| The Thing from Another World | |
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1951 theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks (uncredited) Christian Nyby |
| Screenplay by | Charles Lederer Howard Hawks (uncredited) Ben Hecht (uncredited) |
| Based on | Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr. |
| Starring | Margaret Sheridan Kenneth Tobey Douglas Spencer Robert O. Cornthwaite James Arness |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Russell Harlan, ASC |
| Editing by | Roland Gross |
| Studio | Winchester Pictures Corporation |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 29, 1951 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Thing from Another World (often referred to as The Thing before its 1982 remake), is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell (writing under the pseudonym of "Don A. Stuart"). It tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being. It stars Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite and Douglas Spencer. James Arness appeared as The Thing, who was difficult to recognize in costume and makeup. No actors are named during the opening credits; the only cast credit is at the movie's end. The movie was partly filmed in Glacier National Park and at a Los Angeles ice storage plant.
In 2001, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[1]
Contents |
A United States Air Force re-supply crew is officially dispatched by General Fogerty (David McMahon) from Anchorage, Alaska at the unusual request of Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite), chief of a group of scientists working at a North Pole base, Polar Expedition Six. They have evidence that an unknown flying craft of some kind crashed nearby. Ned Scott (Douglas Spencer), a reporter in search of a story, tags along. A minor romantic sub-plot unfolds, involving Captain Patrick "Pat" Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) and Carrington's secretary, Nikki Nicholson (Margaret Sheridan).
Doctor Carrington briefs the airmen, and Doctor Redding (George Fenneman) shows high speed photos of a heavy object moving downward, then up, and then on a straight line briefly before falling out of frame — not the movements of a meteor. Hendry wonders to the doctor: "Twenty thousand tons of steel is an awful lot of metal for an airplane." "It is for the sort of airplane we know, Captain," Carrington responds. From Geiger counter readings, Pat's crew and the scientists fly to the crash site aboard the supply team's ski-equipped C-47. The craft is buried in the ice, with a portion of a rounded airfoil protruding from the surface. Forming a circle when they try to see how large the craft is under the ice, they are shocked to discover that it is in the shape of a flying saucer. They then try to uncover it with thermite heat explosives, but in doing so accidentally ignite the ship, destroying it. Crew Chief Sergeant Bob's (Dewey Martin) Geiger counter locates what looks like a body frozen in the ice nearby.
They excavate the tall body, preserving it in a large block of ice, and return to the research outpost just as a major storm moves in, making communication with Anchorage very difficult. Some scientists want to thaw out the creature immediately, but Hendry orders everyone to wait until he receives orders from Air Force authorities. Feeling uneasy guarding the body, Corporal Barnes (William Self) covers the ice block with a blanket, not realizing it is an electric blanket, and the creature slowly thaws out, revives, and escapes to the outside sub-zero cold and snow storm.
The creature wards off an attack by twelve sled dogs, and the scientists recover an arm, bitten off by the dogs. As the arm warms up, it ingests the blood from one of the dogs and begins to come back to life. They learn that, while appearing humanoid, the creature is in fact an advanced form of plant life. Dr. Carrington is convinced that the creature can be reasoned with and has much to teach them, but Dr. Chapman (John Dierkes) and other colleagues disagree. The Air Force men are just as sure it may be quite dangerous.
Carrington soon realizes that the creature requires blood, any available blood to reproduce. He later discovers in the base's greenhouse the hidden body of a sled dog, still warm, unconscious. He has volunteers from his own team, Dr. Voorhees (Paul Frees), Dr. Olsen and Dr. Auerbach, stand guard overnight, waiting for the creature's return.
Later, Carrington secretly uses human blood plasma from the infirmary to incubate and nourish seedlings taken from the severed arm, failing to advise his colleagues or Capt. Hendry of what he has done, or of having found the bodies of Olsen and Auerbach, drained of blood. Dr. Stern (Eduard Franz) is almost killed but escapes to warn the others. Nikki reluctantly updates Pat when he asks about missing plasma supplies. Pat confronts Carrington in the greenhouse, where he sees that the creature's planted seed pods have grown at an alarming rate. Dr. Wilson (Everett Glass) advises Carrington that he hasn't slept, but Carrington is unconcerned. The creature returns and the USAF crew, after gunfire has no effect, trap it in the greenhouse.
