The Thing From Another World

The Thing from Another World

Winchester Pictures

RKO release

1951

87 minutes

Nikki Margaret Sheridan

Hendry Kenneth Tobey

Carrington Robert Cornthwaite

Scotty Douglas Spencer

Eddie Dykes James Young

Bob Dewey Martin

Lt. Ken Erickson Robert Nichols

Cpl. Barnes William Self

Dr. Stern Eduard Franz

Mrs. Chapman Sally Creighton

The Thing James Arness

Music by Dimitri Tiomkin

Screenplay by Charles Lederer

Based on the story “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr.

Produced by Howard Hawks

Directed by Christian Nyby

*

Captain Pat Hendry (Tobey), a C-47 pilot stationed in Anchorage, is called by the base commander General Fogerty. Dr. Carrington, leader of Polar Expedition 6, has reported the crash of an aircraft nearby and has requested an aircraft and means to investigate. Hendry, his crew and Ned Scott, a newspaperman visiting Anchorage trying to dig up a story, fly to the base to assist in the investigation. With scientists and sled dogs on board, they fly to the crash site and discover something unusual—the crashed craft melted the ice and sank before the ice refroze—and the craft is round! “We finally found one!” They’ve found a flying saucer!

*

The Thing is a wonderful picture—great writing, great acting, great direction, great sets, terrific music—it’s hard to think of any way you could improve it.

Kenneth Tobey is perfect as Captain Hendry—generally easy-going but capable of being quietly commanding, showing great respect and affection for his crew—it’s a wonderful performance. Margaret Sheridan is delightful as Carrington’s secretary and Hendry’s love interest—she has a stronger role than women in most sci-fi pictures of the era. She’s strictly business in dealing with her work—even in the scene where she gets squeamish, she backs up a tiny bit and asks Carrington if he will need her any more; she’s clearly relieved when he dismisses her—but she never screams a single time. And she’s downright sultry as she teases Hendry with a drink and a kiss.

Robert Cornthwaite plays the arrogant Dr. Carrington perfectly from his first scene, where he makes Hendry wait while he finishes what he’s working on—it’s obvious that what he thinks is important outweighs what others think. He also says, “I dislike being vague”, almost sighing at the line (more on Carrington below).

Douglas Spencer, as reporter Ned Scott, gets some of the best lines in a movie full of good lines and provides a little comedy relief—but comedy relief unlike the buffoonish relief in so many movies. When Carrington describes the attributes of the amputated alien arm, Scotty stops him and says, “Please, Doctor, I have to ask—it sounds like you’re describing some sort of super carrot.”

Carrington confirms Scott’s suggestion; Scotty then says, “Dr Carrington, you’re a man who won the Nobel Prize; you’ve received every kind of international kudo a scientist can attain. If you were for sale, I could get a million bucks for you from any foreign government. I’m not, therefore, going to stick my neck out and say you’re stuffed absolutely clean full of wild blueberry muffins—but I promise my readers are gonna think so.”

Dewey Martin is Bob, the crew chief, infinitely creative and resourceful; he frequently approaches Hendry and softly says, “Captain, I have a suggestion.” The suggestions are always good and Hendry always accepts them—and Bob always compliments Hendry on another good idea.

*

The script is a delight, with great dialog and good suspense. The music is very good, too—the movie is one of the first to use a theremin in the score.

*

The special effects are surprisingly good for the time, in part because of the smart decision not to show any of the space ship other than a fin. The monster suit is nothing to write home about but it is better than a lot of other movies. The most noteworthy effects scene is the one where the Air Force crew sets fire to X. These days, we’ve seen plenty of scenes with people on fire, so it may not be all that impressive, but James Cameron, in TCM’s special Watch the Skies!, says that it was the first full-body flame suit, and the first shot with no other lighting than the flames on the stunt man. I haven’t researched that claim—if it’s true, it’s amazing. Even if Cameron’s story isn’t true, the scene is still incredible. And it does appear that there’s no other lighting (to my un-film-educated eye).