Klaatu's Spaceship - Production Model from The Day the Earth Stood Still

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The Day the Earth Stood Still

Klaatu's Spaceship - Production Model

. One of the remaining props from the film's production, Klaatu's Spaceship was used in the opening sequence where the ship lands on the Ellipse in Washington D.C. Measuring about 7 feet in diameter, it is located at the Disney-MGM Studios at the Walt Disney World complex near Orlando, Florida. It is displayed in the American Film Institute's museum along with other film props, among them "Star Wars"' speeder bikes and the Rocketeer's rocket pack. You can get to the museum by taking the Backlot Tour; the tram tour ends outside the museum doors. Or, you can slip in through the gift shop area by turning right at the new Goosebumps gift area (the old Loony Bin) just after Madison's fountain from "Splash". . When the Studios first opened, the saucer was housed in the Special Effects show room, where the ant from "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" was displayed (it now houses props from the film version of "101 Dalmatians"). Around the upper level were several old props, including Maximillian, the large red robot from "The Black Hole". I remember how excited I was on seeing and identifying the saucer, and made a big fuss over it with the Disney escort. I continued to make an effort to view the ship and express it's uniqueness on subsequent visits (having family members working at Disney has great benefits!) Sometime in 1994 it was moved out of the storage area and into the new AFI museum, where it can be seen today. I'd like to think I had a small part to play in giving this historic film artifact the recognition it deserves! This sign hangs to its left:

The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 Flying Saucer Miniature This small model, less than eight feet across, was Hollywoods first flying saucer. It was created by Fred Sersen and his special effects team of Ray Kellogg, L. B. Abbott and Emil Kosa. For close-up shots of aliens Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and Gort (Lock Martin) emerging from the spaceship, film director Robert Wise used a three-quarter scale mock-up, 25 feet high and 100 feet wide. Courtesy of Gregory Jein

. The photos below will show you what to expect. .

	Left- The Spaceship is hanging on a wall tipped on its side and leaning a little toward the front. As original, it is devoid of any markings. A triangular doorway has been cut into the model, although I don't recall any scenes in TDTESS that used that. Hanging to the upper left is a speeder bike from "The Empire Strikes Back". On the wall to the left are tiles from the Death Star used in "Star Wars: A New Hope".
Here I laid the camera aup against the wall and rotated the picture 90 degrees to give a view similar to the film.
	Here I am standing in front of the model to give it some scale. It is great that this artifact brings attention to a noteworthy film that brought about the modern age of Science Fiction Films.

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