One of the finest of all 1950's science fiction films, THE THING, based on John W. Campbell's 1930's short story, WHO GOES THERE, stands as a classic in the genre of science fiction horror. Moreover, it was a film that set the formula trend for most of the era's science fiction---the enmity between science opting for "research" and the military imposing a final solution "through hardware"--a motif that created the road map for countless horror movies to come.
Considering all this, one must weigh the ominous backdrop of the Cold War at the time these movies were made---and the very grim shadow of suspicion cast upon anything "alien." Much has been written about the politics of the "adolescent monster movie culture of the 1950's." But real world conditions lent their psychological fears to even science fiction horror. It is seen most obviously in movies like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) where an alien terror takes over human bodies; INVASION USA (1952); and surfaces even in a little boy's dream in INVADERS FROM MARS (1953). The fear and threat of Communism beginning in the late 1940's simply cannot be dismissed as an underlying paranoia in even the seemingly disconnected horror films of that time.
Kenneth Toby gives perhaps his best screen performance as the chain-smoking, no-nonsense Captain Pat Hendry stationed in a remote military, arctic outpost. An unidentified craft lands in the polar wilderness and the men dig out a creature frozen in a block of ice. The conflict between Hendry and the research-driven Dr. Carrington increases throughout the film until the men clash head-on. For Carrington's thick-headed dedication to study the alien invader subordinates his duty to obey orders for the sake of the compound's security. This pits Hendry's need to lock-down the compound against the good doctor's obsession to "understand" the being that has come to earth. Tension builds until Hendry finally "confines" Carrington to his quarters. The men are left to devise a means for their own survival and ultimately annihilate the monster.
THE THING is, however, not merely another 1950's "monster movie." It is a finely crafted script, continually understated, and a clinic for aspiring writers who could take lessons from the terse dialoge that threads its way chillingly through the action. Once the creature thaws out of the ice and begins terrorizing the compound, dramatic tension, anxiety, and paranoia rise to a perfectly terrifying conclusion. Not hard to see why audiences in 1951 were frozen in their seats by the unseen presence set against the stark black and white cinematography of an isolated polar landscape offering no escape.
Even more interesting, "the thing" is never clearly seen until a glimpse near the end when it walks straight into the clutches of the trap set by the men. This is a departure of most all '50's horror; for what sold tickets in those days was the monster's explicit revelation, usually near the climax, and a sort of pay-off when its ghastly physical features were disclosed. In fact, studios like American INTERNATIONAL played a sort of one-upsmanship attempting to out-do one another when it came to unseemly alien horrors. The dripping mouths of tarantulas (TARANTULA), the stark white eyes of a Martian (NOT OF THIS EARTH), the swirling, octopus-like unspeakable mass hiding in a cave (IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE)--all went one-on-one with each other vying for terror and a market share. Today many of the old studio posters that depicted these imaginative monsters are considered part of a cottage industry art form--worth a great deal of money for those lucky enough to acquire the original lobby collectibles.
The final scene in THE THING must be mentioned. It is a memorable one among Sci-Fic films. Radio contact with the outside world had been lost and it isn't until after the threat is extinguished that the base establishes communication. As the men in the compound gather around, a radio reporter files the story of the terror back to a listening civilization. He warns everyone "to watch the skies" --a sequence reminiscent of the final moments of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS when Kevin McCarthy screams, "You're Next! You're Next!" Yet it does not come off as adolescent; in fact, it works well as an effectively chilling denouement to an intelligently written and produced science fiction film.
THE THING is a requirement for anyone who needs a sampling of 1950's science fiction. Who could give it anything less than four stars for its standing in the genre?
Dennis Caracciolo
Considering all this, one must weigh the ominous backdrop of the Cold War at the time these movies were made---and the very grim shadow of suspicion cast upon anything "alien." Much has been written about the politics of the "adolescent monster movie culture of the 1950's." But real world conditions lent their psychological fears to even science fiction horror. It is seen most obviously in movies like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) where an alien terror takes over human bodies; INVASION USA (1952); and surfaces even in a little boy's dream in INVADERS FROM MARS (1953). The fear and threat of Communism beginning in the late 1940's simply cannot be dismissed as an underlying paranoia in even the seemingly disconnected horror films of that time.
Kenneth Toby gives perhaps his best screen performance as the chain-smoking, no-nonsense Captain Pat Hendry stationed in a remote military, arctic outpost. An unidentified craft lands in the polar wilderness and the men dig out a creature frozen in a block of ice. The conflict between Hendry and the research-driven Dr. Carrington increases throughout the film until the men clash head-on. For Carrington's thick-headed dedication to study the alien invader subordinates his duty to obey orders for the sake of the compound's security. This pits Hendry's need to lock-down the compound against the good doctor's obsession to "understand" the being that has come to earth. Tension builds until Hendry finally "confines" Carrington to his quarters. The men are left to devise a means for their own survival and ultimately annihilate the monster.
THE THING is, however, not merely another 1950's "monster movie." It is a finely crafted script, continually understated, and a clinic for aspiring writers who could take lessons from the terse dialoge that threads its way chillingly through the action. Once the creature thaws out of the ice and begins terrorizing the compound, dramatic tension, anxiety, and paranoia rise to a perfectly terrifying conclusion. Not hard to see why audiences in 1951 were frozen in their seats by the unseen presence set against the stark black and white cinematography of an isolated polar landscape offering no escape.
Even more interesting, "the thing" is never clearly seen until a glimpse near the end when it walks straight into the clutches of the trap set by the men. This is a departure of most all '50's horror; for what sold tickets in those days was the monster's explicit revelation, usually near the climax, and a sort of pay-off when its ghastly physical features were disclosed. In fact, studios like American INTERNATIONAL played a sort of one-upsmanship attempting to out-do one another when it came to unseemly alien horrors. The dripping mouths of tarantulas (TARANTULA), the stark white eyes of a Martian (NOT OF THIS EARTH), the swirling, octopus-like unspeakable mass hiding in a cave (IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE)--all went one-on-one with each other vying for terror and a market share. Today many of the old studio posters that depicted these imaginative monsters are considered part of a cottage industry art form--worth a great deal of money for those lucky enough to acquire the original lobby collectibles.
The final scene in THE THING must be mentioned. It is a memorable one among Sci-Fic films. Radio contact with the outside world had been lost and it isn't until after the threat is extinguished that the base establishes communication. As the men in the compound gather around, a radio reporter files the story of the terror back to a listening civilization. He warns everyone "to watch the skies" --a sequence reminiscent of the final moments of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS when Kevin McCarthy screams, "You're Next! You're Next!" Yet it does not come off as adolescent; in fact, it works well as an effectively chilling denouement to an intelligently written and produced science fiction film.
THE THING is a requirement for anyone who needs a sampling of 1950's science fiction. Who could give it anything less than four stars for its standing in the genre?
Dennis Caracciolo
