Strange power from another planet menaces the Museum!
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Contact: Jonathan Pishney
919.733.7450, ext. 304
RALEIGH -- From out of space ... A warning, an ultimatum, and a really cool sci-fi movie. Don't miss this month's Natural Horror Picture Show as the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences features The Day the Earth Stood Still, Friday, June 3 at 7 p.m.
In this 1951 classic, an alien (Klaatu) with his mighty robot (Gort) land their spacecraft on cold war Earth to deliver an important message of peace. However, communication turns out to be difficult after Klaatu gets shot by a nervous soldier. After calming down the omnipotent Gort and escaping from the hospital, Klaatu adopts a friendly Earth family to study their ways in secret.
The alien messenger Klaatu is played by Michael Rennie in arguably his most popular role. A former car salesman, Rennie's first acting job was as a stand-in for Robert Young in Alfred Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936). Patricia Neal plays the widow Helen Benson, one of Klaatu's landlords following his escape from the ER. Neal debuted opposite Ronald Reagan in John Loves Mary (1949) and earned some notoriety for her off screen affair with Gary Cooper. Her career peaked with a searing, Oscar winning performance as Alma, the housekeeper in Hud (1963).
The threatening yet lovable Gort is played by 7-foot 7-inch Lock "Heed" Martin, a doorman at Grauman’s Chinese Theater who hosted a children's TV show in the late '50s called "The Gentle Giant." The incredibly smart Professor Barnhardt is portrayed by Sam Jaffe, who achieved cinematic immortality as the native water boy (although he was 46), in Gunga Din (1939). Jaffe earned an Oscar nomination for his turn as the criminal master mind in The Asphalt Jungle (1950), and worked frequently in TV, where he was well known as Dr. Zorba on the "Ben Casey" series (1961-65). And there's no mistaking Francis "Aunt Bee" Bavier in her role as Mrs. Barley.
The movie was directed by Robert Wise, who got his start as editor of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941). In his illustrious career, Wise has directed films ranging from West Side Story and The Sound of Music, to Andromeda Strain and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Day the Earth Stood Still also boasts a musical score by the legendary Bernard Herrmann, the man behind soundtracks for Psycho and Taxi Driver.
First Friday runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. The Natural Horror Picture Show begins at 7 p.m. and is preceded by live music and a film short from the A/V Geeks' archives. Additionally, the Acro Café serves up light fare and beverages, and the Museum Store offers after-hours shopping along with an opening reception for their latest Nature Art Gallery show — Abstract Details of the Carolinas — from 6 to 8 p.m.
You can also tour the Museum's special exhibit, "Treasures Unearthed: North Carolina's Spectacular Gems and Minerals,” as it stays open till 9 p.m. Treasures can be seen now through June 12, so this will be the last First Friday where it can be viewed. Only $2 for First Friday attendees. Free for Friends of the Museum. Last tickets are sold at 8:00 p.m.
The Museum of Natural Sciences is located in downtown Raleigh at 11 West Jones Street. Parking is available on the street and in surface lots along Wilmington and Edenton streets. For more information, contact Steve Popson at 919-733-7450, ext. 379.
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