The Thing from Another World is a 1951 science fiction film which tells the story of an Air Force crew & scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight an alien being. It stars Kenneth Tobey (Capt Patrick Hendry), Margaret Sheridan (Nikki Nicholson), Robert Cornthwaite (Dr Arthur Carrington) and Douglas Spencer (Ned Scott). James Arness appeared as The Thing, unrecognizable in costume and makeup. Oddly, no players are named during the otherwise-complete opening credits; the only cast credit is at the end (this was somewhat unusual in the 1950s).

The movie was loosely adapted by Charles Lederer from the story "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, Jr.. It was directed by Howard Hawks (uncredited) and Christian Nyby for Hawks' Winchester Pictures, which released it through RKO Radio Pictures Inc..

The film took advantage of the national feelings of the time to help enhance the horror elements of the story. The film's release in 1951 coincided with the Korean War and the upswing in anti-communist feelings brought on by McCarthyism. The idea of Americans being stalked by a force which was single of mind and "devoid of morality" fit in well with the parallel feelings of the day on communism. In the end, it is American soldiers and scientists who win the day over the monster.

Plot summary

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A U.S. Air Force crew is dispatched from Anchorage, Alaska at the request of the team leader (Dr. Carrington) of a group of scientists who are at a remote research base in the Arctic, Polar Expedition Six. There is evidence that an aircraft of some kind has crashed nearby. The crew takes along Scotty, a reporter and former war correspondent, who is hanging around the base in search of a story. A sub-plot running through the story involves a romance between the leader of the Air Force crew (Captain Hendry) and the scientific leader's secretary (Nikki).

When the Air Force crew and scientists arrive at the crash site, they find the wreckage covered in ice, and are shocked to learn that the shape of the aircraft is round. They attempt to free it from the ice with thermite explosives, but accidentally destroy the wreckage. One team member with a geiger counter finds that there is a body nearby frozen in ice.

They return to the research outpost as a major storm moves in, making communication with Anchorage difficult. Some of the scientists want to thaw the creature, while Hendry orders everyone to wait. Feeling uneasy, one of the Air Force men covers the ice block with a blanket, forgetting it was an electric blanket, and thaws the creature out.

The creature is attacked by dogs as it attempts to escape, and the scientists recover an arm, bitten off by the dogs. They examine it, and as it warms it begins to come to life. They learn that, while humanoid, the creature is in fact a form of plant life. Dr. Carrington is convinced that it can be reasoned with, while the Air Force men are sure it can't.

Carrington later discovers the hidden body of a dog, drained of blood in the greenhouse. He gets volunteers to stand guard, some of whom are later killed by the creature. The humans manage to trap him in the greenhouse.

Carrington then realizes that the creature requires human blood to reproduce; using it as a form of nourishment for its seedlings. They also soon realize that the creature will need more blood, and that it will not stay in the greenhouse for long.

Finally, the heat is turned off, as they realize the creature has cut off the oil to the living area. They make a final stand by creating a trap for the creature using electricity as a weapon. As the creature advances, Carrington twice tries to stop the creature's demise; once by shutting off the power, and the second by running out on to the trap and trying to reason with the creature (which fails).

The creature is killed, and its seedlings destroyed, as Scotty files his "story of a lifetime" by radio, imploring the world to "Watch the skies."

Production notes

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The screenplay changes the fundamental nature of the alien as presented in Campbell's short story: Lederer's "Thing" is a humanoid monster whose cellular structure is closer to vegetation although it must feed on blood to survive. One character describes it as an "intellectual carrot". In the original story, the "Thing" is a lifeform capable of assuming the physical and mental characteristics of anyone it chooses. This aspect was realized in the John Carpenter remake of the film in 1982.

When American Movie Classics was showing the movie in the 1990s, the introduction related a story about the creation of the creature's makeup. The makeup artist supposedly went through several revisions of the creature's face. He would test each one by putting the full makeup on Arness and taking him for a drive through Los Angeles. At one point, a woman in the next car screamed and fainted upon seeing the creature. The makeup artist "knew he had a winner" and used that face in the movie.

Film Quotes

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CAPTAIN HENDRY: Twenty thousand tons of steel is an awful lot of metal for an airplane. CARRINGTON: It is for the sort of airplane we KNOW, Captain.

CREW CHIEF: Pretty spry for a guy with twelve dogs on him. LIEUT DYKES: . . and losing an arm.

SCOTTY: An intellectual carrot - the mind boggles !

SCOTTY: Watch the skies!

Trivia

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The twenty thousand tons of steel that Carrington & Hendry refer to is comparable to a helicopter-carrying aircraft carrier. The mated space shuttle & launch system gross weight is 2,250 tons (US). The Saturn 5 moon rocket was 1,100 tons heavier.

In 1982, John Carpenter made a more faithful version of the story "Who Goes There?" under the remake-suggestive title The Thing. It was already well-known that Carpenter was a fan of the original film, as he included considerable footage from it in his own Halloween (film). Certain elements of Carpenter's film were heavily suggested (inlcuding the "burning letters" opening titles) by this film. Also during The Thing the characters make reference to a 'Norwegian' team that used thermite charges to clear the ice around the UFO, this is a direct reference to the team in the original film.

The famous last line was parodied in The Simpsons episode The Springfield Files. The pimple faced boy takes over the narration at the end of the episode, and, reading from a cue card says Keep watching the skis!, only then to correct himself. In another episode, Martin Prince uses the line to end his nomination speech for class president, in which he promises a science fiction library for the class. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the original film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

In 2003 it was released on DVD.

External link

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1951 films | Science fiction films | United States National Film Registry

Das Ding aus einer anderen Welt (1951) | 'Se' toisesta maailmasta | La Chose d'un autre monde | La cosa da un altro mondo | Fantomen från Mars