The Thing from Another World (1951)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

2/8/17. This is the movie that spawned 2 remakes which were successful in their own right. But, this was the original. A National Film Registry pick, this was your typical Grade B sci-fi movies of the '50s, with awful special effects, somewhat talky dialogue that was much too serious for the genre and eerie soundtrack we have come to associate with old sci-fi movies. Nevertheless, it is worth catching just to remember that it didn't take too much to scare us (as kids), leaving us nightmares of unimaginable terror.

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)

A group of researchers in the Artic run afoul of a lethal predatory humanoid being (hulking James Arness) that they find buried deep in the ice.Director Christian Nyby keeps the gripping story moving along at a brisk pace, ably crafts plenty of claustrophobic tension, and offers a vivid evocation of the desolate snow-swept and storm-bombarded setting (the strong sense of isolation and vulnerability give this picture an extra unsettling impact). Charles Lederer's taut and smart script crackles with lots of witty dialogue as well as presents a bunch of sharply drawn characters who for the most part work together like a well-oiled machine to make a stand against and defeat a formidable alien foe. The excellent acting by the uniformly top-notch cast rates as another significant asset, with especially stand-out contributions from Kenneth Tobey as the stalwart Captain Patrick Henry, Margaret Sheridan as the spunky Nikki, Robert Cornthwaite as the austere Dr. Arthur Carrington, Douglas Spencer as excitable wisecracking reporter Scotty, James Young as the eager Lt. Eddie Dykes, and John Dierkes as the rugged Dr. Chapman. Dimitri Tiomkin's robust score hits the rousing spot. Russell Harlan's crisp black and white cinematography provides a pleasing sharp look. Very tightly plotted and executed with a sure feeling of total professional both behind and in front of the camera, this film certainly lives up to its status as an all-time classic.

I feel pretty bad for not liking this more. Come on, I would still recommend it, I just didn't think it was a classic! Looking back, the 1982 one is definitely better for me. I guess I was just hoping for the alien to be a shapeshifter so we could show off more creativity. What's also different is that there are a lot more people in this version. It's much less minimalistic, even if it still takes place in the North Pole. I thought it was built up well with how the monster rarely appeared on screen at all.When it did, I mean the action was great! These are some really exciting moments that truly hold up after decades. I just thought it could have used a bit less talking. The John Carpenter one is more faithful to the story. I guess every sci-fi/horror movie made in the 1950's seems like a long episode of "The Twilight Zone" to me. The story is pretty basic with people in the frozen North thawing out an alien. While I liked the newer one better (and I honestly think most people do) this is still nice because it has good dialogue at least and it's built up quite well. ***