July 18, 1951: flying saucer lands in DC on Ellipse; spaceman shot, escapes; APB for capture

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Thu Jul 18, 2019, 12:02 PM - Edit history (1)

Gort Revisits DC 60 Years After The Day the Earth Stood Still

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Dead Man

The 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still tells the story of an alien named Klaatu who travels to Earth with his robot companion Gort to warn us against continuing down the path toward self-destruction. The opening sequence of the movie shows images from all over the world, indicating that the arrival of Klaatu is an event that affects the everyone on Earth. Still, this movie went to some lengths to locate itself in Washington DC, often providing very specific local references. I thought it would be interesting to find the locations used in this movie and see how they have changed in the 60 years since The Day the Earth Stood Still–and Gort came along for the ride. One note, the time of year is not well established in The Day the Earth Stood Still. In one of the news reports early in the film H.V. Kaltenborn mentions “the beautiful spring weather,” but the date on the dry cleaning ticket in Major Carpenter’s suit is July 18, 1951.

The Day The Earth Stood Still is my favorite movie. It is the best flying saucer movie ever made. I absolutely concur with this assessment: "The best flying saucer arrival in cinematic history."

Go to 6:05 to see Klaatu, wearing Major Carpenter's suit, walking toward the boarding house on Harvard Street:

The soundtrack, by Bernard Herrmann, is unforgettable.

"It's that spaceman; that's what it is."

[PoliticAverse]

1. Klaatu barada nikto! n/t

[Bayard]

2. I rather like the newer version

With Keanu Reeves.