John W. Campbell’s novella, WHO GOES THERE?, published in 1938 in considered one of the greatest science fiction horror stories of all time. It isn’t surprising that it has been made into, though loosely, into at least adaptations. That doesn’t include the influence it had on other stories such as THE BODY SNATCHERS by Jack Finney. In 1951, producer Howard Hawks THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, the first adaptation, received roaring reviews and is considered a classic.

An air force base in Anchorage receives a call from scientist Arthur Carrington near the North Pole that an unusual aircraft has crashed. Captain Ned Scott and crew are sent up north to help investigate. When the scientists and the air force soldiers arrive at the crash site, they found a remarkable discovery. Taking back their findings to the outpost, they unexpectedly unleash a horror that none of them ever had seen before.

The film starred a group of well known character actors and was directed by Howard Hawks prodigy, Christian Nyby. The films box office beat such other classic science fiction films as THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (1951). Dark Discussions takes a look at this film which fell right in the middle of the Cold War and said a lot about a world that recently fought a world war.