The Thing from Another World (1951)

Director:

Christian Nyby
(more)

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay)
John W. Campbell Jr. (based on the story "Who Goes There?" by)
(more)

Release Date:

29 April 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Look Out...It's

Plot:

Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Creature | Arctic | Scientist | Spacecraft

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Margaret Sheridan	...	Nikki
Kenneth Tobey	...	Captain Patrick Hendry
Robert Cornthwaite	...	Dr. Arthur Carrington
Douglas Spencer	...	Scotty
James Young	...	Lt. Eddie Dykes
Dewey Martin	...	Crew Chief Bob
Robert Nichols	...	Lt. Ken 'Mac' MacPherson
William Self	...	Corporal Barnes
Eduard Franz	...	Dr. Stern
Sally Creighton	...	Mrs. Chapman
James Arness	...	'The Thing'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Bray	...	Captain (unconfirmed)
Ted Cooper	...	Lieutenant (unconfirmed)
Milton Kibbee	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
Ray McDonald	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
Edgar Murray	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
H.B. Newton	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
Carmen Nisbet	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
William J. O'Brien	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
Jimmy Ogg	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
Allan Ray	...	Officer (unconfirmed)
Cap Somers	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
Lucille Thompson	...	Bit Part (unconfirmed)
Edmund Breon	...	Dr. Ambrose (uncredited)
Nicholas Byron	...	Tex Richards (uncredited)
John Dierkes	...	Dr. Chapman (uncredited)
George Fenneman	...	Dr. Redding (uncredited)
Lee Tung Foo	...	Lee, a Cook (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Dr. Vorhees (uncredited)
Ben Frommer	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Everett Glass	...	Dr. Wilson (uncredited)
Tom Humphries	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
King Kong	...	Eskimo (uncredited)
David McMahon	...	Brig. Gen. Fogarty (uncredited)
Bill Neff	...	Bill Stone (uncredited)
Walter Ng	...	Second Cook (uncredited)
Charles Opunui	...	Eskimo (uncredited)
Norbert Schiller	...	Dr. Laurence (uncredited)
Robert Stevenson	...	Capt. Smith - Fogarty's Aide (uncredited)
Riley Sunrise	...	Eskimo (uncredited)

Directed by
Christian Nyby
Howard Hawks		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Charles Lederer		(screenplay)
John W. Campbell Jr.		(based on the story "Who Goes There?" by)
Howard Hawks		uncredited
Ben Hecht		uncredited

Produced by
Howard Hawks	....	producer
Edward Lasker	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Russell Harlan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Roland Gross

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
John Hughes		(as John J. Hughes)

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera
William Stevens

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist
Lee Greenway	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Walter Daniels	....	production manager (uncredited)
Edward Donahue	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Virgil Hart	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)
Maxwell O. Henry	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Arthur Siteman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Walter Allen	....	nurseryman (uncredited)
Lucius O. Croxton	....	art director: second unit (uncredited)

Sound Department
Phil Brigandi	....	sound
Clem Portman	....	sound
Earl B. Mounce	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Donald Steward	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Linwood G. Dunn	....	special photographic effects (as Linwood Dunn)
Harold E. Stine	....	process photography (uncredited)

Stunts
Leslie Charles	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Billy Curtis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Griffin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Lewin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Teddy Mangean	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Moreland	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Charles Regan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Russell Saunders	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	stunts (uncredited)
Duke Taylor	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ken Terrell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Landon Arnett	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Emmett Bergholz	....	camera operator (uncredited)
George K. Hollister	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Howard Schwartz	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Archie Stout	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
T-Bone Thompson	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Harold E. Wellman	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Woulfe	....	wardrobe: ladies

Music Department
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	conductor
Manuel Emanuel	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Samuel Hoffman	....	musician: theremin (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Herbert Taylor	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Winchester Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Films (1951) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Films (1951) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Motion Picture Export Association (MPEA) (1952) (Austria) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Turner Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Manga Films (2000) (Spain) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (France) (theatrical) (as RKO Radio Films) (35 and 16 mm)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1972) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV1)
• Manga Films (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Star Video (????) (Finland) (video)
• TV3 (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2006) (2009) (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

"The Thing" - USA (short title)
"The Thing from Another World!" - USA (poster title)

Runtime:

87 min | USA:81 min (re-issue version) | USA:85 min (original US 16 mm television syndication prints)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 (1951) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | West Germany:12 | Germany:BPjM Restricted | USA:Approved (PCA #14925) | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) (video rating) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1951) | Finland:K-12 (1971) | USA:TV-PG | Netherlands:18

Filming Locations:

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Company:

Winchester Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

James Arness reportedly regarded his role as so embarrassing that he didn't attend the premiere.

Goofs:

Continuity: The creature runs away outside where it was fighting with the dogs. You can clearly see the right arm still attached to him. Seconds later they discover the arm under one of the dead dogs.

Quotes:

Hendry:[This is the 'Japanese Torture' sequence in Nikki's room, with Hendry bound] You can tie my hands!
Nikki:Might not be such a bad idea! You suggested it!
Hendry:I'll bring a rope!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cheezy Fantasy Trailers (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Can't Get Out of This Mood

There is something more chilling than the North Pole here.

"The Thing" without a doubt is one of the finest science fiction films ever made. A group of scientists and air force officers at an Arctic station discover something in the ice and that something sees them as dinner. The battle goes on in the claustrophobic station in a scenario that without a doubt was the model for the original "Aliens". The cast is a very fine ensemble and the direction is crisp and on the edge. Conversations overlap and at times runs simultaneously but the direction is so good that you miss nothing. Best of all is that this is one of those films where what you don't see is what scares you. There is no splatter or graphic detail but tantalizing hints that lets your mind conjure up your worst nightmare. A great one for a dark and stormy night.