The Thing From Another World

The Thing From Another World (1951)

The Thing From Another World is a 1951 horror/Science Fiction film directed by Christian Nyby and produced by Howard Hawks. The alien was played by a young James Arness before he became famous playing Marshall Dillon in "Gunsmoke". The Thing From Another World is now considered by many to be one of the best films of 1951 and many critics and historians consider it to be one of the best of it's genre. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. There is some debate as to how much directing Christian Nyby did and how much was actually done by Howard Hawks. The movie also features the rapid-fire overlapping dialogue that was characteristic of a Howard Hawks film. In 1982 John Carpenter directed the remake simply entitled The Thing. Unlike the original the remake was darker in tone and focused more on the horror aspects.

The following weapons were used in the film The Thing From Another World:

M1911A1 Government

Captain Hendry (Kenneth Tobey), Cpl. Barnes (William Self) and Bob (Dewey Martin) all carry and use the M1911A1 Government.

World War II Colt M1911A1 Pistol - .45 ACP. This was an issued U.S. Army pistol with parkerized finish, thus the official designation of M1911A1

U.S. M1 Carbine

Both Lt. Dykes (James R. Young) and Bob (Dewey Martin) carry and use the M1 Carbine. It appears from the images that they are using a !!II era M1 Carbine which works since the movie was filmed in the fall of 1950.

World War II Era M1 Carbine, with Dark Walnut Stock, 'L' peep sight and no bayonet lug - .30 Carbine - correct for most of WWII, shown with khaki sling and oiler and a period twin magazine pouch for buttstock

Our brave band of Air Force personnel and civilian scientists prepared to confront The Thing (James Arness)

Bob (Dewey Martin) opens up on the door of the greenhouse where The Thing (James Arness) is at. Note the empty cartridge case in the air. Bob rips off four rounds very rapidly.

M8 Flare Pistol

In the film's most famous action sequence our heroes attempt to destroy The Thing by throwing kerosese on it and then igniting it with a fare fired from an M8 Flare PistolThe most amazing thing is they continue to throw kerosene on the creature after it is on fire causing flames to literally go everywhere. Almost sixty-five years later the sequence is still very impressive. The stunt took place on the sound stage and the actors were not wearing protective clothing - with the exception of the stuntman playing The Thing. Very unlikely that a movie production would ever do such a stunt in 2015.

M8 Flare Pistol - 40mm

The Thing (James Arness) forces open the door.

Cpl. Barnes (William Self) fires a flare at the alien.

He hits the alien and chaos ensues.Note the bucket of kerosene being thrown at the creature.

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