Watch the skies, everywhere! Keep looking. Keep watching the skies! – The Thing from Another World (1951)
The Thing from Another World (1951) – The Sci-Fi Horror Classic That Started It All!
Stranded at the frozen north pole, a group of scientists and military personnel uncover a terrifying alien life form—a dangerous creature unlike anything they’ve ever seen, biologically closer to a carrot than a man. As paranoia and chaos grip the group, tensions erupt between the cautious scientists and the security-minded military men, leading to a series of deadly mistakes. All the while, their commanding officer remains oblivious to the career-ending consequences of his decisions as he pines for a young lady. Will they survive the relentless attacks of The Thing From Another World… or will this frozen outpost become their tomb?”
Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on The Thing from Another World (1951). This movie is rated a fair 7.1[1] on iMDB.com. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film has a well-deserved 87 percent on the Tomatometer and 73 percent on the Popcornmeter[2].
Cranky old New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther stated, “The Thing,” as Howard Hawks calls his new movie, is quite a show, folks. Not since Dr. Frankenstein wrought his mechanical monster has the screen had such a good time dabbling in scientific-fiction. The thing which we encounter in “The Thing” is a vegetable phenomenon with human form which lives on animal life (that means us, the film says) and is impervious to bullets. We can tell you this much: the thing doesn’t like fire or electricity, not in lethal doses, anyway. Taking a fantastic notion (or is it, really?), Mr. Hawks has developed a movie that is generous with thrills and chills and comes up with just enough light, bantering dialogue — the kind of desperate wit which acts as a safety valve under pressing circumstances—so that the film does not appear to take itself too seriously.”[3]
Actors – The Thing from Another World (1951)
Returning
Kenneth Tobey played pilot Captain Patrick Hendry, the love-happy military man who totally botched his mission. Tobey was first covered in the Civil War raid adventure The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) there is a link below.
The very tall “Gunsmoke” actor James Arness played The Thing, a creature from another planet. Arness was first covered in the World War II drama Battleground (1949). The Thing also botched his mission, but there is no word of whether he was love-happy.
The incredible voice talent Paul Frees was uncredited as Dr. Vorhees. Every time he spoke, my attention was peaked. Frees was first mentioned in The Time Machine (1960) there is a link below, where he was the voice of the spinning rings.
New
Douglas Spencer played the role of former war correspondent and reporter Scotty. A tall, slim, bespectacled bald man, Spencer stood out in the cast. Spencer was born in Illinois in 1910. Spencer began working in Hollywood in Production. He also worked as a stand-in and performed this role regularly for Ray Milland. This led to Spencer being cast in small roles in numerous films.
Spencer’s films included A Date with the Falcon (1942), Double Indemnity (1944) there is a link below, The Lost Weekend (1945), where he portrayed a drunk that thought he was covered with beetles, Film Noirs The Dark Corner (1946) there is a link below, Alias Nick Beal (1949), Trapped (1949) there is a link below, and Chicago Deadline (1949). He also worked in Union Station (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), the ant classic Them! (1954) there is a link below, and the Man from Del Rio (1956), with Glenn Ford. Spencer died in 1960.
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Story – The Thing from Another World (1951)
The credits run over a blowing arctic storm. In Anchorage, Alaska, three Air Force members, Captain Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey), Lt. Eddie Dykes (James Young), and Lt. Ken Erickson (Robert Nichols) are playing cards. They are approached by combat correspondent Ned “Scotty” Scott (Douglas Spencer). Since there is no war, Scotty is looking for a story. Dykes mentions that Hendry has trouble with the ladies.
Erickson tells that there is a large group of scientists at the Arctic North Pole, that includes Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite), who is known for being at Bikini Atoll. For the first nuclear test at Bikini, the bomb was named Gilda after Rita Hayworth’s character from the Film Noir Gilda (1946)[4]. Also, that cute little French-designed two-piece, often seen at the beach, was named in honor of Bikini Atoll.[5]
Dykes says there is a pin-up girl with the scientist, and Erickson quips that Hendry can give the data about her. Before Hendry can get too upset, he is paged to come to the general’s office. Scotty says if there is a story there, include him. As soon as Hendry enters the office, the general shouts, “Close the door.”
