The Thing from Another World

The Thing from Another World, sometimes referred to simply as The Thing, is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporation, and released by RKO Pictures. The film stars Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, and Douglas Spencer. James Arness plays The Thing, but he is difficult to recognize in costume and makeup due to both low lighting and other effects used to obscure his features. The film is based on the 1938 novella, Who Goes There?, by John W. Campbell (writing under the pseudonym of Don A. Stuart).

Summary
Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost in Alaska.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The idea of making scientists discover UFO and an alien creature that goes on a rampage is pretty original for the early 1950s and still is in modern generation.
 * 2) Amazing performances from each and everyone of the actors, especially from James Arness as The Thing.
 * 3) Memorable and interesting characters, such as Dr. Carrington, the one who discovered The Thing and wants to solve of what it could really be.
 * 4) Much similar to It, the Thing has little to no origin behind it and is an unpredictable, other worldly being that remains a mystery which makes it a whole lot more terrifying for viewers.
 * 5) Many unforgettable moments, such as when the Thing is set on fire but still goes on attacking the main characters.
 * 6) John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of The Thing was just as good as the original, if not better.
 * 7) Amazingly done costume and makeup design for The Thing creature.
 * 8) Well-done character and story development.
 * 9) Much like other early 20th century monster movies, the black-and-white cinematography is very chilling and sets the mood for the movie very well.

Critical and box office reception
The Thing from Another World was released in April 1951. By the end of that year, the film had accrued $1,950,000 in distributors'domestic (U. S. and Canada) rentals, making it the year's 46th biggest earner, beating all other science fiction films released that year, including The Day The Earth Stood Still and When Worlds Collide.

Bosley Crowther in The New York Times observed, "Taking a fantastic notion (or is it, really?), Mr. Hawks has developed a movie that is generous with thrills and chills…Adults and children can have a lot of old-fashioned movie fun at 'The Thing ', but parents should understand their children and think twice before letting them see this film if their emotions are not properly conditioned." "Gene" in Variety complained that the film "lacks genuine entertainment values." More than 20 years after its theatrical release, science fictioneditor and publisher Lester del Rey compared the film unfavorably to the source material, John W. Campbell's Who Goes There?, calling it "just another monster epic, totally lacking in the force and tension of the original story."

The Thing is now considered by many to be one of the best films of 1951. The film holds an 88% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus that the film "is better than most flying saucer movies, thanks to well-drawn characters and concise, tense plotting." In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. Additionally, Time magazine named The Thing from Another World "the greatest 1950s sci-fi movie."