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| One of the engaging things about the original 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still -- aside from it being a cerebral drama about the human condition that doesn't rely on scenes of destruction to entertain -- is that some of its outdoor sequences were actually filmed in downtown Washington, DC. In the days of "The Million-Dollar Rule" (No movie can gross more than $2 million, so we spend no more than $1 million to make it.), on-location filming was a rarity. Climactic scenes of the original film include shots of motorcycle cops racing around Washington in pursuit of Klaatu/Mr. Carpenter portrayed by Michael Rennie. These chases were shot on the south side of DuPont Circle around the underpass. As shown below, the setting is still pretty much intact. | ||||||||
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| Part of the chase-scene backdrop is this old bank building which has long been a landmark in its own right. It is in the angle created by Connecticut Avenue and Massachusetts Ave. intersecting with DuPont Circle. For decades it has provided passers-by a means of checking time and temperature. The electric sign once displayed the date as well and became notable for the year being way off (like 2025). At some point in the past twenty years, the bank's stone first-floor walls and blood-red brick upper story side have been given such garish, fruity finishes as is seen here. Hopefully one day its early 1910s-era Italianate glory will be restored. | ||||||||
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| Across Connecticut Ave. from the bank building is art-deco 1350 Connecticut which can be seen as the cops chasing Klaatu plunge into the underpass. The DuPont Circle Underpass had a subway station before DC had a subway. What?! Yes, in the days of trollies, a station under the circle was built for the Connecticut Ave. line. Later the subterranean space was the location of a failed eatery. Its sealed-up entrances can be seen near 1350 and the bank building.
Years ago I did a freelance gig at a "competitive intelligence" (corporate spy) firm located in 1350. One of the business types who wrote the spy reports for a client drug company that was interested in digestive-system medications couldn't spell "duodenal" to save her soul. "Dinudial" and "didunial" are two variations I remember. "Anti-emetics" were described as "anti-semitics."12/07/2008 Copyright 2008 by Neal J. Conway |