This reminds me of when I was in the Army. Officers were always somewhere warm, yelling at anyone who opened the door, while we spent our time outside in the cold. Hendry was told that Dr. Carrington had reported a large crash. He is ordered to load a dog team and anything he needs for an investigation. They believe the crash may be the Soviets. Hendry gets permission to take Scotty along. The rest of the crew consists of the Crew Chief (Dewey Martin) and Corporal Barnes (William Self). The plane they travel in is a Douglas DC-3 with landing skis, and was designated a C-47 by the military.
As the plane gets closer to the pole, the scientists call to say that something is messing with magnetics. They continue the flight following a radio beacon. After landing, the military group is greeted by the scientist that they know well as the plane flies up every three weeks. Scotty is introduced to Mrs. Chapman (Sally Creighton) and Dr. Chapman (John Dierkes). Dierkes had a unique cranium, which was seen in The Red Badge of Courage (1951), and as a family member in The Omega Man (1971) there is a link below. Dr. Stern (Eduard Franz) and Dr. Vorhees (Paul Frees) are introduced later.
Hendry heads right up to see Nikki (Margaret Sheridan). Sheridan was billed highly in this film as she was Howard Hawks’ protegee. Her big break never came. He is a little upset because Nikki out-drank him and left a note saying he has nice legs. Other people say the note. Apparently, Hendry was very drunk. She takes him to see Dr. Carrington.
Dr. Carrington is very distant and self-concerned. The magnetic field is 12 degrees off. Dr. Carrington says they heard an explosion and estimated the downed craft at 20,000 tons. They confirm that it is not a meteor because it changed course.
The military and the scientists fly to the crash site, which is about 50 miles from the research station. Corporal Barnes picks up radiation on the Geiger counter. From the air, they see a tear-dropped crash site with only a small bit of metal protruding above the ice. The Geiger counter goes to the top reading, and the compass begins to spin.
They land anyway sans radiation suits and head towards the crash site using the dog team. Dr. Carrington believes the craft crashed at the top of the teardrop and slid to the round area. The ice melted from the heat, and the craft sank into the water before the water froze again. The metal sticking out of the ice is the vertical stabilizer. They spread out to check the shape of the craft, and it turned out to be a standard large UFO with a vertical fin. This is when they all realize they have found a UFO. They discover that the metal of the fin is an unknown metal on Earth.
Hendry decides that they should use Thermite bombs to melt the ice above the craft. Thermite is a type of reaction that produces extreme heat when used. For example, if you were abandoning a helicopter to the enemy, you would place a thermite grenade on the engine, and it would burn straight through the bottom, igniting everything it contacts. Hendry places Scotty on a media blackout. The radio man sends a message about the UFO to Washington.
The Army guys set off a Thermite bomb, and due to a chemical reaction, the entire UFO burns and dissolves. The explosion and steam almost kill the crew. Dr. Carrington laments about the loss of scientific information. Hendry should take off his bars and walk north because he would do time for his actions so far.
One of the men sees something in the ice, and they believe it is the pilot from the otherworldy craft. Being wiser than they were a half hour previously, they dig the alien pilot out in a large block of ice. They mention that the alien is around eight feet tall.
During the return flight, the navigator reads from an Air Force bulletin that the service has discontinued looking for UFOs, believing they don’t exist.
Once back at the base, they store the alien ice cub in a storage room. The scientists want to remove the alien from the ice. Hendry has a man break a window so the block will not thaw and leave Erickson for a four-hour guard shift. The iceblock is frosted, so they cannot get a good view of The Thing (James Arness). After screwing the pooch, Hendry wants confirmation from headquarters before his next move. The base radio operator reports that they cannot receive messages, but what they are sending may be getting through.
The scientists are split on whether they should thaw the alien or leave it alone. The pro-thaw group thinks information may be lost. The anti-group thinks viruses may be released. Hendry makes a report to the general over the radio. The radio operator has two garbled messages from the general. One is that Scotty cannot release his story. The other is permission to take all of the actions Hendry has taken so far. He is told to only store the alien until the general arrives. However, the general can’t travel because of the storm. Washington, D.C., is advised on what is going on.
