The Thing from Another World (1951)

Very disappointing...

Fantastic!

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Movie Review: "The Thing From Another World" (1951)In the year 1951 when the final distributing decade for Golden Age Hollywood Mini Major RKO Radio Pictures had toll the first bell before closure of the studio in 1959, "The Thing From Another World" based on a story by John W. Campbell Jr. optioned by producer Howard Hawks, denying his own direction on the picture, focus on "The Big Sky" starring Kirk Douglas and the comedy "Monkey Business" (both 1952), considering the picture even all too silly at the time of release with the wish to pull his entire name from the production.Now in retrospective and after an indulging remake directed by John Carpenter, called just "The Thing" (1982) starring Kurt Russell, which eventually brought out the horror with skillful camera work and engaged acting towards splatter gore f/x, where the original version from 1951, just before television invaded citizen's living room, giving still some entertainment for the classic movie lovers with striking on stage pyro-effects of the inflamed creature from outer space, behaving mainly like Frankenstein's creature on acid, making this picture directed by future "Bonanza" (1959-1967) television director Christian Nyby, who occasionally moves the 35mm camera set through above-average B-movie, close-to A-listers, production design and hammering score by composer Dimitri Tiomkin.The acting ensemble surrounding by professional Industry actors from again future television cast as Kenneth Tobey and Magaret Sheridan keep face as North pole scientists discovering an invading parasite from outer space and confront it as a team toward annihilation, tolling the bells together with "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951) directed by Robert Wise for an era of an Hollywood Horror revival as Universal monsters in the 1930s, stating clearly that filmmaking, story-wised drive, runs in circles to be hyped again.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

Looked good for the age of the movie. Really nicely shot and believable special effects. Sound was clear but a little flat due to the limited channels. Obviously not really comparable to modern films. The concept of the alien mimicking humans and that anyone could be the alien is lost. There is one alien that could take over the world as it is basically a plant which is clever. I think that it was ahead of it's time for horror films compared to the Universal horrors. Really enjoyable older film. My favourite from the era as it is a little different and a little clever. There are some really creepy moments and the feeling of being trapped is there. The monster is a bit slow but quite menacing. Excellent fifties horror that took a long time to be beaten.

"The Thing from Another World" is a good example a type of sci-fi film of the mid-20th century that engrossed audiences. The plot had some intrigue (the scientific wonder), interest in understanding a different life from outer space, and a conflict between study and survival. The latter most often was portrayed as science and the military or law being at odds. As in this film, usually the scientists want to dig right into the discoveries and start examining them, while the military want to secure them first and then wait for orders. The scientists usually are on the losing side, but they or someone else are the means for the aliens to get loose and wreak havoc. The humans wind up winning, but only after a few of them have been eaten, groveled, drained of their blood or brains, or otherwise disposed of. Naturally, audiences of the time went with the strong arm group who would protect and defend civilization. In other words, wipe out the invaders. But this type of sci-fi kept one's interest. And, it didn't require a great deal of expense for models and suits and makeup of freak creatures. The creatures were seen less often, but just enough to remind the audience that they are there. Modern sci-fi films, by contrast, are almost continuous mayhem of battles and encounters with the monsters. One nice aspect of this film is that some of the ideas for tackling the monster came from minor characters – one of the Air Force sergeants. That was a little more common in movies of the past – someone other than the hero or lead roles could have good ideas that others would act upon. Nowadays, it seems always to have to be the lead character(s) who are the only thinking members of casts. Kenneth Tobey, who plays Captain Hendry, was a regular lead character in these type of films in the mid-20th century. He and a few others were good actors who weren't able to break into major films in any lead roles. An interesting character here is Scotty, played by Douglas Spencer. He's a news reporters and a source of humor in this film, but his good-natured sarcasm bounces off the captain and others. Spencer was in more than 90 films with small roles but some very good ones. And, for many years he was Ray Miland's stand-in. He died at age 50 from diabetes. The female lead, Nikki, is played by Margaret Sheridan. She was good in just 11 movies she appeared in over 13 years, but she quite acting in 1964. She was just 55 years old when she died from cancer in 1982. Dr. Carrington's character (played by Robert Cornthwaite) is a Nobel Prize winner in the film. He is overly Darwinian, reflecting the level of some thinking in science of that time – that man evolved from worms. Here's an exchange between two of the science team in the film. Dr. Vorhees (Paul Frees), "Arthur, what if that aircraft came here not just to visit the earth, but to conquer it? To start growing some kind of horrible army? Turn the human race into food for it?" Dr. Carrington, "There are many things threatening our world. New stars, comets shooting through space….There are no enemies in science, professor, only phenomena to study. We are studying one."When the military team can't figure out how to defeat the alien, Nikki provides the answer. Scotty," The $64 question – what do you do with a vegetable?" Nikki, "Boil it!" Scotty, "What'd you say?" Nikki, "Boil it, Stew it. Bake it. Fry it."Sergeants are supposed to be smarter than the dodo who puts the electric blanket over the block of ice. This should be a good lesson for Air Force sergeants of the future – don't ever put an electric blanket on a block of ice that contains a frozen creature from outer space.

The Thing From Another World its considered a classic by many fans of science fiction, but some other sci-fi fans consider it to be overrated and that it pales in comparison to the John Carpenter remake, but I think they are both just good enough for me to like them, not great, just good.The movie deals with the subject of how much should science advance?, this subject its presented to us by one of the scientist who wants to study the monster in order to get a much deeper understanding of this monsters origin, which its said to us that the monster came from a planet where plants evolved, instead of animals, this is a rather interesting theory.The film also has a overlapping dialog, which many people say its distracting, and other people say its realistic, but it didn't bothered me, it was definitely interesting but nothing that I think deserves high praise.Overall, the film may be slow at times or even boring and uninteresting, it has some elements to it that makes it different than a average monster sci-fi flick, its worth a watch.