The Day the Earth Stood Still

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL "THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL" by Edmund H. North Revised final draft February 21, 1951 EXT. BEACH - PACIFIC ISLAND - MED. SHOT - DAY Backgrounded by palm trees and rolling surf, an American army radar operator sits at his huge instrument, intently tracking a target. Without interrupting this, he speaks with tense excitement into a telephone transmitter strapped to his chest. (It is 8:00 a.m.) (In this and the subsequent scenes, music and cutting build to an exciting crescendo). EXT. FIELD - HONG KONG - MED. SHOT - DAY A group of British soldiers, in shorts and tropical gear, are gathered tensely around a piece of radar equipment, which is tracking a target. The radar operator says something to another soldier, who turns and speaks excitedly into a field telephone. (It is 5:00 a.m.) INT. INDIAN RADIO STATION - NIGHT The microphone bears the word CALCUTTA. An Indian announcer, his expression one of excitement and terror, jabbers into the mike in a native tongue. A clock on the wall indicates that it is 2:26 EXT. RUSSIAN BOMBER IN FLIGHT - (STOCK) - NIGHT The plane is identified by a red star on the fuselage. INT. RUSSIAN BOMBER - NIGHT The radioman is tracking an object on his radar scope. He points it out excitedly to the pilot. The pilot adjusts his microphone and starts making a report back to his base in Russian. EXT. FRENCH VILLAGE - STREET CORNER - MED.