The Thing From Another World (1951)

When a huge UFO crashes in the Arctic, its sole survivor (James Arness, GUNSMOKE), who is frozen in ice, is taken to a scientific research center. But when he revives, he proves a deadly creature who needs blood to survive. Based on the novella WHO GOES THERE? by John W. Campbell and directed by Christian Nyby. To this day, there is an argument whether the film's producer Howard Hawks was the actual director. Evidence suggests it was directed by Nyby but with major input from Hawks. It was remade by John Carpenter in 1982 which stayed closer to the original Campbell book. The film is one of the best sci-fi classics of the 1950s. Tight and economical (it runs less than 90 minutes) but with doses of humor to balance the horror elements. It's not the kind of movie where the acting mattes much but everyone is decent enough. I just wish the characters were more intelligent and that film's scientific representative, Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite), wasn't portrayed as such a whack job. Even after the creature has proved a murderous beast, the doc proclaims that "we owe it to our species to stand here and die" rather than harm the dear little monster! The score is by Dimitri Tionkin. With Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Dewey Martin, Eduard Franz and Douglas Spencer.