Trivia for
The Thing from Another World (1951) More at IMDbPro »

• It is generally believed that Howard Hawks took over direction during production, and it has always been acknowledged by director Christian Nyby that Hawks was the guiding hand. However, in an interview James Arness said that while Hawks spent a lot of time on the set, it was Nyby who actually directed the picture, not Hawks.
  
  
• Partly filmed in Glacier National Park and at a Los Angeles ice storage plant.
  
  
• This film was based on the short story "Who Goes There?" by Don A. Stuart. The credits on this film list the author by his real name, the science fiction editor/writer John W. Campbell Jr.
  
  
• Midget actor Billy Curtis played the smaller version of "The Thing" during the creature's final scene.
  
  
• James Arness complained that his "Thing" costume made him look like a giant carrot.
  
  
• Howard Hawks asked the US Air Force for assistance in making the film. He was refused because the top brass felt that such cooperation would compromise the U.S. government's official stance that UFOs didn't exist.
  
  
• Only technical and production credits precede the film, no acting credits.
  
  
• It is believed that Ben Hecht and William Faulkner, both good friends of producer Howard Hawks, contributed to the script. However, long-standing rumors that Orson Welles contributed to the dialog are believed to be untrue.
  
  
• Two months prior to principal photography, James Arness was brought in during the design and development of the makeup.
  
  
• Close-ups of "The Thing" were removed. It was felt that the make-up could not hold up to close scrutiny. However, the lack of close-ups gave the creature a more mysterious quality.
  
  
• James Arness reportedly regarded his role as so embarrassing that he didn't attend the premiere.
  
  
• 'Robert Nichols' is billed as Lt. Ken Erickson in the credits. His character's name in the film is Lt. Ken Mcpherson, he is mostly called Mac by Captain Hendry.
  
  
• It took makeup artist Lee Greenway five months and 18 sculptures of the creature before he came up with a design that satisfied producer Howard Hawks.
  
  
• When producer Howard Hawks attempted to get insurance for the creature, five insurance companies turned him down because "The Thing" was to be frozen in a block of ice, hacked by axes, attacked by dogs, lit on fire, and electrocuted.
  
  
• The famous scene when the crew formed a ring around the flying saucer frozen in the ice, was actually filmed at the RKO Ranch in the San Fernando Valley in 100-degree weather.
  
  
• When a soldier is asked if he knows how to use a flare gun, he replies that he's seen Sergeant York (1941), licks his thumb, and pretends to wipe the scope of the gun, mimicking a famous scene from the film. Howard Hawks, the producer (and unofficially credited as having a hand in direction) of The Thing from Another World (1951), also directed Sergeant York (1941).
  
  
• This was the first of only two films made by Howard Hawks' own production company, Winchester Pictures Corporation. Winchester was Hawks' middle name.
  
  
• The scene in which The Thing is doused with kerosene and set ablaze is believed to be the first full body burn accomplished by a stunt man.
  
  
• Veteran stunt man Tom Steele replaced James Arness in the fire scene. Steele wore an asbestos suit with a special fiberglass helmet with an oxygen supply underneath. He use a 100% oxygen supply which was highly combustible. It was pure luck he didn't burn his lungs whilst breathing in the mixture.
  
  
• According to make up artist Lee Greenway, he took James Arness in his car to the home of producer Howard Hawks to show off the make up for the Thing. After months of frustration, Hawkes told Greenway to put a "Frankenstein" type of head piece on Arness.
  
  
• Scotty mentions being at the execution of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray. This is a real case. The couple were tried for and convicted of the murder of Snyder's husband in 1927 and were executed in New York by the electric chair.
  
  

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