The Thing From another World (1951)

Arguably one of the great science fiction films, The Thing was produced by Howard Hawks and supposedly directed by his editor on Red River (1948), Christian Nyby. Anyone familiar with Hawks's films will immediately recognize that the director's style, themes, and handling of actors dominate the film.

Set in the subzero environment of the North Pole, the film follows an Air Force officer, Capt. Pat Hendry (Kenneth Tobey), as he and his crew fly to Polar Expedition Six—a group of scientists led by Dr. Arthur Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) who are studying arctic conditions—to investigate reports that a flying craft of some sort has crashed into the ice. At the base camp Capt. Hendry finds an old flame (Margaret Sheridan), who is working as Dr. Carrington's secretary. Dr. Carrington's secretary is a tough woman in the Hawksian mold, and the romantic banter between her and Capt. Hendry is fun to watch.

When Capt. Hendry meets with Dr. Carrington, he is shown pictures of the strange object as it streaked across the sky. A party is organized to investigate the crash site, and when they arrive they discover that the object has sunk into the ice and has been frozen. The soldiers, scientists, and a journalist (Douglas Spencer) fan out to determine the shape of the object. When they all take their places at the edge of the object, they have formed a perfect circle. Always looking for a catchy buzzword that will make good copy for the folks back home, the journalist breathlessly exclaims, "A flying saucer!" The men decide to melt the ship out of the ice by detonating thermite bombs around it; but the plan goes awry, and the ship is destroyed.

Gravely disappointed, the men head back for their plane only to discover something else frozen in the ice—an alien. Using axes, they cut out a block of ice encasing the extraterrestrial corpse and bring it back to the base camp. While the soldiers and scientists debate over what to do with the creature, the ice melts, and the thing (James Arness) breaks free of its prison—very much alive. The thing escapes The soldier assigned to guard the thing shoots it several times, but the bullets have no effect, and it escapes from the room and runs out into the bitter cold. Soldiers and scientists crowd around the windows to get a glimpse of the creature, and they watch as the thing is attacked by the sled dogs. The giant creature (it's eight feet tall) takes on three dogs at once and kills them all. It then disappears into the blizzard.

Capt. Hendry sends men out to investigate, and they find the severed forearm of the thing, which one of the dogs managed to bite off. When Dr. Carrington examines the limb, he discovers that it possesses no flesh or blood. It is a vegetable of some sort. From the hands fall seedpods, and Dr. Carrington marvels at the creature's ability to reproduce without "pain or pleasure as we know it." When the severed hand begins to move on its own, the scientists surmise that it draws nourishment from blood. Capt. Hendry prepares a search party for the thing, and Dr. Carrington, who is convinced the being is superior to humans in every way, begs the military man not to harm the alien.

Capt. Hendry agrees, if it can be done without costing lives. The thing's prey While the soldiers are out in the icy wasteland, the scientists discover that the thing has broken a hole in the base greenhouse and is using it to bring his prey (this time it's the dogs, but the thing's tastes will soon escalate) there to feed. Dr. Carrington assigns his men to keep watch in the greenhouse and await the thing's return. Capt. Hendry and his party return empty-handed, but they are soon called to action by the screams of one of the scientists (Eduard Franz), heralding the return of the thing to the greenhouse. Franz tells Capt. Hendry that he and two others were in the greenhouse when the thing returned. It immediately grabbed the two others and killed them, hanging their bodies upside-down from the rafters to drain their blood as if they were slaughtered cattle.

Capt. Hendry runs to the door of the greenhouse and opens it—only to find himself staring right into the eyes of the thing. He swiftly closes the door, but the thing's arm (it has grown a new one) gets caught in the door, and the jamb is ripped apart as the thing retracts its arm. Capt. Hendry secures the doors and then turns his attention to Dr. Carrington, now convinced that the scientist is insane. Dr. Carrington protests that he has been trying to learn more about the creature, and he shows Capt. Hendry the pods that have grown from the seeds found in the thing's hand. Fed with bottles of blood plasma, the seeds have grown quite large in a matter of hours. Stunned and angered by the scientist's foolishness, Capt. Hendry restricts Dr. Carrington and the others to their lab. He then brainstorms with his men for a way to kill the creature. When Capt. Hendry wonders, "What do you do with a vegetable?" Dr. Carrington's secretary immediately responds, "Boil it, stew it, bake it, fry it."

The men decide to try to fry the beast by setting it on fire. Using a Geiger counter (the thing is a bit radioactive as well), the men determine that the thing has left the greenhouse and is now about to enter the base camp through a door in the radio room. The soldiers fill buckets with kerosene and turn off the lights. The thing forces the door open and is briefly silhouetted in the doorway. It takes a few steps forward and is doused with kerosene. One of the soldiers shoots a flare gun into the alien's chest, and the monster bursts into flames. The heat does not affect it, however, and it continues to make its way through the room. More kerosene is thrown onto the thing, and it finally dashes over to a window, throws itself through, and runs off into the night—still in flames.

