The Day the Earth Stood Still
An enigmatic alien visitor and his imposing robot land on a tense Cold‑War Earth, demanding humanity choose peace or face total destruction.
“From out of space...A warning and an ultimatum.”
Synopsis
After World War II, an alien and a robot arrive on Earth and warn humanity to adopt peace or risk facing destruction.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 158+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by William ReynoldsShot by Leo ToverScored by Bernard HerrmannCostumes by Clinton Sandeen
Box Office
1951 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.9× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$1.9M
Also known as
- Der Tag, an dem die Erde stillstandde
- (Flemish)De dag waarop de aarde stilstond
- Le Jour où la Terre s'arrêtafr
- Ultimatum alla Terrait
- (French)Le jour où la terre s'arrêta
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- United StatesSep 18, 1951
- CanadaOct 1, 1951
- United KingdomDec 13, 1951
- BrazilDec 25, 1951
Production & Distribution
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Cast & Crew
158 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Michael Rennie
as Klaatu
Patricia Neal
as Helen Benson
Hugh Marlowe
as Tom Stevens
Sam Jaffe
as Professor Jacob Barnhardt
Billy Gray
as Bobby Benson
Frances Bavier
as Mrs. Barley
Lock Martin
as Gort
Larry Arnold
as Scientific Delegate
Walter Bacon
as Sightseer at Spaceship
Patrick Aherne
as General at Pentagon
Rama Bai
as Scientific Delegate
Oscar Blank
as Peddler
Supporting cast
102Marshall Bradford
as Chief of Staff
Chet Brandenburg
as Farmer
John Brown
as George Barley
John Burton
as British Radio Announcer
Wheaton Chambers
as Mr. Bleeker
Spencer Chan
as Scientific Delegate
Jean Charney
as Mother
Beulah Christian
as Secretary
John Close
as Captain
Louise Colombet
as French Woman
James Conaty
as General at Pentagon
Frank Conroy
as Mr. Harley
Eric Corrie
as British Soldier
John Costello
as Cockney
James Craven
as Businessman
Marjorie Crossland
as Hilda
Jack Daly
as Minor Role
Elmer Davis
as Elmer Davis - Commentator
Lawrence Dobkin
as Army Physician
Jim Doyle
as Medical Corps Major
Roy Engel
as Government Man
Charles Evans
as Major General
Edith Evanson
as Mrs. Crockett
Franklyn Farnum
as Extra in Office Building Corridor
Michael Ferris
as British Soldier
Elizabeth Flournoy
as Emma - Jewelry Clerk
Curt Furberg
as Scientific Delegate
Grady Galloway
as American Radar Operator
Bill Gentry
as Sentry
Paul Gerrits
as Minor Role
James Gonzalez
as Military Officer at Pentagon Meeting
Frank Green
as Scientific Delegate
Robert Haines
as Citizen
Glenn Hardy
as Interviewer
Sam Harris
as Scientific Delegate
Harry Harvey
as Taxi Driver
Al Haskell
as Scientific Delegate
Gabriel Heatter
as Gabriel Heatter - Commentator
Gil Herman
as Government Agent
Louis Jean Heydt
as Air Force Captain looking perplexed
John Hiestand
as TV Announcer on Truck
Michael Jeffers
as Pool Hall Patron
H V Kaltenborn
as H.V. Kaltenborn - Commentator
Michael Keep
as Sentry
Kenneth Kendall
as Soldier
Hassan Khayyam
as Indian Radio Announcer
Richard Lamarr
as Scientific Delegate
Harry Lauter
as Platoon Leader
Freeman Lusk
as General Cutler
George Lynn
as Colonel Ryder
Herbert Lytton
as Brigadier General
Bert Madrid
as Sightseer at Spaceship
Mike Mahoney
as Sentry
Sandee Marriott
as Minor Role
David Mcmahon
as Air Force Sergeant
Tyler Mcvey
as Brady
Harold Miller
as Military Officer at Pentagon Meeting
Millard Mitchell
as Voice of General
Ralph Montgomery
as Government Man
Juanita Moore
as Woman looking at spaceship
Bruce Morgan
as Government Man
Joseph C Narcisse
as Scientific Delegate
Bill Neff
as Police Officer Behind Desk
Howard Negley
as Colonel
Dorothy Neumann
as Margaret - Secretary
Sammy Ogg
as Sam
Robert Osterloh
as Major White
Gayle Pace
as Captain
Drew Pearson
as Drew Pearson - Commentator
Ted Pearson
as Colonel
House Peters Jr
as Military Police Captain
Snub Pollard
as Cab Driver
Mike Ragan
as Army Captain
Gilman Rankin
as Government Man
Anthony Redondo
as Soldier
John M Reed
as Tank Driver
Bob Reeves
as Operator
Barry Regan
as Minor Role
John Rice
as Bobby
Fay Roope
as Major General
Pola Russ
as Russian Woman
James Seay
as Government Man
Bernard Sell
as Minor Role
Charles Sherlock
as Government Man
Peter Similuk
as Russian Pilot
Bob Simpson
as Colonel
Joseph P Sinda
as Kid In Saucer Landing Crowd
Reginald Lal Singh
as Scientific Delegate
Marc Snow
as Government Man
Olan Soule
as Mr. Krull
Kim Spalding
as Army Orderly
Murray Steckler
as Soldier
Harmon Stevens
as Minor Role
Charles Tannen
as Voice of Radio Announcer
Glen Walters
as Scientific Delegate
Harlan Warde
as Carlson
Bill Welsh
as Radio Newscaster
Stuart Whitman
as Sentry
Guy Williams
as Radio Operator
Rush Williams
as Military Police Sergeant
Wilson Wood
as Government Man
Carleton Young
as Colonel in Jeep
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
1Other crew
42Addison Hehr
art direction
Lyle R Wheeler
art direction (as Lyle Wheeler)
Stan Hough
assistant director: second unit (uncredited)
Leo Tover
Cinematographer, director of photography
Bernard Herrmann
Composer, music, orchestrator
Clinton Sandeen
Costume Design (uncredited)
Perkins Bailey
costume designer: Klaatu's
Travilla
costumes designed by
Darryl F Zanuck
Credits, executive in charge of production
Anthony Jowitt
dialogue director (uncredited)
Clifford Sales
double: Billy Gray (uncredited)
William H Reynolds
Editor
Parents Guide
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