Hugh Marlowe

Lisa’s Home Bijou: The Day the Earth Stood Still

July 17, 2017 by Lisa Grable 7 Comments

Film Festival: Science Fiction in the 1950s

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) is a gem of the science fiction genre. The serious story has love of peace and Christian overtones. Good acting and a serious cast engage the viewer. A beautiful score by Bernard Herrman incorporates the eerie Theremin. The Day the Earth Stood Still opens with Hawaii, Hong Kong, India, France all tracking an object flying at tremendous speed. Famous newsmen are on the air reporting.

“This is Elmer Davis again. We still don’t know what it is or where it comes from. But there’s something there. It’s been tracked around the earth by radar, traveling at a rate of 4000 miles an hour. This is NOT another flying saucer scare. Scientists and military men are already agreed on that. Whatever it is, it’s something real.” –Elmer Davis

A flying saucer flies over the Capitol, Smithsonian, Archives, and the Washington Monument. The people on the streets are looking up and starting to run. The spaceship lands on baseball fields on the Ellipse in front of White House. The Armed Services police, Army jeeps, and tanks head out from Fort Myer towards the White House. Famous reporter Drew Pearson announces on radio and TV that a spaceship has landed in DC.

I’d like to introduce the characters who deal with this tense situation. First, Klaatu is the humanoid alien, played by Michael Rennie. Klaatu is well-spoken, polite, and intensely serious. He has traveled 250 million miles to bring a message of peace to the Earth’s nations. He gets shot by soldiers twice for his trouble.

“We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill.”

During his escape from Walter Reed hospital, Klaatu steals clothes from a Major Carpenter. He wanders into a boarding house looking for a place to stay, and uses Carpenter as his name as he visits among the humans of DC. Klaatu insists that he has a message that must be delivered to all the nations at once. Mr. Harley, secretary to the President, tries to explain how difficult that is, even with the United Nations.

“Well we could call a special meeting of the General Assembly. But of course the United Nations doesn’t represent all the nations. –Then I suggest a meeting of all the chiefs of state. –Believe me you don’t understand. They wouldn’t sit down to the same table. –I don’t want to resort to threats, Mr. Harley. I merely tell you that the future of your planet is at stake. I urge that you transmit that message to the nations of the Earth.” –Harley and Klaatu

Gort is the robot on the spaceship. He is huge, maybe 9 feet tall, humanoid and metallic. The robot can shoot rays out of his facemask and destroy rifles, tanks, and other munitions.

“I’m worried about Gort. I’m afraid of what he might do if anything should happen to me. –Gort? But he’s a robot. Without you what could he do? –There’s no limit to what he could do. He could destroy the earth. If anything should happen to me, you must go to Gort. You must say these words: ‘Klaatu barada nikto'” –Klaatu and Helen

For parts of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Gort is standing motionless in front of the spaceship. Engineers from Fort Belvoir try to move him and eventually encase him in an indestructible plastic. Whenever Klaatu sends a command to Gort, he can overcome all obstacles, melting plastic, brick walls, and more.

The boarding house where Klaatu/Carpenter takes up residence is important to the story. There is a kindly landlady and an older married couple that listen to the radio and read tabloids. The wife is played by Frances Bavier, known to classic TV fans as Andy Taylor’s Aunt Bee. Another resident at the boarding house is Helen Benson, a young war widow, played by Patricia Neal. Helen works in a Federal office to support herself and her young son, Bobby. Helen is a caring person and ends up supporting Klaatu’s mission, and having a few feelings for him. Bobby is played by Billy Gray (famous from his role as Bud in Father Knows Best.) He is a sweet young boy who does his homework, has a gang of neighborhood friends, and loves the movies and his train set. Of all the humans, he gets the closest to Klaatu. He likes him and listens to him. Klaatu enjoys learning about Earth and Washington DC through Bobby’s eyes. They visit the Lincoln Memorial and read Lincoln’s words. Klaatu asks Bobby who is the greatest man living. After Bobby explain Dr. Barnhardt’s work, they decide to go see him.

Sam Jaffe plays Dr. Barnhardt. His part in the story seems a bit like Einstein. Barnhardt is a Nobel prize winner and is connected enough to convene a large meeting of scientists from around the world at the spaceship.

“I would like to explain something of my mission here. –That was my first question. – We know from scientific observation that your planet has discovered a rudimentary kind of atomic energy. We also know that you’re experimenting with rockets. –Yes, that is true. –So long as you were limited to fighting among yourselves with your primitive tanks and aircraft we were unconcerned. But soon one of your nations will apply atomic energy to spaceships. That will create a threat to the peace and security of other planets. That, of course, we cannot tolerate.” –Klaatu and Barnhardt

Barnhardt agrees to help Klaatu with delivering his message, but asks for a demonstration to prove his planet’s power. Klaatu plans it for two days later, the day the earth stood still. (Sam Jaffe was famous for many roles, including Gunga Din, The Asphalt Jungle, Ben-Hur, and Dr. Zorba in Ben Casey.)

