Fox's remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still is poised to invade movie theaters Dec. 12, and the hope is that it will be a big hit, like the original movie was when it premiered in 1951. The classic movie's success surprised everyone, especially star Patricia Neal, who played the young mom, Helen: She has said she couldn't keep a straight face when trying to recite some of the hokey lines.
Day was the right film at the right time, in a world dealing with economic recovery, war and the aftermath of war. Fox hopes the same holds for the remake, starring Jennifer Connelly and Keanu Reeves.
But the classic film features elements that seem ridiculous to us more than half a century later. We've compiled a list of things from the original movie that desperately need to be updated for Day to work again and send chills through a modern audience like the original did back in its day.
(You can check out the original for yourself on Dec. 2, when Fox Home Entertainment releases a special edition on Blu-ray igh-definition disc, which includes more secrets about the making of the original movie.)
1. It's in black and white. Not even Woody Allen can get away with making a non-color movie anymore. Will Day look silly when rendered in full color? What color is Gort, the towering robot, anyway?
2. The opening scene. The first words are: "Holy mackerel, call headquarters!" That's the line delivered by a military guy when he spots the UFO on radar. Do you think that the military spoke like that even back then? Also, the way the speeding unidentified object is tracked is by pushing little arrows over a large map with long hockey sticks. Thankfully, technology has improved.
3. Dorky spaceship opening. The glowing flying disc looks cool enough (no strings attached), but when the ship opens with an awkward series of ramps and doors popping out, the incline is so steep that Lock Martin, the 7-foot 7-inch actor inside the Gort suit, had trouble walking down the ramp. The seamless doors were sealed with putty to make it look like they came out of nowhere, and the film was reversed to close the doors.
4. Boarding houses? Boarding houses like the one shown in the movie aren't as plentiful in Washington anymore, but this one had both Aunt Bea (Frances Bavier) and the school choir director (Olan Soule) from Mayberry R.F.D. staying there when the Michael Rennie's spaceman knocked at the door, seeking a room to rent.
5. Creepy Klaatu. Just after moving into the boarding house, the mysterious Klaatu develops a too-close friendship with the boy, Bobby, (Billy Gray). But without question, the boy's mom (Neal) allows her son to spend the day with the strange man as they hold hands and walk around Washington. Think that would even remotely happen today?
6. Homeland Security. A flying saucer has just landed within shooting distance of the Capitol building and the White House, and the only thing surrounding the spaceship is a thin barbed-wire fence and two guards. Two guards! Also, you'd think it would be more difficult for a lady to walk up to Gort as easily as Helen does when she delivers Klaatu's message.
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Gort (left) and his handler, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), have something to say.
7. Hospital stay. When Klaatu is shot, they rush him to Walter Reed Army Hospital. Perhaps today, with the reputation for peeling walls and substandard care, that would be considered an insult to such a VIP patient.
8. Doctors smoking. After examining Klaatu, doctors are amazed to find out he's 78 years old, from a planet where life expectancy is 138. As they talk about it, the doctor hands a cigarette to his friend, and they light up right there in the hospital room. A subtle anti-tobacco message? In this Mad Men era, not likely.
9. Familiar phrase. The phrase "Klaatu barada nikto" is so well-known to SF fans and the rest of the culture, no one has much trouble remembering it. It's been referenced in everything from TV shows (The Monkees and The X-Files) to movies (Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Army of Darkness, where it becomes "Klaatu verada necktie.") Shockingly, this phrase was almost left out of the remake. Does it need to be updated? This story continues below the image. 
10 The right cast and crew. The original film was one of the first to incorporate a mostly electronic score, featuring the theremin and written by Bernard Herrmann (Psycho). The remake's spooky score comes from Tyler Bates (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen). Will it have a thermin? The key role of Klaatu, the mysterious alien, was played by British actor Rennie because director Robert Wise wanted an actor who was stiff, unemotional and unrecognizable to an American audience. The remake stars Reeves as Klaatu. Two out of three isn't bad. --Mike Szymanski
