rocketship xm

History of Sci-Fi Cinema 10: “The Day the Earth Stood Still”

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10-DayTitleThe Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Written by Edmund H North, based on a novel by Harry Bates
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Billy Gray, Sam Stephens
1:32:00

A sharp, intelligent sci-fi thriller with a message of warning to the people of Earth to stop being dicks. Or rather, you can be dicks all you want, but if you spread it out beyond your own borders, you’re going to get smacked hard. This is, quite literally, one of the greatest films ever made. It has been acknowledged by the American Film Institute as the fifth best sci-fi film ever; it repeatedly gets included in Top 100 lists (sci-fi or otherwise); it holds a 94% rating from Rotten Tomatoes; it received a special Golden Glove Award for “promoting international understanding.” And it was cited by Arthur C Clarke as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time — higher than his own film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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History of Sci-Fi Cinema 9: “Rocketship X-M”

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09-RXM-titleRocketship X-M (1950)
Written by Orville H. Hampton, Kurt Neumann, Dalton Trumbo
Directed by Kurt Neumann
Starring Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery
Lippert Pictures
1:18:00

A fanciful film, direct competition to Destination Moon, about a rocket crew who attempt to reach the moon but are thrown off course and instead land on Mars. For the most part it’s similar in structure and tone to DM, but with some significant differences. The most noticeable thing about it is, unfortunately, is that it’s shockingly sexist to modern ears and eyes. It also walks a line between an attempt at hard science and being awkwardly romantic. It gained a dubious honor by being featured in 1990 in the opening episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 ‘s second season.

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