Holy Cats!!! The Intellectual Carrot from Outer Space!

I was mulling over what to pair with one of my favorite sci-fi films on Sunday with "Forbidden Planet" (1956), so the night film was none other than "The Thing from Another World" (1951). I never have put these two together before, particularly surprising since they are famously paired in John Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978).

When asked what's that film you could watch over and over, this film is definitely on the list right near the top. It's just so much fun. And I'm always disappointed when it's over. The cast, top to bottom, is such a treat because the camaraderie and chemistry among them is essential to the realism of them serving together in the Air Force as well as the scientific team at the North Pole station having worked closely in isolated settings. Anchorage is where we are taken first to meet Tobey and his pilots and crew, later dispatched by their General Fogarty (McMahon), along with arriving reporter, Scott (Spencer) to the North Pole to investigate a mysterious crash 48 miles from the station, later determined to be a saucer from Outer space containing a creature made of vegetable matter that feeds on human blood. You cut an arm off, it can function when blood is absorbed and the brilliant scientist, Dr. Carrington (Cornthwaite), grows plants with blooms from available blood plasma. All I'm sure I mentioned before in a previously back in June of 2016 but reiterated perhaps one last time here.

The Arness creature is incredible in long shots, just this menacing height and block chest, and the fantastic scare scene where he's on the other side of the door, as Tobey, even with caution and fear, reacts unexpectedly as any of us would. The fire scene where a room is engulfed while the creature is in flames, eventually leaping out a window, is still jaw-dropping...how dangerous it looks! Paul Frees, the great voicework actor, is actually a scientist with special field in electrical knowledge...never realized that until some research. The Carrington character is a dedicated scientist who clashes with Tobey because he believes what is unknown and superior to mankind should be favored over them, clearly a no-go for the military and other scientists in attendance. But Carrington is also operating on little sleep, obsessive curiosity, and a craving to learn as much as possible, even jeopardizing his own team. Tobey describes how they are strung up and slaughtered in the greenhouse, placed on guard by Carrington to keep watch. So the loss of dogs and scientists certainly is enough for Tobey to focus on the lives left as opposed to the find of alien life. 

There is Tobey's flirting with Carrington's assistant, played by the cute and witty, Sheridan, inspiring the likes of Young, Martin, Nichols, and Self to playfully poke and prod him. The unfortunate demise of the saucer as thermite bombs destroy the peculiar alloy that made up the exterior of the spacecraft ruin one chance for investigation, inspection, and research. The alien in ice is a bone of contention due to its scientific value as opposed to whether or not the military brass want it touched at all. Scott reporting their findings to the world is also rejected by Tobey's Captain due to the classified nature involved. That's the thing about Tobey's Captain...science and journalism come second to his following orders, protecting them and keeping them as safe as possible, controlling the perilous situation, and getting instructions from his superiors in Anchorage.