HelloTexas11 Review of The Thing from Another World

The Thing from Another World (1951)

impressive early 50's sf flick

[7/10 · 11 September 2008]

I don't think anyone screams in 'The Thing from Another World.' Not even the women. That alone would set it apart from practically every other sci-fi/horror film of the 1950's. But it's different in other ways. It takes a decidedly non-hysterical approach to the idea of finding a being from another planet alive, frozen in ice near the North Pole. The being is extremely dangerous, as it proves in a couple of remarkably well-staged and believable scenes. The Air Force crew that discovered it and who for a time, are trapped with it at an isolated Arctic station, are all business when it comes to dealing with the creature and tend to show the kind of annoyance one might associate with the soldiers in, say, 'Objective- Burma!' rather than shock and fright. Hence, no screaming. Howard Hawks produced (and, some say, directed) 'The Thing' and he brings with him his trademark style of 'overlapping' dialogue. That is, in order to make characters and situations more realistic, they speak in fast clips and constantly cut in on others' dialogue; the way, supposedly, people do in real life. The fact that it is noticeable tells me it's not completely effective. I think the problem with the technique is that it's used too much. It would have been better to have a mix of traditional phrasing and overlapping because that more closely resembles how people really talk. The other problem with the script, somewhat related to the first, is that everyone is extremely cavalier about the danger they're in. It's one thing to be dismissive of a far-fetched threat before it occurs, but once the creature is seen and there is ample evidence of its destructive capabilities, it just seems silly for the characters to act as though their biggest concern is running out of coffee. At one point deep into the film, there is a rather remarkable conversation between two of the principals concerning the danger they face, and someone just walking into a screening at that point might think they were talking about a pet that wasn't housebroken. But there is a lot too that is right about 'The Thing.' It is fast-paced with interesting characters and situations, excellent special effects for its time, and the cast is uniformly fine, including Kenneth Tobey and Margaret Sheridan as an Air Force captain and secretary, respectively, who are kinda sorta in love. But if the characters aren't scared, we sure are, particularly in one scene where a geiger counter tips them off that the creature is approaching and they all fall back to a room, wondering how to kill or injure it. They finally decide on fire, so they fill buckets with kerosene and next thing you know, here comes the creature through a door, the lights go out, and we see it set afire. It's a fantastic scene, built up to so quickly and unexpectedly, and staged so intensely, we barely have time to catch our collective breath before it's over, the final shot showing the being, still on fire, running off into the freezing Arctic night. 'The Thing from Another World' is like that, always another ace up its sleeve, right up to the end. One of RKO's best, for sure.