The Thing from Another World (1951) - Fire Scene

Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while at a remote Arctic outpost.

[@danielqmul]

That scene looked seriously dangerous to film.

[@dca-Letsplay]

It was due to what was being used to help the stunt actor as the thing in this scene, the bastard could have burnt his lungs out, he was using a pure 100% oxygen supply which is highly combustible, honestly he should of died because of it

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

DCA - Lets Play people who made movies back then were dumb

[@Gamerdread491]

gatchy watchy entertainment bieber brothers more like badass

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

@@Gamerdread491 well I meant like this and them using a cancerous substance in the wizard of oz for snow and fire

[@Gamerdread491]

gatchy watchy entertainment bieber brothers i get it

[@georgevalley1319]

The actors and director in this film had a lot of balls to do this scene.

[@gunnerdavidson7287]

Considering this is the first full-body fire stunt ever filmed, I would pay to see audiences reaction to it!

[@used_books3201]

I can't watch this scene without getting chills. The number of ways this could have gone wrong and yet boom, they nail a perfect sequence. Another reason this is one of my favorite movies of all time.

[@paulmurphy42]

You've described it perfectly - "they nail a perfect sequence".

[@kobyashimaru1353]

Make no mistake, this is one of the most important and iconic scenes in science fiction ever filmed. Just think, how many films copied this basic structure? Tension, measuring device, decreasing time, crescendo. Perfect!

[@isaywhateveriwantandyougot7421]

They HIT* the nail

[@butgod2480]

Exactly. Today with CGI and now AI, this scene is no big deal. In the 50's, it's all hands-on.

[@jagular]

0:29 "Thanks for setting me on fire too, man"

[@LordoftheTrapdoors]

2020: We must use CGI for a bicycle crash because it's too much dangerous 1951: Let's throw kerosene in flames to each other in a 10 meters wooden room... What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

[@kwolf43]

\o/ so true eat your heart out cgi.

[@kaldo_kaldo]

Yet if this was a story about how a bunch of people died trying to shoot this scene, you'd say it was obviously stupid.

[@louishamilton1710]

Pretty intense for 1951.

[@willardchi2571]

Being a little kid and watching this in the 1950s was the most unforgettable scary movie experience of all time! You could never beat it today, not with all the CGI in the world.

[@stevenpilling3773]

I was... and did!

[@BlueGrassPeteF]

Absolutely! I saw it when I was 10. Couldn't sleep for three nights afterwards.

[@somebodyfixmyinternet]

It was beaten in 1982. Compared to John carpenter's version, this seems more like a high school project.

[@watamatafoyu]

It looks pretty intense and shocking for a '50s film! I saw the '82 version as a kid, and the dog scene was unbelievably horrifying!

[@MrPoot-cx9ez]

@@somebodyfixmyinternet🤦‍♂️

[@fruitypeebils]

its funny because when this came out, all people thought was "wow, such great visual effects!" but now when you watch it you just think "oh no oh no dont do that, please dont do that NO STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING"

[@winsomehax]

Still gob-smacking today. It must have blown people away in 1951.

[@chrischaf]

Yeah, my dad (10 yr old in 1951) said this movie scared the crap out of him when he saw it as a kid lol :D

[@VOMITQUEEN]

chrischaf Jesus...

[@winsomehax]

Hahah... I just caught my comment from 6 years ago. The scene is still awesome to watch and everyone involved had massive balls of steel.

[@DomIstKrieg]

That dude was burning. I cant wrap my brain around that. 'How was work, darling?' 'Fine, i got lit on fire.'

[@RXdash78]

Holy shit that's some impressive stuntwork.

[@frankdodd3355]

I love this film, how everyone has a voice, just doing their job. But THIS scene is on another level. It takes every advantage of black and white, lighting the scene with a HUMAN ON FIRE. Just unreal.

[@DaveLucas427]

What really makes this scene so memorable are (1) the slow build-up to the action-filled climax, (2) the rapid-fire editing and (3) Dimitri Tiomkin's thrilling score. A real classic of sci-fi cinema.

[@monkeyboy4746]

The stunt guy for the fire scene was Tom Steele, he is also listed for "stunts" in Scarface(1983).

