La Chose d'un autre monde

One of a very few movies I would rate a 10. It's perfection was mostly due a Charles Ledera script based on the story "Who Goes There?" and the director talents of Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks. The cast was marvelous.

The opening scene of the reporter Scotty walking his way through blizzard like snow and below zero temperature to enter a warm and cozy officers club is special. The beautiful soft music of the late 40's plays as Mr. Scott warms up by the fireplace. We get introductions underway to the main characters, pilot Captain Henry and his flying mates. A page by the general for the Captain and we are off to join a group of scientists at the north pole to explore a mysterious plane crash.

Some of the scenes at the North poll station scared the pants off me when I first saw the movie. In between the scary stuff Captain Henry and a secretary Nikki added a few romantic moments, one scene with a band playing "A lovely way to spend an evening". It's a shame that the movie sound track had none of the soft music numbers that also played in the mess hall scenes.

A great ending had me "looking at the skies" for years after.

Imagine what you'd if a flying saucer crash landed close to an artic outpost where you were stationed. I guess you'd instinctively get out and about and go looking for it, albeit with some army types in tow (or towing) and, upon discovering it, inadvertently destroy said vessel but manage, through luck or misfortune to capture the alien pilot in a block of ice where it had frozen during its escape. That's what I'd do, then I'd do all I could to ensure (inadvertently again) that the entrapped thing was released as expediently as possible so it could cause rampage and carnage while instilling fear within the occupants of the isolated outpost. Just as well I wasn't around!

You've got to love the old B Movies of the 1950s! Especially those that gave us two belters of cinema in years to come.

The Thing, released in 1951, is the original hostile alien movie, a must-see for fans of sci-fi and horror.

Major director Howard Hawks (Sergeant York, The Big Sleep, Red River, Rio Bravo) produced it but some sources (Leonard Maltin) credit him as co-director. Christian Nyby, a film editor for Hawks, is officially credited as the director. Whoever directed it, The Thing is an impeccably crafted movie. It's considered as a Grade B movie, probably because of its subject matter, but it's one of the best Grade B's along with Them and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

A group of scientists at the North Pole discover something buried in the ice. Unknowingly they bring back part of it to the camp for study.

The acting is solid and the characters are given great dialog. Kenneth Tobey is the take charge Captain Patrick Hendry. Robert Cornthwaite is great as the slightly nutty Dr. Carrington. Douglas Spencer as Scotty is fun as the wisecracking reporter always looking for a photo. Margaret Sheridan is Nikki the shapely love interest. James Arness plays The Thing monster. With an ensemble cast of supporting actors. Be sure to rent the DVD version because it has a few scenes between Tobey and Sheridan that were always cut for TV and VHS probably because they were considered a little too racy for the time although now they are just cute.

The film has held up well for over fifty years. The film's contributors were seasoned professionals who had worked on major films. The screenplay by Charles Lederer (Mutiny on the Bounty, Ocean's Eleven, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, His Girl Friday) is full of crisp dialog. The black and white cinematography by Russell Harlan (Red River, Witness for the Prosecution, To Kill A Mockingbird, Run Silent Run Deep) makes everything look right. The prolific film composer Dmitri Tiompkin provides a very eerie, theremin-based score.

After 50 years this movie rightly earns the label of classic.

The Thing From Another World is one of the top ten science fiction movies of all time. The original version feeds on our paranoia of the times as well as the fears of the atomic age and invasion from outerspace. Remember Mr. Arnold first saw what was called flying saucers only a few short years earlier. The acting and storyline are tight and first rate. The claustraphobia from being confined inside the North Pole with an alien running amoke is done very well. The cast rounds out the movie quite well with great performances of all of the characters. Granted to soem the movie may seem dated and lack special effects of the remake, but the remake does not capture the times and the fear of the so called Reds that this does. The Thing From Another World has to rank in the top ten. As a kid I thought it was one of the better, not to mention more frightening science fiction movies, up there with War of the Worlds and The Day The World Stood Still. This stands up story wise. Not all science fiction needs to have effects on the order of Star Wars. Sometimes, like horror, it's what you don't see that can get to you. This is a timeless classic. IT has to be in the top ten sci-fi films of all time. If you don't rent it, buy it. You will love it!

The movie starts out very promisingly, creating a great spooky atmosphere and avoiding possible cheap looking special effects of the spaceship crash. It knows where its true driving force lies; it's not in the silly looking "carrot" creature(that thankfully also doesn't get much screen time), it's in the dialogues and the relationships between characters. This reminds me of Rydley Scott's "Alien". Same concept, same result. Great atmosphere and a good sense for story telling make "The Thing From Another World" well worth the watch. 7/10