Farewell to the Master

date: 1940
author: Harry Bates 1900-1981
publisher: Astounding Science Fiction magazine
screenwriter: Edmund H. North
producer: Julian Blaustein
director: Robert Wise

North had to explain to Wise that the short story on which the 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, was based allegorized Christ, called Klaatu (resurrected). Gnut (Gort in the film), on the other hand, was the name of the robot in the original short story, who was later revealed to be the "master" of Klaatu, the servant.

​Despite this, Blaustein promoted the film as political commentary on Cold War paranoia, nuclear threat, and the need for global unity, specifically a strong UN. For this reason the US government refused to endorse the film. Nevertheless, the filmmakers consulted a real physicist, and the US Army lent equipment.