The military men are a little worried about the scientists because they are holding secret meetings. They find out that the story has already leaked in D.C. The crew chief tells Hendry that the iceblock is beginning to defrost, and The Thing can be seen more clearly, especially the eyes. Hendry cuts the guard shift to two hours and takes an electric blanket to the guard.
Nikki pumps Hendry for info on The Thing and what it all means. He is very cool and collected. She invites him along for a drink. She ties his hands to keep him from getting out of line. Kinky. She forgives him for the way he acted on their first date. They get all kissy-faced.
Barnes takes over the guard detail. As soon as he is alone with the alien, he begins to get freaked out. They show a side view, and the alien looks like a gray. He covers the ice block with the still plugged-in electric blanket. You had one job.
Barnes is reading a book and not watching The Thing. The ice melts, and something disturbs the dogs. Barnes is covered by the shadow of The Thing and fires several shots into the monster.
Barnes is freaking out as he tells everyone the creature is alive. Hendry leads an armed part back to the room, but The Thing has escaped through the door. The Thing is outside fighting with the pack of sled dogs. The Thing loses an arm during the fight before running away.
Inside, the scientists examine the arm. Dr. Carrington explains that the outer surface of the arm is chitin, similar to a bug’s shell. They cannot see any blood or nerves, only unconnected cellar growth. So, they assume the creature is a plant-based life form. Carrington finds seed pods on the arm. When the blood from the dogs thaw, the arm begins to move. Scotty calls it a super carrot.
Hendry makes a plan to protect the base in case The Thing returns. They arm themselves with axes and secure the compound. They make their way to the locked greenhouse room. The room has access to the outside.
Carrington stops a few of the scientists and shows them that all of the temperature-sensitive plants are damaged. They recheck the exterior door and discover that it was opened and relocked by The Thing. Next, they find Thing slime on a storage box. When they open it, they find one of the sled dogs, dead but completely drained of blood.
Carrington and two scientists stay to guard the Greenhouse, but they keep it a secret from the military. The military folks make sweeps outside but they can’t find any sign of The Thing. The messages coming in from the general get more and more frantic. Dr. Sterns staggers into the room, wounded from being attacked, and says Greenhouse before passing out. They wake him with smelling salts, and he says two scientists are hanging from a beam with their throats slit and their blood drained.
The military group and Scotty open the door to the Greenhouse, and surprise, The Thing is right there and ready to fight. They get the door closed and fire some shots through it. This five-second view of The Thing occurred about one hour into the film. The torn-off arm of The Thing has regrown. They block the door from the inside and blockade the outside door, trapping The Thing in the Greenhouse.
Hendry throws down on Carrington and tells him he has gotten two of his colleagues killed. He restricts Carrington’s movements. As soon as he can, Carrington calls the scientists to a meeting. He believes only science can defeat The Thing. Carrington is at the point of collapse. Nikki is ordered to read Carrington’s notes. In short, he has been feeding the seeds he found on the arm using the emergency plasma. They sprouted in five hours. Carrington takes the others to his grow plot. Wilson uses a stethoscope and can hear them wailing like newborns. Some of the scientists think Carrington is going too far, and this may be a planned attack.
Nikki is typing Carrington’s notes when Hendry comes in. He wants to know why Sterns is getting live transfusions and not the stored plasma. She gives in and lets him see the notes on the seedlings.
Hendry tries to get Carrington to stop his experiment. Dr. Chapman says The Thing is growing offspring in the Greenhouse and will be looking for more blood. They believe Carrington is endangering Earth. Hendry orders the seedlings to be destroyed, and he wants to kill The Thing as well.
A message comes in from the general in response to Carrington, saying the Amry guys should try and keep The Thing alive. Scotty is lamenting about defending yourself from a vegetable attack. Nikki simply says boil it, stew it, or fry it. The Giger counter begins going off, and they think The Thing is out of the Greenhouse. The group prepares kerosene to throw on The Thing, and they have a flare gun to light the fire.
They ask Erickson if he knows how to use the flare gun. He replies, “I saw Gary Cooper in Sergeant York (1941),” He then wets the front site, like Alvin York (Gary Cooper) did in the Howard Hawks directed Sergeant York (1941) there is a link below.