[@stevenpilling3773]

Mr. Steele was aptly named! Obviously, he was wrapped in a lot of fireproof insulation. Nevertheless, that had to be one of the scariest ordeals in stuntman history.

[@hotelmario510]

Yes, the 1982 film is more gruesome and rightly regarded as one of the scariest films ever made, but this is also an incredibly terrifying scene for a movie from 1951. That awful howling as the Thing burns and lashes out makes it clear where the inspiration for the 1982 version's own horrible screaming came from...

[@watamatafoyu]

The howling is about as haunting and alien-sounding as the '82 version. They definitely share similarities.

[@brendanmatelan2129]

I love how prepared these characters were for when "The Thing" came through the door and left. They immediately sprang into action putting out those fires. I also love the sound quality, such as the echoing sound of the fire extinguishers.

[@gustavoberti]

I was 10 when i saw this movie, 70 years later I still remeber this scene it sacred the hell out of me.

[@ajrashawn8148]

This was my favorite part of the movie.

[@Sulmor85]

No tricks, no CGI, only great stunts. It's freaking good

[@kudosbudo]

Nope they did the fireproofing trick so trhe actor didn't burn and the suger glass trick so he didn't get cut to pieces while on fire.

[@jasongarrett768]

Actor: What’s my motivation? Director: Hazard pay.

[@timm5064]

This scen was awesome! The camera panning backwards showing everybody scrambling to defend themselves was awesome! This is amazing especially coming from a movie from the 1950’s.

[@arserobinson7118]

better than the 2011 version

[@zombie_master2014]

Arse Robinson that was a prequel to the 1982 version.

[@st4pps]

Everything's better than that CGI nightmare

[@crisoilers-pv6zj]

One of the best movie scenes of all time.

[@casesoutherland4175]

Fire stunts weren't all that common back then, so this must've been eye-opening for a lot of people!!

[@voodazz]

Wow, they were using real gasoline. You don't see that in today's movies anymore.

[@Madeintheshade65]

Today it would have been a cgi fire burning a cgi creature...Smh

[@YescanautaCastro]

There is a vfx artist react to this movie. On that analysis they assume they used alcohol. But damn that still looks dangerous.

[@BlueGrassPeteF]

Nah, you guys . . . it was kerosene - which indeed was used in artic stations at the time. Still dangerous, but if they'd actually used gasoline or alcohol, they'd be dead.

[@HamilcarBarca-jm3ey]

I remember seeing this as a kid. A rerun, of course. I wasn't born until 1962, so I am only 61. But, when I first saw this on Bob Wilkins in the 1970's it scared the S-Hatche-I-T out of me.

[@davidk6269]

This was an amazing scene! Even in 2024 this still has the power to chill and enthrall!

[@kwolf43]

The best fire scene ever made it ranks up there with whatever current movies have to offer.

[@theraylan1002]

A classic & the best from this time period. Scared the hell out of me when I was a young boy...lol

[@alphonsozorro7952]

little boy

[@frankdodd3355]

This film is Sci-Fi/Horror royalty. It gets compared to Carpenter's perfect 1982 remake, but that's not fair. It's a real innovative movie with overlapping dialogue that sounds like real conversation and discourse, and a real building up of dread. There are some well developed jump scares in it. The death of the creature is an iconic image. And scenes like this inspired countdown entries like the ones that made Aliens famous: it's getting closer. That shot and how it's lit when it finally enters could not be framed more perfectly. And then in that darkness the only thing lighting the scene is a HUMAN TORCH. Truly groundbreaking and just remarkable. And a woman in the film with something to contribute, not just window dressing or bland romantic interest. There's a sense that everyone has a job to do and they're downplaying the underlining fear. And so many iconic images. The 1982 The Thing borrowed many, but did a different film (one of the greatest). But I still love this and watch it whenever I can.

[@253jacksonrhoads1]

You can see the elements that Carpenter took from this single scene in his remake of The Thing. Also, the beginning of the scene when the guy is staring at something and kept saying 1.5... 1.7..... 1.9...... That part reminded me of ALIENS, when Ripley and the Marines are in the colony and the creatures cut the power. There is a very tense scene where Hudson (the Game Over, Man guy) was tracking the bugs and kept saying 7 meters 6.... 5 meters man... 4.... then the bugs attacked.

