Editing The Thing from Another World (section)

==Production==
In 1950, Lederer and Hecht convinced Hawks to buy the rights to ''Who Goes There?'', who did so for $1,250.<ref name="Astounding">[[Alec Nevala-Lee]], ''Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction'' (New York: HarperCollins, 2018), pp. 299-300.</ref>

In an unusual practice for the era, no actors are named during the film's dramatic "slow burning letters through background" opening title sequence; the cast credits appear at the end of the film.<ref name="Warren" /> Appearing in a small role was [[George Fenneman]], who at the time was gaining fame as [[Groucho Marx]]'s announcer on the popular quiz show ''[[You Bet Your Life]]''. Fenneman later said he had difficulty with the overlapping dialogue in the film.<ref name=fuhrmann19970525 />

The film was partly shot in [[Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park]] with interior sets built at a [[Los Angeles]] ice storage plant.<ref name="Warren" />

The scene where the alien is set aflame and repeatedly doused with kerosene was one of the first full-body fire stunts ever filmed.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McGlynn |first=Tim |date=2008-06-17 |title=Confessions of a Pause-Button Junkie |url=https://cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/2073-CONFESSIONS-OF-A-PAUSE-BUTTON-JUNKIE.html |magazine=Cinema Retro}}</ref>

===Screenplay===
The film was loosely adapted by [[Charles Lederer]], with uncredited rewrites from [[Howard Hawks]] and [[Ben Hecht]], from the 1938 novella "[[Who Goes There?]]" by [[John W. Campbell]]. The story was first published in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding Science Fiction]]'' under Campbell's pseudonym, Don A. Stuart. (Campbell had just become ''Astounding''{{'}}s managing editor when his novella appeared in its pages.)<ref name="Warren" /> Science fiction author [[A. E. van Vogt]], who had been inspired to write from reading "Who Goes There?" and who had been a prolific contributor to ''Astounding'', had wanted to write the script.<ref name="Astounding" />

The screenplay changes the fundamental nature of the alien from Campbell's novella as a life form capable of assuming the physical and mental characteristics of any living thing it encounters (as realized in [[John Carpenter]]'s 1982 adaptation of the original source, ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]''.<ref name="Warren" />) into a humanoid life form whose cellular structure is closer to vegetation, although it must feed on blood to survive. The internal, plant-like structure of the creature makes it impervious to bullets, but not to other destructive forces such as fire and electricity.

Film critic [[Bill Warren (film historian and critic)|Bill Warren]] has argued that the film reflects a post-[[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima]] skepticism about science and prevailing negative views of scientists who meddle with things better left alone,<ref name="Warren" />. This suspicion of science, though, is also a larger theme in Arctic horror, including "[[Who Goes There?|Who Goes There]]" (1938) the source material for the film, and other notable works like H.P. Lovecraft's "[[At the Mountains of Madness]]" (1936), as well as older works of in horror and the Gothic, such as ''[[Frankenstein]]'' (1818) and ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'' (1896).

===Director===
There is debate as to whether the film was directed by Howard Hawks, with [[Christian Nyby]] receiving the credit so that Nyby could obtain his [[Directors Guild of America|Director's Guild]] membership<ref>Weaver 2003, p. 346.</ref><ref>Carpenter, John (speaker). [https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/88193 "Hidden Values: The Movies of the '50s."] ''[[Turner Classic Movies]]'', September 4, 2001.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130618193821/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/104767/Christian-Nyby "Christian Nyby: About This Person."] ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved: January 10, 2015.</ref> or whether Nyby directed it with considerable input from producer Hawks<ref>Mast 1982, p. 344.</ref> for Hawks' Winchester Pictures, which released the film through [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures Inc.]] Hawks gave Nyby only $5,460 of RKO's $50,000 director's fee and kept the rest, but Hawks always denied that he directed the film.{{r|fuhrmann19970525}}

Cast members disagree on Hawks' and Nyby's contributions: Tobey said that "Hawks directed it, all except one scene"<ref name="matthews2007">Matthews [https://books.google.com/books?id=2du2fVYT8ewC&pg=PA14 1997, p. 14.]</ref> while, on the other hand, Fenneman said that "Hawks would once in a while direct, if he had an idea, but it was Chris' show". Cornthwaite said that "Chris always deferred to Hawks&nbsp;... Maybe because he did defer to him, people misinterpreted it."{{r|fuhrmann19970525}}

One of the film's stars, [[William Edwin Self|William Self]], later became President of [[20th Television|20th Century Fox Television]].<ref>"Self Promoted to Presidency of 20th-Fox TV" ''Daily Variety'' (1968-11-01) pp. 1;26</ref> In describing the production, Self said, "Chris was the director in our eyes, but Howard was the boss in our eyes."<ref name=fuhrmann19970525>Fuhrmann, Henry [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-25-ca-62224-story.html "A 'Thing' to His Credit."] ''Los Angeles Times'', May 25, 1997. Retrieved: April 20, 2012.</ref> Although Self has said that "Hawks was directing the picture from the sidelines",<ref name=self2003>Weaver [https://books.google.com/books?id=jFkWaFYqzuQC&pg=PA272 2003, p. 272.]</ref> he also has said that "Chris would stage each scene, how to play it. But then he would go over to Howard and ask him for advice, which the actors did not hear&nbsp;... Even though I was there every day, I don't think any of us can answer the question. Only Chris and Howard can answer the question."

At a reunion of ''The Thing'' cast and crew members in 1982, Nyby said: {{Blockquote|Did Hawks direct it? That's one of the most inane and ridiculous questions I've ever heard, and people keep asking. That it was Hawks' style. Of course it was. This is a man I studied and wanted to be like. You would certainly emulate and copy the master you're sitting under, which I did. Anyway, if you're taking painting lessons from [[Rembrandt]], you don't take the brush out of the master's hands.<ref name=fuhrmann19970525 />}}