Barnes & Noble

Suspense comes with an arctic chill in the 1951 horror classic The Thing From Another World, the tale of a polar expedition terrorized by the alien occupant of a crashed flying saucer. Directed by Christian Nyby and produced by Howard Hawks, The Thing From Another World is a superbly told story based on the John W. Campbell Jr. story "Who Goes There?" A slow-burning fuse of tension gives the audience plenty of time to squirm and second guess and the characters plenty of room to gel. They turn out to be an interesting group, including a stern army captain (Kenneth Tobey), a brilliant and passionate old scientist (Robert Cornthwaite), his attractive assistant (Margaret Sheridan), and a jaded reporter (Douglas Spencer). Conflicts and flirtations within the group give the film its texture, as the military and scientific elements clash archetypally over how to deal with the "Thing," even as the captain and the attractive scientist come together to pursue their own romantic spark. Interestingly, though the "Thing" feeds on blood, there's hardly a drop of it actually on display in this remarkably gore-free film. And the "Thing" itself (James Arness in Frankenstein-esque makeup) could have stood a bit more monster magic. Nonetheless, the overall effect is still quite terrifying. The Thing From Another World has been remade since (John Carpenter's 1982 version), with more gore and special effects but considerably less elegance. Ultimately, the original has more than enough arctic atmosphere and extraterrestrial mystery to make it a classic. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

The scene is a distant Arctic research station, where a UFO has crashed. The investigating scientists discover that the circular craft has melted its way into the ice, which has frozen up again. While attempting to recover the ship, Captain Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) accidentally explodes the vessel, but the pilot -- at least, what seems to be the pilot -- remains frozen in a block of ice. The body is taken to base headquarters, where it is inadvertently thawed out by an electric blanket. The alien attacks the soldier guarding him and escapes into the snowy wastes. An attack dog rips off the alien's arm, whereupon Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) discerns that "The Thing" (played by future Gunsmoke star James Arness!) is not animal but a member of the carrot family, subsisting on blood. While the misguided Carrington attempts to spawn baby "Things" with the severed arm, the parent creature wreaks murderous havoc all over the base. Female scientist Nikki (Margaret Sheridan) suggests that the best way to destroy a vegetable is to cook it. Over the protests of Carrington, who wants to reason with the "visitor" (a very foolhardy notion, as it turns out), the soldiers devise a devious method for stopping The Thing once and for all. This oversimplification of The Thing does not do full justice to the overall mood and tension of the piece, nor does it convey the lifelike "business as usual" approach taken by the residents of the military base in dealing with something beyond their understanding. A superior blend of science fiction, horror, naturalistic dialogue, and flesh-and-blood characterizations, The Thing is a model of its kind. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 053939668629
• Source: TURNER HOME ENT
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: B&W
• Sound: Dolby Digital Mono
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 1:27:00
• Sales Rank: 12,936

Features:

DVD MENU