Helen’s boyfriend is insurance man Tom Stevens (Hugh Marlowe.) Tom wants to marry Helen, but he and Bobby don’t seem very fond of each other. Tom is very suspicious of Klaatu/Carpenter and his appearance at the boarding house. It turns out that Tom is more interested in being famous than worrying about mankind. (Hugh Marlowe looks similar to the actor Richard Carlson. I loved spotting that Tom’s office door in the movie has Richard Carlson painted on it!)

Do you like Patricia Neal best in this film? Or in Hud, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or The Fountainhead? Do you like Hugh Marlowe or Richard Carlson better in your sci-fi movies? Don’t you think Gort is a great space robot? I hope you will enjoy The Day the Earth Stood Still as much as I do!

Resource links for The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043456/
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) from IMDb
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/139424%7C121098/Patricia-Neal/
- Patricia Neal overview from Turner Classic Movies
http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/hugh-marlowe-57294353/
- Hugh Marlowe from Hollywood.com
http://www.filmsite.org/sci-fifilms2.html
- Golden Age of Science Fiction Films from AMC filmsite
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michael_rennie/
- Michael Rennie from Rotten Tomatoes

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

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Lisa’s Home Bijou: Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

June 16, 2017 by Lisa Grable 4 Comments

Film Festival: Science Fiction in the 1950s

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) was the first movie that Ray Harryhausen used stop motion animation on flying saucers. Alien invasion films became a staple during the 1950s and this film is a classic!

“As a result, headquarters of the Hemispheric Defense Command in Colorado Springs issued an order. ‘All military installations are to fire on sight at any flying objects not identifiable.'” –narrator

The film opens with a narrator explaining UFO sightings and military collection of data. Dr. Russell A. Marvin and his brand new wife are driving through the desert. Dr. Marvin is recording a report on a reel-to-reel tape recorder.

“Because of recent scientific advances it is now possible to realize an ancient dream, the exploration of outer space. To prepare for this great stride forward we are assembling data on conditions at atmospheric levels beyond those hitherto explored. To collect the necessary data unmanned automatic observation posts are being sent up in multiple stage rockets to a distance hundreds of miles above the earth’s surface.” –Dr. Marvin

Dr. Marvin is interrupted by a scary sound. (I saw this movie as a preschooler and that sound scared me for years!). A flying saucer is chasing their car! Carol Marvin just keeps driving – what a woman! When they stop the car, they have a smoke to calm down.

The Marvins finish making their way to the military installation to fire their 11^th rocket (out of a planned 12). They are interrupted by the sudden appearance of Carol’s father, the General. He brings bad news from Panama.

The satellites have been falling from the sky. Apparently they are blowing up in outer space. During dinner the three see strange lights in the sky.

“Look! What are those lights? –They’re what the pilots call fool lights. –St. Elmo’s fire in ancient times. Superstitious regard them as omens of things to come. The best science has been able to make out of them is that they’re electric particles agitated by moving air. Same principle as the aurora borealis. –There’s so many of them around the project the last couple days, we all just take them for granted.” –Russell, Carol, and General Hanley

The next morning the team prepares the 12^th rocket for take off. Russell plans to monitor its progress more fully with video and audio. Right before launch a UFO is sighted – a flying saucer!

The saucer lands on base and the aliens emerge. The military fire and shoot one of the aliens. The aliens shoot back with a disintegration ray.

The aliens start destroying the whole base. Russell and Carol are safely in an underground bunker and miss all the destruction and the aliens taking Carol’s dad into the saucer.

“And I hope you can understand me. Whoever you are, whatever you are, you’ll regret what you did at the project. –Perhaps you can explain why, after contacting Dr. Marvin, we were met with violence. –You’ve contacted Dr. Marvin? –We spoke to him. — All he heard was meaningless sounds. The same kind of sounds I just heard. –We had hoped a sufficient adjustment for the time differential between us would have been made.” –General and aliens

Russell and Carol head to Washington and without permission, Russell contacts the aliens. They ask to meet with him at the edge of the Chesapeake Bay.

Russell gets a car and eludes Carol and the police to get to the rendezvous (looking an awful lot like the California coast, mountains and all.) The aliens invite Russell, Carol, and the pursuers into the ship.

The aliens want the earth to agree to submit. The aliens have a special machine where they can take all the knowledge from a human’s brain and add it to their database. They give Russell 56 days to convince everyone to yield to their demands.

Dr. Marvin gets permission from the military to build a weapon at Maryland’s Aberdeen Proving Ground he thinks might work on the flying saucers. He tries to convert electricity to high frequency sound. He and fellow scientists think that sound could break the aliens’ force. The new weapon works. A glowing flying ball of light comes into the lab. The major shoots it down.

