The Thing from Another World (1951)

November 27, 2022 7:08 PM

Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.
posted by skycrashesdown (3 comments total)

One of the great things about this film is Captain Hendry (Kenneth Tobey). When the crisis starts, he's only "in charge" because he's the ranking military at the site. He's way in over his head, but he does his best to take charge and get a handle on the crisis. And when one of his men suggests a way to destroy the Thing, Hendry doesn't really "get it," but he's knows enough to get out of the way of folks smarter than himself. A far cry from some of the chest-thumping male leads we see in action films these days.
posted by SPrintF at 7:14 PM on November 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

I've only seen this once (years ago) but I remember liking the film and especially liking the interplay between the characters. I think it was the first time I had come across Howard Hawks style dialogue. That added a nice vein of humour balancing out the tension in the film.
posted by antiwiggle at 10:45 AM on November 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the dialog is what really grabs and draws you in. It’s natural speaking, with talk overlapping, interrupting, etc. Love it. Why more films don’t do that is beyond me.

The scene out on the ice where the team takes positions to outline the craft under the ice is one of the best constructed shots ever, the way everyone wanders this way and that and the circular shape is slowly revealed. A nice bit of choreography, that.

The only real negative I have with the film is the portrayal of the lead scientist, which seems to feed into some typical negative stereotypes of science folk.

I honestly like this over the Carpenter remake.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:35 PM on November 29, 2022 [1 favorite]