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The Concept
The Prop
The Costume
The Close-up Helmet
The Stand-in
Artist concept of Gnut
from "Farewell to the
Master"
In filming the motion picture "The Day the Earth Stood Still", director Robert Wise knew the success of the science fiction feature would hinge on how well the public accepted the alien technology represented by the robot Gort. It was described in the original story, "Farewell to the Master" by Arthur Toffe, as "...a giant, but a man ? with greenish metal for man's bulging muscles. Except for a loincloth he was nude. He stood like the powerful god of the machine of some undreamed of scientific civilization, on his face a look of sullen brooding thought." Edmund North's outline modified the appearance to this, "After a moment a ramp slides silently out of the side of the ship and a giant robot ten feet tall steps down the ramp to the ground. He is not a metallic, clanking robot, but is made in the almost perfect image of a man. His face is, and remains, expressionless. This is GNUT." [Gnut was the original name for the robot in Toffe's story. It was changed to make it easier to pronounce.] In designing Gort, art director Addison Hehr hit upon his "fluid metal" concept of Gort, a humanoid machine whose smooth, unjointed exterior, although metallic in appearance, bends and reshapes itself with amazingly elastic properties. And to give Gort that air of "sullen, brooding thought" Hehr fashioned a smooth and featureless face except for one single, sleeping eye.(1976, Cinefantastique)
In order to have the flexibility the director would require, the robot Gort would utilize two costumes, worn by actor Lock Martin, a fiberglas prop statue, a lightweight stand-in statue, and a larger articulated helmet for close ups.
Designed by art director Addison Hehr, a nine foot tall oversized statue of Gort was constructed out of fiberglas to use in those shots that would emphasize Gort's size. Below is a chart that will help you when you watch the film to identify which you are seeing.
| The Costume (8 ft. 2 in.)
Helmet more cylindrical below visor Shoulders less 'padded Stouter torso Arms slightly longer
Hands extend below crotch
Legs have wavy surface
Boots thinner |
 |
The Prop (9 ft.)
Helmet more tapered Straight shoulders Longer torso More tapered waist
Hands extend to crotch
Legs spread straight
Thick boots |
Close up of Gort
costume showing
lace-up fasteners and
airholes in helmet
Close-up of legs and
boots showing lace-up
fasteners
Photography tests of
Gort costume
Two costume suits were created for Gort. To provide the flexibility the suit would need to give the "fluid metal" look, it was made of latex rubber. It would be impossible to hide the seam nessessary to allow it to be worn by Martin, so one was created with a seam in the rear for frontal photography and one with a seam in the frontal for 'backal' photography. The seams would be laced after the suit was donned. Both suits would utilize a metal helmet.
The costume was created by making a fiberglas mold of a full sized model. It was cut apart to correspond to the front and back torso, legs, arms, boots and gloves. Latex was then brushed into the mold layer by layer until the desired thickness was reached. The rubber would need to be thick enough to hold its shape yet still enable Martin to move inside it. After the pieces were removed from the molds they were glued together. A final coat of rubberized silver paint gave it color and helped hide the seams.
The helmet was fabricated from metal and differed from the prop be having a more cylindrical shape to allow it to be placed over Martin's head. It also had three sets of air ventilation holes, a set of four slits under the chin and holes around each 'earpiece'. The visor could be either removed or lifted (see image below). It was painted with the same rubberized silver paint as the suit, although you might detect a difference in texture between the two.
Lock Martin sans gloves and visor
For close up shots of Gort using its death ray, a larger
shoulder and helmet were built to hold the electronics inside. The visor
was powered by a small battery operated electric motor to ensure its rising
at a constant rate.
Directly behind the visor was placed a clear, blue-tinted
sheet of Lucite. Behind this was placed a system of dark blue light bulbs,
which were wired to light in a specific pattern at certain intervals. It
was these lights which were seen when Gort's visor opened to reveal the
naked power pulsing within. The feeling projected by these scenes of viewing
this power was akin to looking upon the face of the Gorgon and being able
to tell of it. The actual laser beams themselves and the pulsations accompanying
them were animation, which was superimposed on the film.
This helmet is currently in the collection of Bob Burns, Hollywood, CA.
Preparation of Gort
Stand-in model
Close-up of top
of previous image
Close-up of bottom
of previous image
Another view of
Stand-in model
Stand-in with
Patricia Neal
The Gort stand-in was used in setting up shots and for
rehearsals when Lock Martin was not needed. This model was the same
size and color as the prop, although it appears to be lacking detail (but,
of course, just how much detail does Gort have?) If you compare to
images of the film prop, you'll notice the stand-in appears stiffer and
in and 'unnatural' position with arms held to far open. The helmet is lacking
visor detail, clearly seen in the oblique view with Patricia Neal.