The team drives away from the lab with the weapon while the saucer lands at the lab. The new weapon disrupts the flying saucer. An alien left behind disintegrates Dr. Marvin’s colleague, then the truck with the weapon. The major shoots the alien. They take the suit off the alien to see its humanoid form.

At this point, the film enters an action phase with bombers and fighter planes battling flying saucers in the air. The aliens mess with the sun and meteors to cause catastrophic storms. We get to see flying saucers flying over the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art, the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument, the White House, and the Capitol. Dr. Marvin bravely leads his army colleagues around town while Carol clings to him.

“The present danger is ended.” –Major

Hugh Marlowe is a very serious but cool and romantic rocket scientist. Joan Taylor is not a fainting flower, always willing to help her husband, cooking and driving the car! I think it is amazing to see Ray Harryhausen’s special effects, all done with stop-motion animation. Watch Earth vs. the Flying Saucers to see a well-written story and the roots of science fiction at the movies.

Resource links for Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049169/
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) from IMDb
http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/hugh-marlowe-57294353/
- Hugh Marlowe from Hollywood.com
http://grantland.com/features/a-tribute-ray-harryhausen-godfather-visual-effects-24-frames/
- RIP, Ray Harryhausen from Grantland

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Lisa’s Home Bijou: Twelve O’Clock High

August 26, 2016 by Lisa Grable 3 Comments

Film Festival: Aviation

Twelve O’Clock High (1949) is a story of a group of airborne warriors from World War II. Ever since Orville and Wilbur Wright got us off the ground, Americans have been fascinated with the daring young women and men in their flying machines. In times of war, aviators fought gallantly.

“We’re in a war, a shooting war. We’ve got to fight and some of us have got to die. I’m not telling you not to be afraid. Fear is normal. But stop worrying about it, and about yourselves. Stop making plans. Forget about going home. Consider yourselves already dead. Once you accept that idea, it won’t be so tough.” — Frank Savage

Twelve O’Clock High is the story of the 8th Air Force, the only Americans that fought in Europe during the fall of 1942. Their mission is daylight precision bombing of enemy targets.

The 918th Group flies B-17’s out of Archbury, near London. The Group’s leader is Keith Davenport (Gary Merrill.) Davenport cares very deeply about the young men he sends out on missions. He suffers intensely when they are injured — and even worse when they don’t come back.

The Group faces a day full of crises. Waves of B-17’s return from a daylight bombing run over Germany. One of the planes comes in without landing gear, belly sliding along the runway. The turret gunner bailed out in France, leaving his severed arm behind in the plane. Another boy broke his leg and suffered a terrible head wound which has exposed his brain.

The two boys from the crew left in one piece go through a debriefing process after their mission. In the group leader’s office, a German propaganda radio broadcast blares loudly, attempting to demoralize the 918th. Davenport has to tell one of the boys that he’s been through too much to go on any more missions. The boy kills himself, and Davenport ignores headquarters’ orders to fly the next mission in order to hold the boy’s funeral.

“He’s gonna bust wide open. And he’s gonna do it to himself, too. Why? Because he’s a first rate guy. Because those are his boys and he’s thinking about them instead of missions. Over-identification with his men, I think that’s what they call it.” — Frank Savage

Headquarters decides they can’t have Davenport picking and choosing his own missions. So General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck) is sent to replace Davenport. In his new role, he acts like the most pedantic headmaster there ever was, demanding the strictest adherence to regulations. He pushes the Group to take pride in itself and hold up their part of the Allied mission. The airmen personalize their planes with names like “Picadilly Lily” and “Fluffy Fuzz.” Savage flies missions with his men to show he’s as tough as he’s asking them to be. As time passes, he finds that identifying with his men is inevitable.

“Soldier, this is a military post, not a zoo. From now on you’ll check everyone who enters and without exception. Take a good look at me. If you or any man on this post passes me up again without saluting even if I’m a block away, you’ll wonder what fell on you.” –Frank Savage

The men try to relax each evening in the officers’ lounge. On the fireplace is a porcelain portrait beer mug with a pirate on it (Toby jug). Normally, the pirate’s face looks toward the wall. The Group uses the mug as a secret signal. If the mug is turned to face out into the room, they all know it means Red Alert. Years later, Harvey Stovall (Dean Jagger) sees the mug in an antique shop window in London. He can’t wait to buy it as a reminder of his days in the war. (Dean Jagger won an Academy Award for his role in this film.)

Twelve O’Clock High is a suspenseful, gripping war drama with excellent aerial scenes. Actual combat footage heightens the feeling of realism. Though there are many war films created with similar themes, this is one of the best World War II stories made.