An alien in human form called Klaatu (Michael Rennie) arrives in a flying saucer in the middle of Washington DC at the height of the day with a silver robot called Gort, which proceeds to demonstrate incredible power by vaporising the weapons of the army that have arrived to surround the saucer.
Posing as a Mr. Carpenter, Klaatu is determined to preach a special message of concern to the leaders of the world, but finds only some sympathy in the former of Professor Jacob Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe) who has a special equation he is working on, which Klaatu happily provides the additional solution.
Barnhardt suggests Klaatu meets with some of the scientists he is organising, but suggests also an act of power to convince people he is being honest. The result is to stop the Earth for half an hour from noon a couple of days later, but Klaatu’s acts are seen as a contradiction – and he continues to be a threat to world security….
Over half a century from its’ original release at the height of the Cold War, the original version of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (remade starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly) is a potent anti-war message in these uncertain times. Some excellent special effects and an atmospheric score by Bernard Herrmann (NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PSYCHO, TAXI DRIVER) adds to the quality.