While describing the 1951 sci-fi horror, a critic said it “set the template for a decade of alien invasions” — and perhaps that’s all you need to know about The Thing from Another World.
Sometimes referred to as just The Thing, this black-and-white alien encounter film directed by Christian Nyby created a blueprint for the horror sci-fi genre in Hollywood.
Based on the 1938 novella Who Goes There? written by John W. Campbell, who was using the pseudonym Don A Stuart at the time, The Thing from Another World stars Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite, Kenneth Tobey, and Douglas Spencer, with James Arness taking on the mantle of The Thing. In 1950, producer Howard Hawks acquired the rights to Who Goes There? for $1,250.
Now streaming on BBC iPlayer, the film centres around a US Air Force crew and scientists who discover a crashed flying saucer and a humanoid body frozen in the Arctic ice. They bring the body, still encased in ice, back to their isolated arctic research outpost, only to find themselves battling for their lives when the malevolent, plant-based alien is accidentally thawed and revived.
The *spoiler alert* scene where the closer-to-plants-than-humans alien is set aflame and repeatedly doused with kerosene, was one of the first full-body fire stunts that was ever filmed. The Thing hit theatres in April 1951 and became the 46th biggest earner by the end of that year, beating out stiff competition from all other sci-fi movies that released in that year, including When Worlds Collide and the iconic The Day the Earth Stood Still.
It received generally positive reviews from the audience as well as critics, with one saying: “On the whole the movie is far and away the most original and ingenious in this new category of pseudo-scientific entertainment.”
Another critic said of the film: “You had better see it soon, right away, before you hear too much about it from those who have had the pleasure. And the thrills and chills.”
One positive critical review of the film adds: “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 so that the film does not appear to take itself too seriously.”
Another viewer said: “The film is pretty well done, and the acting, totally stripped of phony glamour and with real-sounding dialogue, is good indeed. You have the impression you are watching people, not actors.”
While one audience reviewer added: “Excellent effects and direction which perfectly utilises its confined location, and the script and story are also very and even the drastic changes, like the main monster just being a Frankenstein clone that’s actually a living plant (or rather, carrot) are very welcomed due to how innovative and unique they are.”
One detailed review of the film by someone who had watched it when it initially released, says: “I am old enough to have seen this movie when it was first released in 1951. As a preteen, it gave me nightmares for days. It was an original. It was one of the first to establish the ‘gotcha’ moment in 1950s sci-fi horror movies—the moment something jumps out of the corner of the screen to scare you. Even though it was one of the pathfinder movies (in many ways) of that genre, it was also a serious sci-fi motion picture.
“It greatly benefited in scaring audiences from the cultural “Red Scare” that was going on in the early 1950s. So if you’ve never seen this movie; wait until dark, turn off the lights, and enjoy a good scare…..”
While one review simply said: “It’s one of the best classic monster movies of all time! Can’t recommend it enough.”
The Thing from Another World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.