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The Day the Earth Stood Still

1951 1h 32m
Science Fiction Thriller Drama
MOVIEVIBE Rating
7.5/10
1,289 reviews
Your Rating
The Day the Earth Stood Still

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.

"From out of space...A warning and an ultimatum."

Top Billed Cast

Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie
Klaatu / Mr. Carpenter
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Helen Benson
Billy Gray
Billy Gray
Bobby Benson
Sam Jaffe
Sam Jaffe
Prof. Jacob Barnhardt
Hugh Marlowe
Hugh Marlowe
Tom Stevens
Lock Martin
Lock Martin
Gort
Freeman Lusk
Freeman Lusk
General Cutler
Edith Evanson
Edith Evanson
Mrs. Crockett

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

J John Chard Verified TMDB Critic
2013-11-02

I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is directed by Robert Wise and adapted to screenplay by Edmund H. North from the story Farewell to the Master written by Harry Bates. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray and Frances Bavier. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Leo Tover.

Classic sci-fi is right here as director Robert Wise gives a beautifully steady hand to Harry Bate's short story. Peace for the world or else is the message and I don't see anything wrong with that...

F Filipe Manuel Neto Verified TMDB Critic
2023-09-13

**An excellent sci-fi film.**

This is one of the best and most influential films from the early days of sci-fi. The theme was not new, there were several films about aliens and flying saucers, but this is one of the best and most impactful. The script is simple: the atomic arms race was threatening the world with yet another war and the hypothetical insertion of nuclear weapons into rockets led to an alien species fearing for their own safety, as they had learned to live without weapons and in peace. So, they decided to send a messenger to our planet.

I find it very interesting that the ...

C CinemaSerf Verified TMDB Critic
2024-06-14

This is probably Michael Rennie's best cinema role here as he lands his spaceship in the middle of Washington DC. Of course, the Americans panic and surround the thing with tanks and machine guns, and when he emerges looking as human as the rest of us, only clad in a silver suit, they go and shoot him! Luckily, "Klaatu" isn't a man to bear a grudge and from his hospital bed informs the powers that be that he wants a conference with world leaders. This will be a tough ask say the politicians, so he absconds from the hospital and takes up residence in the home of "Helen" (Patricia Neal) and her ...

T TkA Verified TMDB Critic
2026-07-31

**What an excellent movie..**

Although this movie is from 1951, not many movies made today can hold a candle to this one. It's a great story with great camera play, and great suspense and thrills as well. If you haven't seen it yet, please do so shortly, but nothing i write here can do it true justice.\
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I was a star wars fanatic, and I couldn't stop talking about the matrix either, oh and by the way.. if you know of a door to narnia or middle-earth, i'd be interested in hearing more ha ha ha! What I'm saying is that these stories brought a refreshing realm of higher understanding into t...