History Film / TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington, D.C.--in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]--during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] guardian Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then informs the President of an important message he brings for all of Earth's leaders... who can't agree on a meeting place. Klaatu is placed under guard at Walter Reed Hospital, but escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth. He takes a room in a boarding house and befriends the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

Shortly before they catch up with him, Klaatu gives Helen a message to deliver to Gort in his own language: "{{Klaatu barada nikto}}." Gort re-activates upon Klaatu's death and vaporizes the soldiers guarding him, but Helen's message diverts Gort into retrieving Klaatu's body before anyone else is harmed. The robot temporarily revives Klaatu, who warns the people of Earth of Gort's true purpose: he, and other robots like him, were built to enforce peace in the galaxy... and if humans insist upon bringing their warlike ways into space, they will be destroyed. Klaatu leaves Earth with a simple phrase to mull over: "The choice is yours."

* PlayingGertrude: Patricia Neal was just 12 years older than her onscreen son Billy Gray.

* ThirtySecondBlackout: Klaatu has a small demonstration where he deliberately, briefly shuts down all electrical power on the globe, leaving exceptions for things like hospitals and planes where shutting off the power could result in death. This incident, presumably, is what the title refers to, although it could also refer more broadly to the general sense of stunned shock that accompanies Klaatu's arrival.

* CyberCyclops: Gort fires his disintegration beam from a single ominous point under his opened visor. In the remake, Gort has a single glowing red eye behind the visor — there's a good moment when one of the characters realises the eye is following him as he walks across the room.

* PopCulturalOsmosis: The ominous scene when Klaatu walks with a bag on the street in front of Helen's pension may have inspired the iconic post of ''Film/TheExorcist''.

** When Helen tells Tom that Klaatu/Mr. Carpenter is not a menace and must be left alone, he turns the alien to the authorities in a fit of jealousy while she tries to stop him in vain. Decades later, a similar scene happened into a [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast certain Disney film]].

* PopCulturalOsmosis: The ominous scene when Klaatu walks with a bag on the street until he sees the sign on Helen's pension may have inspired the iconic post of ''Film/TheExorcist''.

* ThirtySecondBlackout: Klaatu has a small demonstration where he deliberately, briefly shuts down all electrical power on the globe, leaving exceptions for things like hospitals and planes where shutting off the power could result in death.

* AliensStealCable: Klaatu says that his people have been monitoring Earth's radio signals, and that this is the source of his knowledge of Earth culture and language; however, the common subtrope of aliens being unable to distinguish fiction from reality is avoided.

[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_day_the_earth_stood_still_1951.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:345:''KlaatuBaradaNikto'']]

After meeting with respected scientist Jacob Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe), Klaatu decides to demonstrate his power by stopping the flow of electricity everywhere in the entire world--except for airplanes in flight and hospital electronics--for exactly half an hour. (This is the event referred to in the title, though nobody calls it such within the story.) The military takes this as a sign of hostile intent. Klaatu and Helen race to the saucer landing site, where a meeting of the world's top scientists has been hastily arranged by Barnhardt, but the military hunts Klaatu down and kills him. Shortly before they catch up with him, Klaatu gives Helen a message to deliver to Gort in his own language: "{{Klaatu barada nikto}}." Gort re-activates upon Klaatu's death and vaporizes the soldiers guarding him, but Helen's message diverts Gort into retrieving Klaatu's body before anyone else is harmed. The robot temporarily revives Klaatu, who tells the people of Earth of Gort's true purpose: he, and other robots like him, were built to enforce peace in the galaxy -- and if humans bring their warlike ways into space, they will be destroyed. Klaatu leaves Earth with a simple phrase to mull over: "The choice is yours."

This film's plot was copied in ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''.

There was a [[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill2008 remake made in 2008]] starring Keanu Reeves.

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington, D.C.--in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]--during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] guardian Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then informs the President of an important message he brings for all the Earth's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu is placed under guard at Walter Reed Hospital, but escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth. He takes a room in a boarding house and befriends the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

After meeting with respected scientist Jacob Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe), Klaatu decides to demonstrate his power by stopping the flow of electricity everywhere in the entire world (except for airplanes in flight and hospital electronics) for exactly half an hour. (This is the event referred to in the title, though nobody calls it such within the story.) The military takes this as a sign of hostile intent. Klaatu and Helen race to the saucer landing site, where a meeting of the world's top scientists has been hastily arranged by Barnhardt, but the military hunts Klaatu down and kills him. Shortly before they catch up with him, Klaatu gives Helen a message to deliver to Gort in his own language: "{{Klaatu barada nikto}}." Gort re-activates upon Klaatu's death and vaporizes the soldiers guarding him, but Helen's message diverts Gort into retrieving Klaatu's body before anyone else is harmed. The robot temporarily revives Klaatu, who tells the people of Earth of Gort's true purpose: he, and other robots like him, were built to enforce peace in the galaxy -- and if humans bring their warlike ways into space, they will be destroyed. Klaatu leaves Earth with a simple phrase to mull over: "The choice is yours."

