The Thing from Another World - "We finally got one..."

From Howard Hawks' production of The Thing from Another World. Made in 1951, The Thing was perfect for its time. Sightings of UFOs were going up (Kenneth Arnold used the words saucer, disc or pie-plate to describe the one he saw and the term "flying saucer" grew out of that) and this film plays into that zeitgeist perfectly.

This is my favorite scene in the film, in fact my favorite in any SF film of the 50's. An arctic research station has detected a crash landing of a large aircraft and an Air Force support crew, headed by Ken Tobey, goes up to help investigate. They fly out to the crash site with the scientists from the station and a reporter, Ned Scott, played by Douglas Spencer.

When they get there, something is frozen in the ice. A fin or stabilizer is jutting out just above the surface of the ice and a shape is clearly visible. The head of the research station suggests they all stand at the edges of the object to determine its shape. That's when they realize...

Everything in this scene is perfect. The acting, the writing, the music, the camera placement. It's not widescreen, but it effectively uses academy aperture to indicate that whatever they've found is big. The camera pans from right to left, keeping us off balance and letting us know the find is too big to fit in the frame. Dimitri Tiomkin's music is right on, especially the "sting" when they realize...

Just watch...

I have uploaded this without permission from the authors for educational purposes only. this is merely an extract, there are no other parts uploaded.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Howard Hawks
• The Thing
• 50's SciFi

[Cramnella]

LOVE Tiomkin's score. Without question, my favorite by a composer whose music I mostly despise.

[spsmyth]

@Cramnella You should try Rio Bravo. Another Hawks film with great music by Tiomkin.

[bumpy783]

Gone are the days when people didn't speak over one-another and interrupt each other.

Doctor have a look here!

It sure looks big!

Why it's a perfect circle!

Bring some tools over!

That looks round!

[bruce8420]

I posted this one elsewhere-a C47 never could have flown non-stop from Anchorage to the North Pole let alone back again.. It didn't carry nearly enough fuel.

[Johnlindsey289]

@Spartacus217

What do you think of John Carpenter's version? or the novella that inspired this "Who Goes There" by John Campbell?

[Johnlindsey289]

@Vaultboy101

Nope it's a prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 version and that movie was a faithful re-adaptation of John Campbell's Who Goes There

[tzanegmr]

1:52 half of united states air force are dogs !

[Vaultboy101]

This looks far superior to most sci-fi movies from the 50's. I'm guessing 'The Thing' prequel coming this year follows the events of this movie more than Carpenter's 1982 film.

[spacepatrolman]

@lightningattack1 a scientist said witht the amount of overpopulation and the lack of resources on the earth the entire history of the human race will be a bitter struggle for survival and he wasnt a mad scientist like the one in the thing

[p47flyboy]

That scene where they try to "figure out the shape of this thing," still works today perhaps because of the music. One thing I noticed, the crewmen operating the flaps (Dewey?) is standing up during the landing. One would think everyone would have to be seated and strapped in "for landing."