The Thing from Another World
Directed by Christian Nyby
Written by Charles Lederer from the story “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell, Jr.
1951/USA
RKO Radio Pictures/Winchester Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

Dr. Arthur Carrington: [about the carrot] Its development was not handicapped by emotional or sexual factors.

This early sci-fi classic is a hell of a lot of fun.

Captain Healy and his crew are called to an Arctic research station to investigate a plane crash.   Healy is also able to use the opportunity to get reacquainted with sparring partner and love interest Nikki, a research assistant at the station.

When the men get out to the crash site, they discover a large circular object buried in the ice.  When they use Thermite bombs to free it, the craft is completely destroyed by the explosion.  Traces left in the ice convince everyone that this was a flying saucer.  They find the body of one of the crew members encased in a slab of ice and take it back to the station.

Captain Hendry insists that nothing be done with the body until he has authority from headquarters.  But the radio won’t work properly and he gets drawn into a running battle with chief scientist Dr. Carrington who believes that nothing should trump scientific investigation of this superior being.  All Hendry’s caution is for naught when one his guards melts the ice holding the body with an electric blanket.

Then all hell breaks lose.  The men find they are confronting a blood sucking organism that is more vegetable than animal and cannot be harmed by their guns.  Carrington sabotages every move to contain the monster.  Then they discover the thing’s seeds are starting to reproduce.  James Arness played The Thing.

This one contains the snappy banter and overlapping dialogue that characterize producer Howard Hawks’s best work.  His contribution to the actual direction of the film is unknown but his influence is unmistakable.  The movie has a breathless pace uncharacteristic of most such genre films.  It also made me jump more than once, always a good sign. Recommended.

Trailer