The Day the Earth Stood Still Page #9

INT. SITTING ROOM - MED CLOSE SHOT - AT DOOR

Harley has paused to watch as the M.P. takes out a key and

inserts it in the lock of Klaatu's door.

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - CLOSE SHOT - KLAATU

As he hears the click of the lock, he turns toward the door.

Realizing they've locked him in, he smiles with tolerant

amusement.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HOSPITAL SITTING ROOM - MED CLOSE SHOT - NIGHT

In the dim light of one lamp, the door to the corridor opens

and a nurse enters carrying a tray of medication. She is

accompanied by the same M.P. as previously seen. The nurse

pauses as the M.P. takes out a key and inserts it in the

lock of Klaatu's door. To his surprise he finds that the

door is not locked. He exchanges a glance with the nurse,

then pulls the door open and hurries inside.

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM

as the M.P. crosses the unlighted room toward the bed. The

only light cones from the open door to the sitting room. The

M.P.'s eyes go wide as he looks at the bed. It is unmade and

unoccupied. Terrified, the M.P. turns to the nurse, who is

standing in the doorway.

M.P. He's gone!

The M.P. dashes out of the room, through the doorway past

the nurse. She turns to follow him as we--

DISSOLVE TO:

MONTAGE - NIGHT

A series of short DISSOLVES, showing:

1. The M.P. excitedly reporting Klaatu's disappearance to

the Officer of the Day.

2. The hospital guard detail hurrying out of the guardhouse

to form up in front of the Sergeant of the guard.

3. A high-level military conference gathered at a table,

discussing the matter with great concern.

4. A street corner newsstand, with people eagerly grabbing

papers. The headline reads: "MAN FROM MARS" ESCAPES FROM

ARMY HOSPITAL!

5. Radio announcers chattering excitedly into their

microphones

6. A series of close-ups of people listening to the radio.

Their faces reveal their awestruck terror.

7. A terrified mother drags her two children in from the

street through the front door, slams the door and bolts it.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - MED. CLOSE SHOT - NIGHT

CAMERA is on the back of a man dressed in a business suit,

who is walking along the sidewalk of a dimly lighted, almost

deserted, middle-class street. He carries a suitcase and he

glances idly at the drab-looking stone facades of the old

two-story houses. As he passes, from the open windows of the

houses come the voices of radio announcers. We get a sentence

or two from one house and then, as the man and our CAMERA

pass on, this voice fades and another is picked up. We get

the impression that everyone is glued to his radio.

RADIO VOICES:

(over scene)

--authorities at Walter Reed Hospital

refused to comment on how he managed

to escape, or what measures might be

taken to apprehend him.

--these fantastic descriptions of the creature are denounced

as rumor by police Chief Walter Baxter. He is not eight feet

tall, as reported -- nor does he have tentacles in place of

arms--

--there's no denying that there is a monster at large --

that we are dealing with forces beyond our knowledge and

power. The public is urged to take ordinary precautions and

to remain calm, as we await further developments--

--three separate reports of people who claim to have seen

the "space man" in the past hour. One from Des Moines, Iowa;

one from a village in northern Florida; and one from Chicago.

CAMERA OVERTAKES the man as he pauses under the light of a

street lamp, and reveals that it is Klaatu. He has stopped

to look at something out of scene.

CLOSE SHOT:

from Klaatu's viewpoint, of a sign on one of the houses,

reading:
ROOM FOR RENT

CLOSE SHOT - KLAATU

He seems to hesitate, debating a plan he has in mind. He

raises his right arm to scratch his head thoughtfully, and

notices for the first time a small tag, or ticket, attached

to the inside of the right forearm of the coat he is wearing.

Puzzled, he pulls off the ticket and looks at it.

INSERT - TICKET

It is the sort of tag a cleaning establishment attaches to

clothing. Printed on it is the legend: CAPITOL DRY CLEANING

SERVICE. Scrawled in a penciled hand is the notation: Dr.

Carpenter, Bldg. A - Walter Reed Hospital. Cl. & pr. $1.

CLOSE SHOT - KLAATU

He smiles wryly at this reminder of where he got the suit,

and he destroys the ticket. He glances down at the suitcase

beside him.

CLOSE SHOT - SUITCASE

It bears the initials L.M.C. Klaatu's hand comes into scene

and lifts up the suitcase. CAMERA HOLDS as Klaatu carries

the bag toward the house and mounts the stone steps to the

entrance.

INT. BOARDINGHOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

There 's no light in the room except what splashes in from

the hall. Gathered around a television set are five adults

and a little boy, their faces eerie in the reflected light

from the screen. The room is done in average boardinghouse

style -- antimacassars and all. The attention of the people

is riveted on the television screen, where a newscaster is

reading a bulletin.

TELEVISION COMMENTATOR

--while the President made no effort

to minimize the crisis, he urged

people all over the country to remain

calm. He said the entire facilities

of FBI and other federal agencies

are being bought to bear. He pointed

out, however, that this is no ordinary

man hunt. He warned we may be up

against powers that are beyond our

control.

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