The story of the difficulties with the robot costume are wonderful. If I remember correctly, they had two costumes, one that buttoned up the back, and another that buttoned up the front, for frontal and rear shots. By the way, there is one scene where they goofed, and you can see a split-second shot of the buttons in the back (the scene where the girl is cornered, faints, and the robot bends down and picks her up).
Yes!
I also found it interesting what happened to the robot prop model. All 8 foot tall of it. Anybody who's spent any time around any of the studios knows that props can get recycled before eventually being retired and coming into the hands of collectors, but in the case of the robot model I was surprised. It seems that this 8 foot high "tin man" was redecorated into Bozo the Clown as an advertising piece back in the '60's. As a kid I watched a lot of Bozo the Clown, so there was even more personal association I could relate to. Apparently it eventually made its way into the hands of a sci-fi collector who restored it to its former glory.
Apparently this was the first sci-fi flick to use an obscure musical instrument the name of which I don't recall, but that style of music became almost mandatory for b-rate sci-fi flicks for many years after. That "oooo-weeee-oooooo" kind of music.
The Day the Earth Stood Still was groundbreaking on so many levels in its day. It might seem a tad hokey now, but the underlying political message is still there and is still valid. I haven't seen the new one, but if previous examples are any indication, I'm in no hurry. King Kong, in the '70's was a waste of effort, the recent one was OK but was predictable in its use of green screen and computer generated effects. The original was ground-breaking with stop action animation. War of the Worlds in the '30's radio program was ground-breaking, and actually caused panic in the streets. The '50's version didn't have nearly the same impact, but it was notable for the sci-fi genre at a time when most sci-fi was rather ludicrous. The new version with Tom Cruise was a complete disappointment.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a monumental and classic example of the genre of sci-fi, right up there with the best the genre has to offer. Others I always think of in this context are the Crack in the World, and When Worlds Collide. There's an old Neil Young song that always makes me think of When Worlds Collide...I believe it is called "After the Gold Rush."
I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst through the skies
There was a fanfare playing in my head
And I felt like getting high...
Sorry for the tangent...I just love them old sci-fi flicks.