They then rig a metal grate in the corridor and hook it to a generator. The thing returns, and the men try to lure it toward them. Dr. Carrington runs up and tries to reason with the monster, telling it that he wants to be friends, but he is answered by a violent swipe of the arm that sends him across the room. As the thing approaches, it walks to the side of the metal grate, thwarting the electrocution plan. One of the soldiers slides an ax down the corridor toward the monster, and the thing nimbly sidesteps the object—but lands on the grate. The soldiers kick on the juice, and the thing screams in pain as it is electrocuted. The thing shrinks in size until it is nothing more than a smoking lump of coal.

The men reassemble the radio room, and reporter the journalist is allowed to send out his story: "One of the world's greatest battles was fought and won today by the human race. Here on top of the world, a handful of American soldiers met the first invasion from another planet. Now, before I bring you the details of the battle, I bring you a warning . . . to everyone listening to the sound of my voice. Tell the world. Tell this to everyone wherever they are: `Watch the skies! Watch everywhere. Keep on looking. Watch the skies!"'

The Thing was based rather loosely on a short story by John W. Campbell, Jr. in which the alien had the ability to change its shape at will, causing havoc among the soldiers who begin to suspect each other of harboring the monster (John Carpenter's remake of THE THING in 1982 stuck closer to this story line, but the film turned out to be a massive disappointment). Charles Lederer's screenplay streamlines the narrative and allows Hawks to concentrate on the human interaction in the face of crisis. Whereas the original story (and Carpenter's remake) is a study of paranoia among comrades, Hawks's film revels in the interworkings of a hardened group of professionals capable of handling any crisis if they stick together. A theme particularly well-suited to the Cold War era during which it was made.

Capt. Hendry is the leader of the group and the star of the film, but the characters operate as an ensemble, and no one is really given much solo screen time. Their unity is what the film is about (with the point beautifully emphasized visually when they assemble to make the circle on the ice), and anyone familiar with Hawks's work will know that it is a theme that runs throughout most of his films. While the film is frequently stunning on a visual level, The Thing is a symphony for the ears as well, with Hawks's patented overlapping dialogue, with the protagonists snappily going about their work, asking each other questions, and providing quick, succinct responses. Whereas it is the very nature of the science fiction film to be filled with long, ponderous explanations of the rather incredible things presented, Hawks manages to handle the same material in a wholly realistic and entertaining manner sprinkled with doses of light humor.

The Thing also draws the line that would mark most science fiction films of the 1950s—the conflict between the military and science. Although Dr. Carrington is shown in a bad light, Hawks still has compassion for the character. Dr. Carrington believes the invader to be a superior being and is sympathetic to it because he sees it as an extension of himself—high intellect devoid of emotion, feeling, or pain, the perfect scientist (although the viewer sees it as a violent, rampaging monster that demonstrates little intelligence, only strong survival instincts). The scientist's intentions are valid and noble—of course, studying the thing would yield valuable information—but his intellectual concerns begin to take over his rational sensibilities, and lives are lost because of it. If the survival of the group is threatened, the choice is clear: the group (i.e., society) must survive.

In a genre in which elaborate special effects are required (and expected), The Thing does away with them. As in a horror film, the monster (whose next role was as John Wayne's fellow communist hunter in Big Jim McLain, 1952, and became Sheriff Matt Dillon in television's "Gunsmoke") is only glimpsed in shadows and darkness, thus making the imagination fill in the terrifying details. Russell Harlan's cinematography and Dimitri Tiomkin's eerie electronic score (he used a theremin) provide enough chills to satisfy any horror fan. No ray-guns, strange costumes, or futuristic inventions are needed here; even the spaceship is only suggested, never seen. Those who still doubt that this is Hawks's film need only look at production stills that show Hawks very much in control of the actors.

Performer, Character

Kenneth Tobey, Capt. Pat Hendry J

ames Arness, The Thing

Margaret Sheridan, Nikki Nicholson

Robert Cornthwaite, Dr. Arthur Carrington

Douglas Spence,r Ned "Scotty" Scott

James Young, Lt. Ed Dykes

Eduard Franz, Dr. Stern

John Dierkes, Dr. Chapman

Sally Creighton, Mrs. Chapman

Paul Frees, Dr. Vorrhees

David McMann, Gen. Fogerty

Production Credits

Producer, Howard Hawks

Director, Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks

Screenwriter, Charles Lederer based on the story "Who Goes There" John W. Campbell

Don A. Stuart, Editor

Roland Gross, Cinematographer

Russell Harlan, Music Director

Dimitri Tiomkin, Composer