Review of IMDb Top 250 Films - The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

I intend to conduct a review of the top 250 films on the IMDb database. At a rate of two per month this will still take forever as the list constantly changes. I don't claim to be a very knowledgeable or intellectual film critic but have tremendous confidence in my ability to discern good direction, script and acting, and to expose films which have enjoyed / endured an undeserved reputation in my perhaps arrogant opinion. There may be a few minor spoilers in my reviews.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - Rating: 3 out of 6

The appeal of this film is obvious, both to the contemporary audience of 1951 (robots, aliens, wow!) and to today's film historians and sci-fi afficionados who may twitter on about how groundbreaking and unusual it was, and how it was of its time, by which is meant of course how it reflected the world's political climate, specifically the threat of nuclear war. And how this "brave little film" rejected the current state of world acrimony, advocating peace and co-operation. All of which is of course completely true.

But people seem to realise all too seldom that a groundbreaking film does not by definition equal a great one. And this film is not great. Once today's audience satisfies its postmodernistic intellectual excitement through seeing robots zapping people before the age of dishwashers we take off our kiddy glasses and see a rather staid film, generally uninspired in both direction and script, the latter containing too many examples of the worst type of contemporary-style dialogue: "This is the toughest material I ever saw. For hardness and strength it's out of this world". "I can tell you officially that's where it came from!"(end of scene).

That said the film is definitely watchable and, on the right day, enjoyable. The pace is adequate - the film often threatens to drag but never quite does - and although none of the adult cast deliver more than servicable performances the little 1950s-world boy does have a couple of great moments: after the mother finds out the boy was telling the truth after all about following the alien to the spaceship, she remarks on the state of his shoes: "yeah, the grass was kinda wet" he replies in an understated way, thus making her feel even more silly! Delivered so freshly and spontaneously, that line underlines the stiltedness of the adults' scenes. Another well-delivered line by the boy to his mum: "I'd never call you a liar!"and the hilarious comment from the portly lady at the family table: "Well if you want my opinion he comes from right here on Earth! And you know where I mean...!" When it's suggested to her he'd use an aeroplane not a spaceship she remarks in all seriousness: "I wouldn't be too sure about that!" Excellent! These nuggets liven up the earnestness, fearful contemporary politics, social graces and Uncle-Sam-conventionality that are the hallmarks of the film: of course the spaceship lands in the USA, the professor looks like the stereotypical mad professor and after the robot appears to restores life, we are told this is just temporary because power to restore life "is reserved to the almighty spirit". Mandatory for the 1950s of course but political platitudes by film-makers do not sit well with any audience.

At the end of the film we are not told if 'the world' accepts the alien's ultimatum and so really there is nothing for today's audience to take away from the film; all they can do is boast to everyone they had spent a rainy afternoon seeing a 'classic' sci-fi film. But I think they would rather have not bothered.