Fails the Bechdel test
The Day the Earth Stood Still
1951. Directed by Robert Wise, written by Edmund H. North and Harry Bates.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 4 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
Travelling at mind-boggling speed, a gleaming unidentified flying object zooming in from boundless deep space penetrates the Earth's atmosphere, landing smoothly in Cold War Washington, D.C. Encircled by large yet feeble military forces, the peaceful intergalactic ambassador, Klaatu, emerges from the mysterious vessel accompanied by the silently dangerous robot of incomprehensible power, Gort, only to witness firsthand the earthlings' hospitality. The sophisticated humanoid declares that he comes in peace; however, he needs to assemble the world's greatest minds to hear his merciful warning and a definitive ultimatum. Is Klaatu the messenger of humanity's doom?
- Released
- 20 Sep 1951
- Genres
- Drama, Sci-Fi
- Rated
- G
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 83 / 100
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Klaatu 167 lines, man
- Helen 99 lines, woman
- Bobby 74 lines, man
- Tom 39 lines, man
- Barnhardt 38 lines, man
- Harley 31 lines, man
- General 13 lines
- Colonel 12 lines
- Lieutenant 12 lines
- Mrs. Crockett 11 lines, woman
Full cast, 40 people
- Michael Rennie as Klaatu / Mr. Carpenter
- Patricia Neal as Helen Benson
- Billy Gray as Bobby Benson
- Sam Jaffe as Prof. Jacob Barnhardt
- Hugh Marlowe as Tom Stevens
- Lock Martin as Gort
- Freeman Lusk as General Cutler
- Edith Evanson as Mrs. Crockett
- Frank Conroy as Mr. Harley
- Frances Bavier as Mrs. Barley
- John Brown as George Barley
- Olan Soule as Mr. Krull
- Marjorie Crossland as Hilda
- Elmer Davis as Elmer Davis
- H.V. Kaltenborn as H. V. Kaltenborn
- Drew Pearson as Drew Pearson
- Gabriel Heatter as Gabriel Heatter (voice)
- Harry Lauter as Lieutenant in Charge of Landing Site
- James Doyle as Army Dr. White
- Larry Dobkin as Balding Army Doctor
- Robert Osterloh as Army Examining Doctor
- Glenn Hardy as Radio Interviewer at Landing Site
- Tyler McVey as Brady
- House Peters Jr. as M.P. Captain at Barnhardt's
- George Lynn as Conference Colonel Ryder
- Dorothy Neumann as Margaret
- Wheaton Chambers as Mr. Bleeker
- Carleton Young as Zone Five Lieutenant Colonel
- Harry Harvey as The Cab Driver
- Sammy Ogg as Sammy
- Bess Flowers as Lady Outside Jewelry Store
- James Seay as Government Man (uncredited)
- Grady Galloway as Radar Operator
- Hassan Khayyam as Indian Newscaster
- John Barton as British Newscaster
- Stuart Whitman as Sentry (deleted scene)
- Rama Bai as Scientific Delegate
- John Burton as British Radio Announcer
- Bill Welsh as Radio Announcer (voice)
- Guy Williams as Radio Operator (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 17% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 146
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 to 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 12 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 41 |
| 25 to 28 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 to 32 | 7 | 7 |
| 33 to 36 | 17 | 20 |
| 37 to 40 | 0 | 43 |
| 41 to 44 | 5 | 4 |
| 45 to 48 | 0 | 26 |
| 49 to 52 | 11 | 19 |
| 53 to 56 | 0 | 68 |
| 57 to 60 | 15 | 11 |
| 61 to 64 | 6 | 14 |
| 65 to 68 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 to 72 | 8 | 10 |
| 73 to 76 | 10 | 13 |
| 77 to 80 | 9 | 8 |
| 81 to 84 | 0 | 1 |
| 85 to 88 | 5 | 6 |
| 89 to 92 | 5 | 8 |
| 93 to 96 | 6 | 2 |
| 97 to 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 101 to 104 | 13 | 17 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 1 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 0 |
| 113 to 116 | 1 | 2 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 124 | 3 | 5 |
| 125 to 128 | 0 | 0 |
| 129 to 132 | 1 | 0 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 0 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 0 |
| 141 to 144 | 6 | 11 |
| 145 to 146 | 0 | 10 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 25 are women's.
128 lines from women, 380 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
7 women and 24 men in the cast. 4 women and 17 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 121 of 610.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 120 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 20% of the words (1,362), men 80% (5,320). Women have 25% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
22
Exhibit E: behind the camera
None of the 8 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 0% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Robert Wise (man)
- Written by
- Edmund H. North (man)
- Produced by
- Julian Blaustein (man)
- Shot by
- Leo Tover (man)
- Edited by
- William Reynolds (man)
- Music by
- Bernard Herrmann (man)
- Costumes by
- Perkins Bailey (gender not listed), Travilla (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
0 women, 4 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Other crew
0 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
-
Production
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 43 on average. Men: 42 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Patricia Neal 25, Frances Bavier 48, Edith Evanson 55
Men
Billy Gray 13, Lock Martin 34, Hugh Marlowe 40, Michael Rennie 42, Freeman Lusk 46, Sam Jaffe 60, Frank Conroy 60
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $995,000
- Box office
- $1.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 146 scenes and 610 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
