Director: Robert Wise

Writer: Harry Bates, Edmund H. North

Producer: Julian Blaustein

Theatrical: 1951

Rated: G

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox

Genre: Drama

Duration: 92

IMDb: Based on a story by Harry Bates, the screenplay was written by Edmund H. North. Directed by Robert Wise (Run Silent Run Deep (1958), West Side Story, The Haunting (1963), The Sound of Music, The Sand Pebbles, The Andromeda Strain). Starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe and others. With a relatively small budget, the producers managed to make a sci-fi classic that still stands the test of time. A saucer lands in Washington DC. The army surrounds the saucer, an alien (Ambassador Kaatu and his robot) emerges and tells the earthlings that they must live peacefully, or else. It's a great drama. Tense and nuanced, this post war message was meant as a warning to ourselves. Politically relevant, the story is still valid today. The alien language was fantastic, the special effects top-notch (for it's time), and the writing stellar. I really liked this movie. Watching the movie is a trip into the past, but the message is still valid today. If only we could evolve socially. I give this classic a 5 out of 5.