[@BlueGrassPeteF]

The "something" was a primitive Geiger counter, since the Thing was radioactive.

[@OldMovieFan1973]

This one Movie was something my Dad and I shared. It was His favorite Horror Movie(mine too) we watched it everytime it was on TV. R.I.P Dad

[@CaminoAir]

I just noticed how skillful the editing of this scene is. None of the actors are in the dangerous shots. Stuntmen who don't even resemble the actors much are there instead. It is so well done that unless you watch it a few times back to back you won't notice. And the camera angles are very carefully chosen. It's still really dangerous for the stuntman playing The Thing obviously. As DCA - Let's Play said below, the oxygen tank could have destroyed his lungs.

[@CaminoAir]

If you avoid your attention being pulled towards the Thing and the fire, but look towards the edges of the screen, then you'll see how it was put together.

[@jeffwads]

I like how James Cameron used that blinking detector idea in Aliens. Of course, they had a slightly similar deal in Alien.

[@CaminoAir]

This scene convinced me that it was Hawkes who directed the film. It's the equivalent of one of his dialog scenes in terms of action. The actors (not stuntmen) are shown near the end in a single shot moving quickly to take care of issues while fire extinguishers are being used through out the room. Surely an inexperienced/first-time director like Nyby would have shot short segments of this instead.

[@geoffreywright95]

Remarkable scene. Fantastically blocked through and directed.

[@joewhitehead3]

Geoffrey Wright Not to mention nicely done editing

[@ChannelUmptyThree]

Something I think I read to further illustrate how completely insane it was to film this sequence. For the actor playing the monster in this sequence, the risk of breathing in the hot air from the fire could have scorched the insides of his lungs, killing him. So, the solution? Underneath all of the costume and the makeup, the actor is wearing a small face mask, connected to a hose, which is connected to a small oxygen cylinder. So, imagine if the fire had managed to burn through the holes and was exposed to the pressurized oxygen in the cylinder. The fire could have raged completely out of control. This movie was fantastic

[@benten7560]

This is so awesome. I keep coming back to the scene to highlight the pure movie magic of the time. Just think, no CGI, just pure practical effects using a set with guys dosing a dude in a suit with gasoline and igniting him on fire. I prefer stuff like this over that Avatar and Disney garbage. Here's to the filmmakers, actors, and stuntmen that made this glorious scene possible. 👍💯

[@dca-Letsplay]

0:17 to 0:20 are possibly the most dangerous 3 seconds i've ever seen put to film, that man is covered in fire, and i mean literally covered in it, you can barely make out his figure, in a world where people have stunt doubles for small things this says what stunt work can achieve

[@joewhitehead3]

Pretty impressive sequence for its time

[@jessesands4099]

Great Scene from a great movie The Thing From another World 1951!😮😧😱🏔️👽👾🛸🚀

[@virgilrw]

#Man... That was a helluva scene from a movie in the 50's! ☆☆☆☆☆

[@andrewf2526]

so.... this is how this scene went..... I was always hiding under a blanket!😱🔥

[@heavymetal3577]

1951 and 1982 are great

[@davidvillarreal4699]

So this scene would be the equivalence of R.J. McCready using the flamethrower to burn the Norris-Thing and the rest of the men putting the fire away with their fire extinguishers.

[@CMC050]

Damn. Howard Hawks. So ahead of his time! So happy he's getting his credit by todays directors in Hollywood compared to back when he was directing he was known as "the most famous person no one knows the name of". Absolute chameleon of a director. Westerns, sci-fi, plane movies, war movies, comedies, car movies. He did it all! My personal favorites will ALWAYS be Rio Bravo. Also a real guys guy.

