every day, and the threat of aggression by any group, anywhere, can no longer be tolerated. There must be security for all — or no one is secure... This does not mean giving up any freedom except the freedom to act irresponsibly.
  • It was a gift for your President… with it, he could have studied life on other planets.
  • I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason.
  • I am leaving soon, and you will forgive me if I speak bluntly. The universe grows smaller every day, and the threat of aggression by any group, anywhere, can no longer be tolerated. There must be security for all or no one is secure. Now, this does not mean giving up any freedom except the freedom to act irresponsibly. Your ancestors knew this when they made laws to govern themselves and hired policemen to enforce them. We of the other planets have long accepted this principle. We have an organization for the mutual protection of all planets and for the complete elimination of aggression. The test of any such higher authority is, of course, the police force that supports it. For our policemen, we created a race of robots. Their function is to patrol the planets—in space ships like this one—and preserve the peace. In matters of aggression, we have given them absolute power over us; this power can not be revoked. At the first sign of violence, they act automatically against the aggressor. The penalty for provoking their action is too terrible to risk. The result is that we live in peace, without arms or armies, secure in the knowledge that we are free from aggression and war—free to pursue more profitable enterprises. Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet. But if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: Join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer; the decision rests with you.

Helen Benson

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Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!

Dialogue

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I've been away a long time. Very far away.
 
I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it.
Mr. Harley: Your impatience is quite understandable.
Klaatu: I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it.
Mr. Harley: I'm afraid my people haven't. I'm very sorry... I wish it were otherwise.
Bobby: [indicating grave marker during a visit to Arlington] That's my father. He was killed at Anzio.
Klaatu: Did all those people die in wars?
Bobby: Most of 'em. Didn't you ever hear of the Arlington Cemetery?
Klaatu: No, I'm afraid not.
Bobby: You don't seem to know much about anything, do you, Mr. Carpenter?
Klaatu: Well, I'll tell you, Bobby, I've been away a long time. Very far away.
Bobby: Is it different where you've been? Don't they have places like this?
Klaatu: Well, they have cemeteries, but not like this one. You see, they don't have any wars.
Bobby: Gee, that's a good idea.
  • Klaatu: You have faith, Professor Barnhardt?
Barnhardt: It isn't faith that makes good science, Mr. Klaatu, it's curiosity. Sit down, please. There are several thousand questions I'd like to ask you.
Barnhardt: One thing, Mr. Klaatu: suppose this group should reject your proposals. What is the alternative?
Klaatu: I'm afraid there is no alternative. In such a case, the planet Earth would have to be... eliminated.
Barnhardt: Such power exists?
Klaatu: I assure you, such power exists.

About The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)

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  • I think that Tammy, her monologue is completely optimistic, totally [looking] to a better place—the cosmos—and she has learned so much from this experience. And I think that Urp, in his farewell speech to these pathetic lifeforms, gives a real strong hint that there are darker days ahead. It's a pretty good indication of where things were.
See, The Day the Earth Stood Still, of all those movies, was much more philosophical, serious--it was an "A" movie. That's one of the only "A" movies ever made in the '50s in sci-fi. - See more at: Richard Carlson was a really good actor, and so was Barbara Rush--and especially Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal from The Day the Earth Stood Still. They were A-list actors, and they were great actors, but they were acting in the style of the '50s, which is what we wanted to capture.

Taglines

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  • From Out Of Space... A Warning And An Ultimatum!
  • A robot and a man . . . hold the world spellbound with new and startling powers from another planet!
  • The screen has never conceived a creature like this!
  • Strange Power From Another Planet Menaces The Earth!
  • What is this invader from another planet... Can it destroy the Earth?

Cast

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Wikipedia
 
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