Alien invasion and bondage 50's style (The Thing From Another World (DVD))

Member Name: Mauri

Product:	The Thing From Another World (DVD)
Date:	09/07/09 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cleverly filmed and well acted

Disadvantages: Low budget forced changes to the original story

Many of you might remember the John Carpenter film 'The Thing' made in 1982 and you might get it confused with this film from 1951 with good reason since both are based on the classic science fiction novella 'Who Goes There?' written in 1938 by John W Campbell Jr.

John W Campbell Jr. was a big inspiration to other great writers like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, the story is an inspired choice for film adaptation. In the original novella the creature can assume the physical shape and thought processes of anyone it comes into contact with. This aspect of the story doesn't appear in this version mainly due to the lack of special effects technology available in the 1950's and the constraints of the films budget. Although Carpenter's 80's version is certainly scarier and more faithful to the original story this version is still a fine example of 50's sci-fi and is still very watchable.

THE PLOT

The scientist and US air force personnel working at a remote Arctic base find the remains of an aircraft that has crashed nearby. On investigation it is found that the craft is not an ordinary plane but in fact a 'flying saucer' certainly not of human construction. Since the craft is wedged underneath the ice they decide to free it by using Thermite explosives. Unfortunately the explosives destroy the craft however a body is found frozen in the ice nearby. The body is taken still frozen in a block of ice back to the station where they attempt to contact the military authorities in Alaska to see how they should proceed. Of course the body doesn't remain frozen for long and soon the personnel in the arctic station are faced with the threat of a murderous alien creature on the loose.

THE OPINION

Although lacking technical sophistication the film still manages to be suspenseful. The fact that it is filmed in black and white complements the stark and remote setting adding to the sense of desolation of the characters cut off as they are from civilisation by their locations and the weather.

The main story of the alien invasion is balanced by the romantic subplot involving the dashing captain Hendry and Nikki Dr Carrington's beautiful assistant. Hendry is played by Kenneth Tobey one of those 50's leading men that became more well known to a wider audience as a ubiquitous character actor in countless films and TV dramas of 60', 70's and into the 90's. Nikki his love interest is played by the good looking and sassy Margaret Sheridan a favourite starlet of the famous director Howard Hawks who also produced this film. Sheridan unfortunately never really made the big break she had hoped for but her performance in this film shows that if she had had a bit more luck she certainly had the looks and the screen presence to have achieved more success. The romantic subplot does provide us with one of the most bizarre scenes in the film when Nikki ties Hendry to a chair and then verbally teases him while putting a cigarette to his lips...Bondage in a very family friendly 50's style you might say!

The comic turn of the piece is provided by the wisecracking news reporter Scotty who has stumbled on to the biggest story of his career but is unable to report it because of the storm and then later censorship from the military commander.

The alien itself is not seen very much for most of the film and the lack of a large special effects/makeup budget means it was never going to be that impressive when we do actually see him, but nonetheless there is at least one scene that makes you jump and clever use of the camera and lighting do make the alien intruder at least menacing is not outright scary. Considering the limited budget and other constraints the film has high production values and a good cast and makes the most of its claustrophobic setting in the same way that Ridley Scott's 'Alien' was to do almost thirty years later.

Of course any sci-fi film made in the 50's will have political and social undercurrents. This was the height of the cold war; America was paranoid about the spread of communism around the world and the infiltration of communism within its own borders. The war in Korea was just starting and the McCarthy witch hunts of 'communists' amongst those in the art and entertainment industries and those in public life was in full flow. These fears were reflected in the films of the time especially the science fiction genre. The Alien invasion was a thinly disguised metaphor for an invasion by foreign communist powers. The idea of humans being taken over or replaced by alien copies such as those in another classic of this period 'The Invasion of the Bodysnatchers' symbolised the threat that the communist ideology and beliefs posed to the unsuspecting American people especially the young. These 'ideas' could corrupt the mind and take over the thoughts just like an alien virus or other organisms. These ideas to us might seem naive now but in the 50's with the advent of the first weapons of mass destructions and the stand -off between the Soviet Union and the West these were real worries to ordinary people.

In this film the main characters take on the roles of this wider political debate. Our hero Captain Hendry represents mainstream America your 'ordinary Joe', the fact that he is in the military also gives him the mantle of authority and thus he also represents the government. This implies that the government line is the same as that of the ordinary citizen something that the government would, be keen to confirm. On the other side of the fence are the scientists led by Dr. Carrington. Carrington is in favour of trying to communicate with the alien creature, he recognises that the creature is intelligent and thinks that some common ground some understanding can be reached. This represents the 'liberal' view that advocated dealing with the Soviet threat by engagement and diplomatic debate rather than the military confrontation preferred by the US government and military. The fact that Carrington is also English rather than American is also noteworthy. It might be indicative of the American preoccupation that in the fight against the communist it was the Western European allies who might be in danger of being seduced by the idea that reasoned debate dialogue with the 'enemy' might be the right approach. In the end Carrington and his fellow scientist prove to be misguided if well meaning and it is Hendry's more aggressive stance that wins the day thus making a clear point to 50's American audience that when faced with an 'alien' threat the country has to stand firm and if necessary fight for its beliefs never trusting those who would seek to appease or compromise with the enemy. This scenario is played out in countless films of the time.

CAST AND TECHINAL DETAILS

Margaret Sheridan ... Nikki
Kenneth Tobey ... Captain Patrick Hendry
Robert Cornthwaite ... Dr. Carrington
Douglas Spencer ... Scotty
James R. Young ... Lt. Eddie Dykes
Dewey Martin ... Crew Chief
Robert Nichols ... Lt. Ken McPherson
William Self ... Corporal Barnes
Eduard Franz ... Dr. Stern
Sally Creighton ... Mrs. Chapman
James Arness ... The Thing

Directed by Christian Nyby

THE DVD

The DVD version I have of this film is a no frills presentation. Apart from the usual scene selection and limited language choice there is no bonus material. The film though has been digitally re-mastered so the picture quality and sound is excellent. The film carries a UK 12 certificate which might be excessive, there are a few scary moments but nothing that your average 10 year old couldn't handle, maybe it's the 'bondage' scene that worried the censors after all!

Running time: 1hour and 27 minutes.

'The Thing From Another World' can be bought from Play.co.uk for £3.99 including delivery at the time this review was written and is a bargain.

For any sci-fi fan this is a 'must see' film, it can probably be considered as the original sci-fi horror and its influence can be seen in more modern exponent of the genre such as 'Alien' and most obviously 'The Thing' . It is a classic of the 1950's sci-fi genre.

Highly recommended.

© Mauri 2009

Summary: A classic alien invasion sci-fi horror