Edmund H. North

Edmund Hall North (March 12, 1911 – August 28, 1990), was an American screenwriter who shared an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with Francis Ford Coppola in 1970 for their script for Patton.

North wrote the screenplay for the 1951 science-fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still and is credited for creating the famous line from the film, "Klaatu barada nikto".

He was a son of Bobby North and Stella Maury who performed in vaudeville and the Ziegfeld Follies. North began writing plays while attending Culver Military Academy in Indiana and at Stanford University. As a major in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II he made training and educational films.

North was a former president of the screen branch of the Writers Guild of America in which he served on more than 40 committees, including the contract-bargaining panel.

North and his wife, Collette had two daughters, Susan and Bobbie. He lived in Brentwood, California, and was 79 when he died.

Credits (alone or in collaboration)

The Day

The Day may refer to:

See also

The Day the Earth Stood Still

The Day the Earth Stood Still (aka Farewell to the Master and Journey to the World) is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein, directed by Robert Wise, and starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe and Sam Jaffe. The Day the Earth Stood Still was written by Edmund H. North, based on the 1940 science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The notable score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.

In The Day the Earth Stood Still, a humanoid alien visitor named Klaatu comes to Earth, accompanied by a powerful eight-foot tall robot, Gort, to deliver an important message that will affect the entire human race.

In 1995 The Day the Earth Stood Still was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Plot

When a flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C., the U. S. Army quickly encircles the spaceship. A humanoid (Michael Rennie) emerges, announcing that he has come in peace. As he advances, he unexpectedly opens a small cylindrical device and is shot by a nervous soldier who thinks it's a weapon. A tall robot emerges from the saucer and quickly disintegrates the army's deployed weapons with an energy ray. The alien orders the robot, Gort, to stop. He explains that the broken device was a gift for the President, which would have enabled him "to study life on the other planets".

Michael Rennie

Michael Rennie (25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his 1951 starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 20th Century Fox classic science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Rennie appeared in 50-plus films and in several American television series.

Early years

Eric Alexander Rennie was born in Idle near Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire. He received his education at the Leys School, Cambridge. Rennie tried out a number of occupations, including periods as car salesman and as the manager of his uncle's rope factory; before deciding (at the time of his 26th birthday, in 1935) on a career as an actor. Retaining his surname but adopting Michael as his professional name, the 6' 4" tall Rennie first appeared onscreen in an uncredited bit part in the Alfred Hitchcock film Secret Agent (1936).

During the late 1930s, Rennie served his apprenticeship as an actor, gaining experience while touring the regions in repertory theatre. There is evidence that, at the age of 28, he was noticed by one of the British film studios, which arranged a screen test. The 1937 screen test, which exists in the British Film Institute archives under the title "Marguerite Allan and Michael Rennie Screen Test," did not lead to a film career for either performer. In Secret Agent, he was primarily a stand-in for leading man Robert Young. He also played other bit parts and minor unbilled roles in ten additional films produced between 1936 and 1940; by the time the last of these was released, Pimpernel Smith (1941), Rennie was serving in the Royal Air Force.

Harry Bates

Harry Bates may refer to:

See also