[@tp.lovecraft1446]

The Thing in the movie sound like Chewbaca crying for help

[@BUFFAL0S0LDI3R]

Huge fan of the 80’s The Thing, one of my favorite movies. Finally got around to watching this one last night, I kind of thought it would be cheesy and lame. Couldn’t have been more wrong, this movie kicks ass

[@stevetheduck1425]

There were at least three shots of the fire gag, not counting the one before and the ones after. Each follows on from the previous, Thing splashed and set on fire, advances knocking down the stove and turning on the woman, then splashed again, turns and charges through to the wall, the middle shot definitely has two cameras on it. There also a insert of the woman ducking behind the mattress as the Thing swipes at her. A masterpiece of planning, preparation and execution. I may be wrong, but the woman also appears to be really there, behind that mattress, as she throws it down as everyone else grabs the extinguishers in the main shot; this shot is also well-lit, did I miss her putting the lights back on? Still, a tremendous piece of cinema.

[@businesswalks8301]

"turn off the lights" -- room goes dark, monster bursts in... camera moves backward, and they light his ass up, a long with everything else in the room ... great fucking scene, they don't make them like that since this one

[@mammon_is_god]

0:27 "I'll hide behind this cushion! No alien or fire can get through luxurious polyester seatin OH GOD I'M DYING"

[@deweymartin678]

Fun fact: James ARNESS did play the alien on fire, it was his stunt Tom Steele, Steele is a professional stuntman who began acting in 1930 all the way to 1986. Steele also played his stunt in the dog fight scene.

[@vivianberk5298]

Start with the inspiration for the Alien film's motion tracker scenes leading into the most ridiculously dangerous fire stunt you'll ever see.

[@emcash8874]

This is one of my all time favorite scenes. From 15 seconds on its just beautiful. Real acting and real urgency, No special effects. and that camera movement as everyone scrambles o h b o y.

[@loosenukes8153]

It's amazing no one got seriously hurt

[@andycmac]

that was prob really scary to watch back in the day,i believe it was the 1st film ever to had a complete man on fire stunt

[@thelonewolf1894]

Highly recommended movie

[@angryalanrants9574]

No cgi here

[@totallyskint5899]

That scene was in a league of its own . It made the film.

[@rickaleborg6825]

0:30 - 0:39 The screams sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger hehe , great movie though 👍

[@MarcusAurelius21]

😂😂😂😂😂😂 you're absolutely right

[@franciscs1604]

DUDES~~! The cinematography's outstanding!!!

[@laramieperez816]

Cool, James Arness was the Thing before he played Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke😃

[@joes0066]

still is my favorite movie

[@280StJohnsPl]

Remember this scene ....as a kid I saw this movie after a blizzard and it scared the hell out of me :)

[@DVDfeverGames]

Health & Safety Guy has entered the chat...

[@andrewf2526]

Trivia..... Hateful Eight pays homage to this in a few ways.... including the hilarious "close the door" scene

[@frederickburke620]

what I gather from this scene-- and the film as a whole -- is that these WWII vets were more than up to the task of handling an alien threat. Look at the way they respond to the alien in this scene as if they were ready for it.. then when it is gone, they proceed to deal with the fire and open window as if it is just another day on the job. This is why I can't classify this film as horror. It is merely a fantastic adventure. The participants are just too ready for it.

[@filthydisgustingape5354]

Not just that but all the guys serving with Capt. Hendrey now were in his B17 crew during the war--you can hear one of them earlier saying another guy was 'squacking like he did over Regensberg'

[@chrischaf]

I dunno. I've gone camping before, done weeks of planning and getting ready for it, thinking for all the world that what we were about to embark upon would be merely a fantastic adventure... Only to have the trip turn out to truly be a *horror story*...

[@chukzombi]

the last 2 seconds of that clip, you can hear that strange sound coming from the fire extinguisher. it sounds an awful lot like the same sound effect in the 1982 version when the one guy starts screaming and they torch him with their flamethrowers.