The creature escapes and breaks into another part of the camp. Following a suggestion from Nikki, Pat and his men set it alight with kerosene, causing it to flee into the sub-zero night, burning out a whole room during the process.
Nikki notes that the temperature inside the station is beginning to drop quickly; a fuel line has been sabotaged by their alien visitor. The cold forces the scientists and the airmen to make a final stand near the generator room. They rig an electrical "fly trap", hoping to electrocute the Thing. As the creature advances on them, Carrington twice tries to save it, once by shutting off the power in the generator room, and then by trying to reason with the creature directly. It throws him aside and continues its advance, finally stepping on the trap placed in a dimly lit corridor; the Thing is finally reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes at Pat's orders. Its seedlings are later destroyed without a trace.
When the weather finally clears, Scotty is finally able to file his "story of a lifetime" by radio to a roomful of fellow reporters in Anchorage. During his report on the harrowing events at the top of the world, Scotty broadcasts a plea and warning to the reporters listening intently on the other end of his broadcast: "Tell the world. Tell this to everyone, wherever they are. Watch the skies everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies."
The movie was loosely adapted by Charles Lederer, with uncredited rewrites from Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht, from the 1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr. The novella was originally published in Astounding Science Fiction under the pseudonym Don A. Stuart.
There is debate as to whether the film was directed by Hawks, with Christian Nyby receiving the credit,[2][3] or whether Nyby directed it with considerable input in both screenplay and advice in directing from producer Hawks[4] 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 reflected a post-Hiroshima skepticism about science and negative views of scientists who meddle with things better left alone. In the end, it is American servicemen and sensible scientists who win the day over the monster.
The screenplay changes the fundamental nature of the alien as presented in Campbell's novella: 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". The structure of the monster makes it impervious to bullets. 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 (see below).
One of the film's stars, William Self, later became President of 20th Century Fox Television.[5] Appearing in a small role was George Fenneman, who at the time was gaining fame as Groucho Marx's announcer on You Bet Your Life.
The Thing from Another World was released in April 1951[6] and by the end of that year had accrued US$ 1,950,000 in distributors' domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals, making it the year's 46th biggest earner, beating all other science fiction films released that year, including The Day The Earth Stood Still and When Worlds Collide.[7]
Bosley Crowther in The New York Times observed, “Taking a fantastic notion (or is it, really?), Mr. Hawks has developed a movie that is generous with thrills and chills…Adults and children can have a lot of old-fashioned movie fun at The Thing, but parents should understand their children and think twice before letting them see this film if their emotions are not properly conditioned"[8] "Gene" in Variety complained that the film "lacks genuine entertainment values.”[9] Lester del Rey compared the film unfavorably to the source material, John W. Campbell's "Who Goes There?", calling it "just another monster epic, totally lacking in the force and tension of the original story."[10]
The Thing is now considered by many to be one of the best films of 1951.[11][12][13] The film holds an 89% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus that the film "is better than most flying saucer movies, thanks to well-drawn characters and concise, tense plotting".[14] In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[15] Also in 2001, the American Film Institute placed the film at #87 on 100 Years... 100 Thrills, a list of America's most heart-pounding movies.[16] It was also on the ballot for several other AFI 100 Series lists, including AFI's 10 Top 10, under the science fiction category,[17] the tenth anniversary edition of the 100 Movies list,[18] 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes for the line "Watch the skies, everywhere, keep looking! Keep watching the skies!",[19] and 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains, for the Thing in the villains category.[20] Additionally, Time magazine named The Thing from Another World the greatest 1950s sci-fi movie.[21][22]
In 1982, John Carpenter made a more faithful version of the novella Who Goes There? under the 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.
Certain elements of Carpenter's film were heavily suggested by this film, including the "burning letters" opening titles.
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. made a prequel to Carpenter's 1982 version with the identical title of The Thing.[23] The film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as protagonist Kate Lloyd.
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