In the 1951 science-fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, Klaatu calls his robot companion Gort. The film uses the robot as a powerful warning about weapons and planetary conflict, themes often associated with the “Pandora’s box” idea.
Klaatu arrives in Washington, D.C., with Gort, an advanced humanoid machine. Gort’s destructive ability is controlled by the command phrase “Klaatu barada nikto,” which becomes one of the film’s most recognizable lines.
The film was directed by Robert Wise and stars Michael Rennie as Klaatu. It was released during the early Cold War, when fears of nuclear weapons strongly shaped science-fiction stories. Gort’s power represents technology that can protect or destroy depending on how it is used.
Gort is sometimes confused with Robby the Robot, another famous 1950s screen robot from Forbidden Planet. Robby is a different character in a different film.