The Thing breaks into the room and begins attacking. They douse him with several cans of kerosine and fire the flair gun. He fights a bit and makes a mess before diving out the window into the snow. It seemed like the fire was going to burn the entire station, but they finally got it put out.
The Army guys gather more kerosene to fight. However, one of the scientists recommends that they use electricity. They plan to set the trap near a long hallway. As they wait, Nikki notices that their breath is icy because the temperature inside is falling. They realize that The Thing has cut their fuel line. They believe the next attack will be on electricity. They move everyone to the generator room.
The crew uses fence wire and electrical cable to make a trap for The Thing. Carrington has not given up on communicating with The Thing. Hendry decides to go against the direct orders of the general and the wishes of Carrington and kill The Thing as quickly as possible. They think The Thing is coming from the mess hall. They use themselves as rabbits for the hare to chase.
The trap reminds Scotty of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray’s execution, which he covered. This was a real case. The couple were tried for and convicted of the murder of Snyder’s husband in 1927 and were executed in New York by the electric chair. This murder was the basis for the story shown in Double Indemnity (1944) there is a link below.
Down the hall, boards are blocking a door, but the door opens inward. The Thing walks in, growling as he moves. Suddenly, the power goes off, and Nikki screams that Carrington turned the generator off.
Carrington runs down the hall and tries to reason with The Thing, who happens to be holding a 4×4 beam in his hand. The Thing listens for a bit and then smashes Carrington with a forearm. When The Thing is in the right place, they turn on the juice. Arcs of electricity hit The Thing, and it burned to a pile of ashes. This fight scene showed The Thing for a little over two minutes.
Scotty fails to get a picture but is given permission to send out his story. The men kill off all of the seedlings. Carrington survived the attack. The men convince Hendry and Nikki that they should be married. Scotty transmits his story and ends it with, “Watch the skies everywhere, keep looking, and keep watching the skies.”
Conclusion – The Thing from Another World (1951)
The warning to watch the skies could be for aliens or for communists because the movie was made around the peak of the Red Scare. Suppose you set the first UFO recording at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, as the beginning of the UFO period. In that case, it corresponds with the fear of a communist takeover.
Just to hit that point again, both When Worlds Collide (1951) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) were released in 1951, the same year as today’s film there is a link for these films below.
There is some conflict over who actually directed the film. Some actors say Howard Hawks, while others say it was Christian Nyby. iMDB.com says Nyby was the director but gives Hawks an uncredited director credit[6].
Mostly due to budgets, The Thing concept was changed several times. First, it was going to be a shape-shifter, then an elaborate three-eyed alien, but finally became a carrot with a Frankenstein (1931) headpiece. there is a link below
Howard Hawks added “From Another World” to The Thing title to avoid confusion with a popular song called “The Thing.”
The Thing From Another World (1951) was remade by Director John Carpenter as The Thing (1982). It’s gorier but not better. A prequel, The Thing (2011). I have no comment for this latter film
The Air Force refused Hawks’ request for assistance making the film as they felt it would conflict with their stated policy that UFOs are not real. I am sure that is why they had the scene in the cockpit where the bulletin was read saying the Air Force does not consider UFOs to be real.
Oddly, Margaret Sheridan, who played the role of Nikki, was given top billing for the film. She was under contract with Howard Hawks and considered to be his protegee. Sheridan was also the first choice for the female lead in Red River (1948) there is a link below. However, she became pregnant and had to withdraw from that role. Sheridan left Hollywood in 1955, choosing motherhood over acting. She officially retired in 1964 after only six films.
Great film critic Roger Ebert said in an NPR interview that the scaridist he’d ever been at the movies was while watching The Thing from Another World (1951), especially when they burned The Thing.
World-Famous Short Summary – All this time, we have been watching the sky, and the UFOs were in the ocean.
As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com.
Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044121/
[2] The Thing | Rotten Tomatoes
[3] ‘The Thing,’ an Eerie Scientific Number by Howard Hawks – The New York Times
[4] Operation Crossroads – Wikipedia
[6] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044121/
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