[@contactacb]

It's because it's nearly empty. CO2 extinguishers contain liquid CO2 under it's own vapour pressure, the liquid expanding to gas with solid (dry ice) chunks in the horn. When all the liquid CO2 is gone you are left with just gaseous CO2 which changes the pitch of the discharge sound. Skilled users can use this to tell that it's time to stop using that extinguisher instead of persisting for another 30-40 seconds discharging diluted CO2 that will have no effect on the fire

[@mynameisinigomontoya8179]

That scene was insane. Imagine if Hollywood today tried that with the entitled actors of today?? (To be fair, entitled or not, you’d need to be nuts to do a scene like this, both as an actor and a crew member) I can only imagine how many times they did this scene to get it right, or if it was just a one shot and let it ride good or bad.. I’m still speechless. They literally threw buckets of fire at that man and their surroundings. Ffs

[@watamatafoyu]

They were used to dealing with a lot more physical chaos back then on farms and less-developed city streets. They were more agile and smart with avoiding it too.

[@jnelson16701]

By far, the best scene in the movie.

[@dnesor]

Somebody should re-edit this scene using the alternate shots from the trailer. Greatest sci-fi flick ever

[@TheHulk2008]

Fire stunts have come along way this poor guy had some bulked up fire suit. Now with the use of Fire get they don't have to be so bulked up.

[@RumbleFish252]

ross mckenzie It fit well since the monster actually looked this big.

[@notfreeman1776]

the part where the plant thing just out the window always cracks me up and i have no idea why

[@Tchernobog]

best scene

[@vksasdgaming9472]

I guess the very real danger made this scene great. You can clearly see how carefully they throw that fuel to the thing as it is real fuel.

[@arcadiadragon3410]

Light, camera,....good luck dont die by fire and action !!

[@Panchorinion]

Yes, it seems dangerous. Yet, look soooooo asome!!!

[@delavalmilker]

Can you even IMAGINE today's movie directors and actors, even THINKING about doing a scene like this? Actors tossing flammable liquids around a small set? A stuntman given a full-body douse of kerosene....not once, but TWICE?

[@SamM_Scot]

What an incredible scene, although very dangerous :-)

[@user-st6en5ts1h]

They electrocuted that ‘ visitor ‘ later , but it wasn’t given ANY judicial proceedings whatsoever !

[@parrot0051]

This movie is to me the most scary movie dealing with aliens from space, the remake fails in comparison but the most chilling part is the scientist find seeds on that served hand seeds to spread this alien species on Earth to me is the kicker, I don't remember if that remake ever brought this up too busy with all the arguing amongst themselves, the original was the best Thing by far the most realistic Thing movie.

[@isaywhateveriwantandyougot7421]

This was the first movie to have a full body fire stunt

[@JustSomeCanadianGuy]

This is the only great scene in the movie. It really is extraordinary!

[@moviesfilmsandmotionpictur8364]

This is why a Fire Punch movie would be completely and utterly unfilmable

[@georgemorley1029]

Hardcore, real action movie making.

[@Shanethefilmmaker]

If you watch the Carpenter version, you can see Palmer's burning actually be an Easter Egg of this scene.

[@ReyaitheShadowWolf]

0:12-0:20 A physical representation of Monday mornings

[@marcelorocha9763]

In my opinion, that is THE only sequence that Carpenter's in his (awsome!) 1982 version did not achieve the same impact!! Hawks was a Genius, both movies are great, but the 1951 original is a 50's Sci-Fi Classic, even 1986 'Aliens' , check the device used as a portable tracker, 100% from this sequence!!

[@Revolver_Ocelot16]

a prelude to Aliens =)

[@koinijikoimizu]

NGL, I shouted 'HOLY FUCK!' at each bucket splash because the fire was going EVERYWHERE.

[@PegLegManlet]

I wonder if Capcom got the idea of Mr X from this.

[@Klausinator451]

Maybe a little. Definitely some terminator influences....God this movie is so awe inspiring

[@mopsmops1743]

cool

[@280StJohnsPl]

One of the scariest movies ever made

[@frederickburke9944]

The thing never stood a chance against all those WWII veterans!

[@terrymoore6091]

This was the first movie to use fire stuntman.

[@mrraretwinkie]

Wasn't this the first time a stuntman was lit on fire in film?

[@stevenpilling3773]

I think it was.

[@popcorn_ceiling8798]

This is one scene this version has over John Carpenters, and it's fucking badass

[@DeepfriedBaby]

Holy Sh!t that's dangerous!! 0:27

[@fastold]

first time for a full body burn in a movie