The Thing from Another World (1951)

[after a quick encounter with the Thing]
Hendry: Did you get your picture?
Ned "Scotty" Scott: No, you were in the way and the door wasn't open long enough.
Hendry: You want us to open it again?
Ned "Scotty" Scott: NO!

The movie was directed by Christian Nyby and whilst I would not normally mention it, the film was produced by Howard Hawks who has had a string of great movies from the silent era well into the sound years, and finding a bad movie of his is probably harder than you think.  Why bring this up?  Well some also believe that Hawks had heavy involvement in actually directing the movie but whatever the case it’s clear that this was not going to be a flop at least from a technical point of view.

Essentially the story revolves around members of a U.S. Air Force crew and scientists based in Arctic (not the Antarctic where the book and other two movies are based) who discover what appears to be a spacecraft in the ice.  As they excavate the site they find one of the aliens frozen in the ice so they cut out the block of ice containing the creature and take it back to the lab to have a closer look at it. Over a period of time the ice melts and the creature comes to life and wreaks havoc in the camp.  They then try to discover what the alien wants, how it feeds, what keeps it alive and most importantly how to kill it.  It sounds basic but the story is really well played out and has a natural feeling to it but amongst that we also have the conflict between the two groups where the scientist wants to keep it alive and others who want to see it dead.

Being 1951 it is needs to be understood that effects are not going to be as good as the latter films and that’s not hinting that it’s a bad movie, but rather more limited in how the alien is portrayed.  So just like many other movies of this vintage there is greater emphasis on creating characters you can get to know and suspense that you can’t always see but feel because we do not see it all and, just like many Hitchcock movies, this succeeds in its attempt.  The mystery created surrounding this strange alien and how it lives and grows helps build suspense as the movie goes on and therefore keeps you in.  

In regards to looks, the alien is quite simplistic and Frankenstein looking and does feel out of place but perhaps the movie makers kinda knew this limitation so there are things we are told about but don’t see, or things that are not completely visible to the viewer which opens our imagination as well.  This is not saying that it is a cheap nasty movie but they just use what they could at the time to create a simplified version of the alien and it’s not often you get a close-up of the creature and it works well to be honest.  It is not going to scare the living daylights out of you but it does present a good story that is told well and believable.

The DVD used for the review is an Australian release that you will most likely have to obtain from ebay as most bricks and mortar stores wouldn’t bother keeping it in stock which is similar with quite a few titles I have.  It’s a bare bones release where the special features non-existent, which is a shame, but at least we get the movie with a good visual print that’s clear and sharp.

Overall however, the movie is better than what you would think as it creates the mystery and keeps you wondering.  And this really proves to audiences that newer isn’t always better and special effects don’t always make it better either (though it can help).  The movie comes highly recommend for fans of 50’s Sci-fi or simply those interested in The Thing series of films as it is a good well-made movie, despite the out of place looking alien.  It may not be everyone’s cup of tea so if the above description does not fit you, give this one a miss.

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