The Thing From Another World - Production Notes

Production Notes

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, Jr.; it was originally published in Astounding Science Fiction under Campbell's pseudonym Don A. Stuart.

The film took full advantage of the national feelings of the time to help enhance the horror elements of the story. The film reflected a post-Hiroshima skepticism about science and negative views of scientists who meddle with things better left alone. In the end it is American servicemen and sensible scientists who win the day over the alien invader.

The screenplay changes the fundamental nature of the alien as presented in Campbell's novella: Lederer's "Thing" is a humanoid lifeform whose cellular structure is closer to vegetation, although it must feed on blood to survive; one character even describes it as an "intellectual carrot". The internal, plant-like structure of the creature makes it impervious to bullets. In Campbell's original novella, the "Thing" is a life form capable of assuming the physical and mental characteristics of any living thing it encounters; this characteristic was later realized in John Carpenter's 1982 remake of the film (see below).

One of the film's stars, William Self, later became President of 20th Century Fox Television. In describing the production, Self said, "Chris was the director in our eyes, but Howard was the boss in our eyes."

Appearing in a small role was George Fenneman, who at the time was gaining fame as Groucho Marx's announcer on the popular TV show You Bet Your Life. Fenneman has said he had difficulty with the overlapping dialogue in the film.