Amazon.com: The Thing from Another World: Charles Lederer, James Arness, Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, Douglas Spencer, James R. Young, Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Eduard Franz, Sally Creighton, Howard Hawks, John W. Campbell Jr., Christian Nyby: Movies & TV

Actors: James Arness, Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, Douglas Spencer
Directors: Christian Nyby
Writers: Charles Lederer
Producers: Howard Hawks
Format: Closed-captioned, Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated:
NR
Not Rated
Studio: WarnerBrothers
DVD Release Date: September 13, 2005
Run Time: 87 minutes
Average Customer Review: 908 customer reviews
ASIN: B00009NHC0
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,893 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #48 in Movies & TV > DVD > Science Fiction

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Eric Sanber

Watch the Skies

August 15, 2016

Format: DVDVerified Purchase

There were some great science fiction films produced around this time and this is up there with the best of them.

Here's the scoop. Captain Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) is ordered up to the arctic circle because the scientists up there found something strange. He grabs his crew and a newsman looking for a scoop and heads up. Once there they go to the site and find not only a flying saucer imbedded in the ice, but the occupant as well who was frozen ion the ice while attempting to crawl from the wreckage. They cut the block of ice around the creature and haul it back to the base. Said creature thaws out and the doo-doo hits the fan.

As in the better sci-fi efforts of this period the writing and directing are very efficient. Most of the actors do a fine job and there is enough humor present to balance out the sense of menace. Margaret Sheridan is on hand as the love interest. She is surprisingly well written as a smart, tough gal who can hold her own with the guys in both the drinking and romance arenas. She's nobody's fool and adds her two cents when it comes to ideas on how to get out of this tough situation. This is another thing I like about the script. Tobey's character isn't the "my way or the highway" kind of commander. He doesn't pretend to know everything and defers to his men (and Sheridan) on ways to get things done. But the safety of his men comes first which puts him at odds with the head scientist who wants to learn and communicate with the visitor at the probable expense of those around him.

This was released in 1951. And, as the modern UFO era began in 1947, the subject was quite present in the minds of many Americans. So the final words, uttered by the newsman "watch the skies" ended up being prophetic.

If 50s Science Fiction films are your poison, this is a must see.

20 people found this helpful

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Paul J. Young

Watchable Any Time

November 18, 2017

Classic thriller, still delivers a terrific spine-tingling sensation more than a half-century later. Superlative writing, tight editing and sharp direction (handled expertly by the cast) make this one of the all-time greats from RKO. So glad it's in my library.

7 people found this helpful

ALAN G

Pretty darn good for 1950's sci fi flick.

January 11, 2018

Format: Prime VideoVerified Purchase

This is a classic. In a typical Howard Hawks movie, the actors have real, simultaneous conversations. The dialog is great. The story is good and it is a cult classic. Even though James Arness was always a little embarrassed by the movie (he is the Thing), he didn't need to be. Well done movie.

5 people found this helpful

Melissa S.

Classic 1950's Sci-Fi

February 13, 2018

The classic 1950's sci-fi movies are some of my favorite films of all time. This is the first version of "The Thing"--this movie varies considerably from John Campbell's excellent story, "Who Goes There?" but I think the variation was deliberate on the producer's/writers'/director's part because they did not have the special effects technology available at the time to closely follow Campbell's original (which "The Thing" with Kurt Russell does). A must-see for fans of classic sci-fi.

3 people found this helpful

C. Sinclair

Just As Frightening Now as it Was Years Ago

July 16, 2017

I bought this recently, and now in my older age I can still feel the creepiness and fear as when I was a small kid watching this on one of the 3-stations we got in B&W back in the 1960's. Brings back my old memories.. LOVE this movie

Gregory W. Gillette

How to Cook a Giant Carrot and Survive

April 23, 2018

What needs to be said about this classic? This was the first horror movie I remember seeing as a kid. Must have been around 1957-58. Scared the heck out of me! Glad to finally have it on DVD as my VHS copy was worn out. Sure would like to see a fully-restored copy on Blu-ray, but I doubt that will ever happen.

2 people found this helpful

Dan

Watch the skies for this DVD!

February 17, 2013

Howard Hawks is a great director and this is my favorite film of his. James Arness plays the evil Thing. The Thing from Another World is based on the novel Who Goes There. John Carpenter remade the film in 1982 I love both this version and Carpenter's. The Thing 1951 is a classic, is well made, and is a film that was close to my heart ever since I was young. My grand parents had the film on and I've loved the film ever since. Until I was 10 I thought the film that I remembered was about The Abominable Snowman but it turns out I had gotten the films mixed up. I saw both films on the same day with my grandparents and I love em. I will be getting The Abominable Snowman 1957 soon. This film is highly recommended and get's a 5 out of 5 stars.

Story: Several explorers in the arctic come across a space craft and retrieve the body of an alien from the ice. The alien proves to be alive as it stalks and kills the characters. The film is suspenseful and some what claustrophobic. This may in fact be my most favorite film of all time.

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