Radio drama continued longer than people generally imagine. Lux Radio Theatre’s last broadcast was on April Fool’s Day, 1954, and they chose a dramatization of the classic 1951 science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still. Michael Rennie reprised his film role as the alien visitor Klaatu. Jean Peters performed the role taken by the husky-voiced Patricia Neal. From the voice, it sounds to me like Billy Gray also reprised his role from the film, as the curious young boy Bobby. His performance was critical to the film’s effectiveness, but this is seldom acknowledged. Gray went on to a solid film career as a supporting player, and some success as a speedway motorcycle racer and the inventor of the F‑1 guitar pick. The radio adaptation kept close to the film script, merely tweaking the lines when visual elements had to be evoked. Rennie sounded a little tired, but on the whole, it was a fine translation of the film into a different medium.
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