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington, D.C. (in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] guardian Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then informs the President of an important message he brings for all the Earth's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu is placed under guard at Walter Reed Hospital, but escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth. He takes a room in a boarding house and befriends the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

[[quoteright:348:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_day_the_earth_stood_still_1951.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:348:''KlaatuBaradaNikto'']]

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington, D.C. (in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] guardian Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then informs the President of an important message he brings for all the Earth's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu is placed under guard at Walter Reed Hospital, but escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth, taking a room in a boarding house and befriending the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington, DC (in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] guardian Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then informs the President of an important message he brings for all the Earth's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu is placed under guard at Walter Reed Hospital, but escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth, taking a room in a boarding house and befriending the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington, DC (in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar era. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] guardian Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then tells the President of a message for all the world's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu later escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth, taking a room in a boarding house and befriending the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_day_the_earth_stood_still_1951.jpeg]]

->''KlaatuBaradaNikto''

''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 black-and-white ScienceFiction movie directed by Creator/RobertWise. The screenplay by Edmund H. North was adapted from the 1940 short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates.

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington, DC (in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar era. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then tells the President of a message for all the world's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu later escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth, taking a room in a boarding house and befriending the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_day_the_earth_stood_still_1951.jpeg]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_2508.jpg]]

''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 black-and-white ScienceFiction movie directed by Creator/RobertWise. It was based on the 1940 short story ''Farewell to the Master'' by Harry Bates.

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington DC (in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar era. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then tells the President of a message for all the world's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu later escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth, taking a room in a boarding house and befriending the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Creator/PatriciaNeal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

** Sometime later, a crowd of people (and Army personnel) surround the spaceship. When Gort first appears the crowd panics and take off.

* VichyEarth: Some can interpret the message of "abide by our rules or be destroyed" as an unofficial conquest of Earth. The aliens come across as KnightTemplar types who while having the noble goal of ending all conflict on Earth, puts everyone in a state of eternal paranoia. What if some other nation attacks yours? Do you turn the other cheek and surrender or fight back and risk being annihilated by Klaatu? Or are you annihilated anyway? Klaatu has effectively forced Earth into surrender and become property of his home planet.

The HumanAlien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) lands in Washington DC (in a classic [[FlyingSaucer flying saucer]]) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar era. The paranoid military shoots him, prompting his [[KillerRobot robot]] Gort to go on a rampage. Klaatu stops Gort, then tells the President of a message for all the world's leaders (who can't agree on a meeting place). Klaatu later escapes and, under the name "Mr. Carpenter", goes to live among the people of Earth, taking a room in a boarding house and befriending the residents, including a widow named Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray).

* ThirtySecondBlackout: Klaatu has a small demonstration where he deliberately, briefly shuts down all power except hospitals and planes.

* BrokenAesop: The intended message is HumansAreTheRealMonsters because Klaatu is a peaceful ambassador whose home planet fears Earth will expand into outer space due to its advances in space and nuclear technology, makes the Earth stand still to deliver a message of peace, which culminates in Klaatu's accidental death. Except, Klaatu arrives with zero warning, shuts down all power on Earth (with the exception of hospitals and in-flight airplanes) — which potentially caused thousands of deaths — all to deliver a message of complete annihilation if they do anything remotely "threatening" to a planet ''they didn't even know existed'' solely because Earth has the ''theoretical'' capability to attack them, not because of any action Earth intentionally or unintentionally made against them. This could be seen as making Klaatu's planet being extremely hostile and xenophobic, complicating the film's intended message.

* GodTest: As a demonstration that he is a powerful alien, Klaatu cuts electrical power ''all over the globe'' with the exception of hospitals and airplanes in flight.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Klaatu shows up and tries to give humanity a machine that would allow for interstellar communication. And how do the humans respond? ''By shooting him''. After he recovers he spends some time observing humanity and eventually decides to show he means business by disabling all electrical technology on the planet (with a few exceptions, he leaves alone planes in flight, hospitals, and the like) for a short period of time. Then the humans shoot him ''again'', this time killing him. He gets better, scolds them for being so violent, and essentially says that if humanity keeps this up the interstellar community will have no choice to put them down in order to prevent humanity from carrying its warlike ways out into space.