Review #397: 'The Thing from Another World' (1951)

Upon receiving a request for re-enforcements from brilliant scientist Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite), General Fogerty (David McMahon) dispatches a U.S. Air Force team led by Captain Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) to a remote area of Alaska. Upon arrival, they learn that a strange aircraft has been discovered built of alien materials to which they gain access and discover a giant frozen alien lifeform. They bring it back to their base, where a careless soldier allows it to thaw, and the crew find themselves under siege from the giant monster that doesn't seem to be able to be killed. Soon, Carrington and Hendry find themselves at loggerheads, as Carrington wishes to preserve the beast for scientific research, and Scott sees it as a threat to humanity and will stop at nothing to destroy it.

I was surprised at how different this throwback sci-fi is to its much more popular and admittedly vastly superior remake The Thing (1982). John Carpenter's re-imagining is more sophisticated and memorable, but Christian Nyby's original, based on John W. Campbell's novel Who Goes There?, has a lot going for it and is one of the more exciting and politically-charged of the 1950's sci-fi's. Nyby directed under the watchful eyes of Howard Hawks, so naturally, this is a very American tale, and very much a product of its era. In an America wary of Communist infiltration, Cornthwaite's Dr. Carrington is portrayed as a maniacal madman, who is willing to sacrifice the lives of his colleagues for scientific data, whereas Tobey's Hendry is the square-jawed American hero, who sees the need to stamp out the threat before it can bare its influence across America. Obviously this is a bunch of nonsense from an ignorant time, but it cements the film as being historically and politically significant, as well as being extremely good fun.

Little is seen of the 'Thing' itself (played by western legend James Arness - who passed away last year), which allows the film to build far more tension than the many rubber-suited creature-features that were churned out in the 1950's. It is usually hidden away with shadows so the film never feels silly, and really makes an impact in one impressive scene which sees Scott set it ablaze. It is a fully-body burn, something which is extremely dangerous even by today's standards. An un-involving romantic sub-plot between Hendry and Carrington's secretary Nikkie Nicholson (Margaret Sheridan) aside, the film breezes by and is very good fun, and if you can see past all the political nonsense, then this is one of the best of the B-movie sci-fi/horrors to come out of the era.


Directed by: Christian Nyby
Starring: Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer, James Arness
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie