The Thing from Another World (1951) RKO Pictures
Directed by Christian Nyby, and Howard Hawks (uncredited).
Screenplay by Charles Lederer based on the story, Who Goes There by John W. Campbell, and Howard Hawks (uncredited), and Ben Hecht (uncredited).
CAST: Margaret Sheridan (Nikki Nicholson), Kenneth Tobey (Captain Patrick Hendry), Robert Cornthwaite (Dr. Arthur Carrington), Douglas Spencer (Ned Scott), James Young (Lt. Eddie Dykes), Robert Nichols (Lt. Ken MacPherson), Dewey Martin (Crew Chief Bob), William Self (Cpl. Barnes), Eduard Franz (Dr. Stern), Sally Creighton (Mrs. Chapman), and James Arness (The Thing)
Co-written and Co-Directed by Hollywood A lister, Howard Hawks (uncredited) The Thing from Another World is the dark mirror version of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Howard Hawks was the credited producer of this creature feature that paints aliens as monsters of destruction. The Thing from Another World remains one of the classics of Science Fiction and Horror even if we are viewing through the wrong end of the telescope. All of our worst fears are confirmed: the aliens are coming and they are possessed by a mindless evil, or is it just a superior intelligence trying to survive? The second classic science fiction film of the fifties is as much horror as science fiction. It is as though Frankenstein’s Monster has fallen from the stars (and in fact when Hawks was trying to get the make-up for the film’s monster to his liking after many tries, he told make-up artist Lee Greenway to put a Frankenstein type of head on Arness). Instead of a village of frightened peasants, we have a group of military men, scientists, and a journalist, but the results are pretty much the same.
The cast is led by Margaret Sheridan (Nikki Nicholson), who provides the playfully flirtatious love interest, and Kenneth Tobey (Captain Patrick Hendry) who was drunk under the table and left unconscious at a party by Nikki prior to her departure from Anchorage to return to the Arctic. Now reunited, the Captain tries to rekindle the romance.
Adding insult to injury, Nikki left a note taped to the Captain referring to his legs. We see that Nikki is enjoying stringing Captain Hendry along. Kenneth Tobey plays the lead straight and is good humored as Sheridan uses her wry whimsy to bait him.
The group of military men have been assigned to assist the scientists in investigating an object that has landed in the arctic. They find what appears to be a large saucer shaped object buried in the ice. The decision to blast it out with Thermite explosives turns out to be an error, because the blast indirectly destroys the object. It should have just melted the ice, but the heat generated by the blaze sets off something in the craft that causes the explosion, “that was the engine,” shouts one of the men.
As they start to investigate the cause, they find that something was thrown from the ship and frozen just beneath the surface. Having learned their lesson with the loss of the ship, they decide to cut the figure out of the ice. They then take the block of ice back to their base and into a large storage room.
ABOVE: Robert Cornthwaite, Eduard Franz, Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Douglas Spencer, Kenneth Tobey, and James Young.
Unable to control the temperature of the room, the Captain orders the window in the room to be broken, he defies Dr. Carrington’s demand to be allowed to thaw the being for immediate scientific investigation. The Captain is trying to get orders on how to proceed, but they cannot get through on the radio. Tension builds between the scientists and the military over the handling of the creature.
ABOVE: Dewey Martin & Kenneth Tobey.
Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer, Kenneth Tobey, & James Young.
Meanwhile, Lt. Ken MacPherson, who is on first watch over the creature, is getting creeped out because the ice is clearing and he can better what is in the ice. He is especially bothered by the creature’s eyes. This and the dropping temperature cause the Captain to shorten the shifts on the watch to two hours apiece.
When the watch changes and the replacement throws an electric blanket over the block of ice (presumably so he won’t have to look at the Thing in the ice), and of course, the ice begins melting. Suddenly, the Thing is loose. The guard escapes to alert the others. They sound the alarm and dash to the storage room to try to contain the creature.
ABOVE: Dewey Martin, Kenneth Tobey, & James Young.
When they arrive in the storage room, the Thing has already gone outside. It is being attacked by the dogs and escapes when the men come out, but leaves behind an arm that has been torn off. While the scientists discuss what they are learning from the limb–the hand begins to move. This broadens their understanding of the creature. They have surmised that the creature is of vegetable matter and now they realize it feeds on blood. The blood of the dogs giving life to the detached limb is ominous and it reverberates in the men’s reactions. Seeing that the creature is a threat, they set off after it in earnest.
The film is still one of the best of the early Science Fiction/Horror films and it is a terrific monster movie. The cinematography is excellent, the script is well paced, and all of the players are on point giving a realistic feel to the base which enhances the horror of the situation. There is a good deal of action and the fact that you don’t get to see the Thing up close until nearly the very end, adds to the suspense of the movie.
The film was remade in 1982 as The Thing by John Carpenter who stayed truer to the original story with the Thing being a shape shifter. The effects are horrific and Ken Russell and the rest of the cast are in for a hell of a ride.
Facts, Rumors, & Hearsay
Directors John Frankenheimer, Ridley Scott, Tobe Hooper, & John Carpenter all credit the film as an influence on their own work.
James Arness complained that the Thing make-up and costume made him look like a giant carrot.
Hawks was turned down by a number of insurance companies when trying to insure the production due to the fact that the Thing was to be set on fire, ravaged by dogs, frozen in a block of ice, set on fire, & electrocuted.
The film was made at a cost of only $40,000.00 which is still low budget by today’s standards equating to about $380,000.00.
There is a possibility that Ben Hecht and William Faulkner, both friends of Hawks, contributed to the script.
Available on DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming.
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