Last night, in preparation for the upcoming Keanu-centric remake of
The Day the Earth Stood Still, I watched the
1951
original, which I had never seen. It's much
more thoughtful than most of the men-from-outer-space B-movies that filled the era's drive-ins,
emphasizing its message more than its special effects or suspense (though those elements are well
represented too). It holds up pretty well for being 57 years old. I probably won't be nearly as
interesting when I'm that age.
One scene made me laugh, though, and while I realize I'm not the first person to notice it, I
wanted to share it in case you hadn't. It comes about 18 minutes in, when a humanoid alien has
arrived and been under observation at a military hospital. Two doctors have this conversation about
him and his home planet:
DOCTOR ONE: How old do you think he is?
DOCTOR TWO: Oh, I'd say 35, 38.
DOCTOR ONE: He told me this morning while I was examining him. He's 78.
DOCTOR TWO: Oh, I don't believe it.
DOCTOR ONE: Life expectancy is a hundred and thirty.
DOCTOR TWO: Well, how does he explain that?
DOCTOR ONE: He says their medicine is that much more advanced. He was very nice about it, but he
made me feel like a third-class witch doctor!
And as they're having this conversation, both doctors are lighting up cigarettes. If you were
writing a comedy sketch, you couldn't do better than having 1950s doctors appear mystified by
another planet's advanced medicine while smoking cigarettes themselves. In fact,
Saturday Night
Live did something very similar to that in a 1993
sketch called "Trent Markham, Lung Doctor,"
where Phil Hartman played a chain-smoking 1950s TV doctor who had no idea how his patient had
gotten "lung fever."
Filed under: Classics,
Sci-Fi &
Fantasy, Remakes
and Sequels
Continue reading Upon Reflection, Original 'Day the Earth Stood Still' Doctors
Weren't That Smart
Permalink | Email
this | Comments
Recommandations
)
and reject those that you are not interested in
(
)
