Film Review: The Thing from Another World (1951)

A film can earn its place as an important piece of cinema history, only for future generations to conclude that it didn’t age well. Something like that happened to The Thing from Another World, a 1951 science fiction horror film directed by Christian Nyby, which is considered to be one of the genre classics.

The film is based on “Who Goes There?”, a 1938 novella by John W. Campbell Jr. The plot begins in Anchorage, Alaska, where journalist Ned “Scotty” Scott (played by Douglas Spencer) searches for a story and ends up in a USAF officer club. He joins a group of officers led by Captain Patrick Hendry (played by Kenneth Tobey), which is sent to a remote polar research facility to help scientists investigate the apparent crash of a large flying object that occurred in the vicinity. The team indeed finds an alien spaceship (or “flying saucer”), which has been covered by ice. An attempt to unfreeze it with thermite bombs ends with the ship’s destruction, but the team returns to base with a large humanoid creature (played by James Arness) in a block of ice. When the ice is accidentally thawed, “the Thing” starts a murderous rampage, apparently impervious to bullets. Dr. Arthur Carrington (played by Robert Cornthwaite) wants to study the creature, which, despite having physiological characteristics of a vegetable, requires blood to feed itself. Carrington is willing even to risk the deaths of people in the base, unlike Hendry who, with the suggestion of Carrington’s secretary and his former girlfriend Nikki Nicholson (played by Margaret Sheridan), devises a plan to kill the creature.

The Thing from Another World had some notable names behind the camera. The film was produced by legendary director Howard Hawks, who, according to speculations and various claims, actually directed the film instead of his editor Nyby. The script was written by renowned writer and another Hawks collaborator Charles Lederer. It was and still is often interpreted as a reflection of the Cold War, which was escalating at the time. The plot takes place in the Arctic, which was seen as the obvious future battlefield, and the monstrous unstoppable alien is viewed as an allegory for Soviet Communists and their threat to America and its way of life. Even the conflict between Dr. Carrington and Captain Hendry can be seen as a reflection of the debate between American “doves” who wanted to deal with Soviets through diplomacy and “hawks” who advocated military confrontation. Lederer’s script, somewhat unsurprisingly, ends up favouring the latter and the film concludes with the famous words “watch the sky,” so fitting for the paranoia that would characterise not only US public sentiments but also Hollywood science fiction in the 1950s.

On the other hand, The Thing from Another World, especially from today’s perspective, looks rather underwhelming. Part of this can be attributed to its relatively low budget and a cast made up of relatively unknown actors that gives an impression of B-production. The monstrous alien looks not only too human but also too much like a cheap copy of Frankenstein’s monster. While there are some good scenes at the beginning and near the end that feature impressive and dangerous stunts involving fire, most of this black-and-white film takes place indoors and features long discussions. The middle part of the film is especially disappointing and makes The Thing feel much longer than its 80 or so minutes. Even Dimitri Tiomkin’s soundtrack, despite using theremin—which was becoming a norm for science fiction in 1950s Hollywood—sounds forgettable. The cast is solid but not particularly memorable. Hawks’ muse Margaret Sheridan is given a couple of good lines, but her romantic subplot with Captain Hendry goes nowhere. Nyby, on the other hand, directs the film very competently and avoids insulting viewers’ intelligence. The characters—military men who have spent significant time in harsh conditions—don’t react to their alien enemy like frightened children; instead, they take no-nonsense practical measures to deal with this danger. The Thing from Another World might not seem worthy of its classic reputation, but it is a solid piece of entertainment and Hollywood craftsmanship. In 1982 John Carpenter adapted Campbell’s story more faithfully and more successfully in The Thing.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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