# The Thread about The Thing (1982) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 27, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421 "2021-09-27T04:59:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/81 "2021-10-01T16:09:00Z")
Thing 1 and Thing 2? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/82 "2021-10-01T16:23:12Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > They share a bottle of whiskey and just kinda watch each other. The subtle hint there is that Mac knows the other guy is human, otherwise he would not have shared the bottle. Or, that Mac is a Thing, and wants to ensure the other guy is one, too. We’ll never know! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/83 "2021-10-01T16:34:14Z")
I have to admit that, unlike virtually everyone else, I didn’t car for the ambiguous ending of the film. Campbell’s story (which the film does a pretty good job of following, up until a point) end when they find the Blair monster building its getaway vehicle (which isn’t a flying saucer, just as the original craft isn’t a flying saucer. It’s sort of an antigrav “jetpack”) and subdue and destroy it. The Thing is defeated and the Good Guys get new alien technology as a benefit in payment for all they went through. So the film is pretty much the same until they find the saucer Blair’s been working on, except Blair isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/84 "2021-10-01T17:43:22Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > The subtle hint there is that Mac knows the other guy is human, otherwise he would not have shared the bottle. Or, that Mac is a Thing, and wants to ensure the other guy is one, too. We’ll never know! Ooooo. Would a thing drink alcohol? It kills cells. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/85 "2021-10-01T18:17:33Z")
I haven’t seen it lately, but someone once told me that you can see Mac’s exhaled breath outside in the cold at the end, but not the other guy’s, suggesting the other guy is an alien. Anyone know if that’s true? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/86 "2021-10-01T18:18:12Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > The subtle hint there is that Mac knows the other guy is human, otherwise he would not have shared the bottle. Or, that Mac is a Thing, and wants to ensure the other guy is one, too. We’ll never know! Or Mac realizes it doesn’t matter any more as there’s absolutely nothing more he can do. Especially since Childs still holds the flamethrower. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/87 "2021-10-01T18:38:49Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I haven’t seen it lately, but someone once told me that you can see Mac’s exhaled breath outside in the cold at the end, but not the other guy’s, suggesting the other guy is an alien. Anyone know if that’s true? [You can see the scene here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA4Ozqt7338), and it does appear that Childs breath isn’t visible, while MacReady’s clearly is. But I doubt it means anything. If people who have been copied by the Thing don’t breath, or have abnormally low body temperatures so you couldn’t see their breath in artic temperatures, that would be an immediate and obvious giveaway that someone’s been replaced. Plus, when they find Bennings outside, partially transformed, [you can see his breath just fine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox9KSrV6R-E). Probably a production error (maybe Childs’ scenes were done in a studio) or some trick of the light where his breath just isn’t getting picked up on camera. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/88 "2021-10-01T19:07:53Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The very end is great. With MacReady and another guy sitting around a fire not knowing if the other is a ‘Thing’. They share a bottle of whiskey and just kinda watch each other. > > They hoped they would both die and not infect the rest of civilization. This is why I found the movie disappointing when I saw it in a theater as a teenager. I wanted the humans to unambiguously defeat The Thing, as Ripley does with the Alien. Seeing it again years later as an adult, I recognized the genius of leaving audiences guessing as the credits roll. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/89 "2021-10-01T19:45:58Z")
Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/90 "2021-10-01T20:38:40Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Probably a production error (maybe Childs’ scenes were done in a studio) or some trick of the light where his breath just isn’t getting picked up on camera. I think that is it. McReady is backlit, Childs is lit from the front. So, it’s more difficult to see Childs’ breath. I can see his breath faintly in that scene, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/91 "2021-10-01T20:40:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > My 15 year old daughter’s best friend was over this weekend and they wanted to watch a scary movie. They were perusing our various streaming services and finding a bunch of dumb slasher movies, and I said they should watch The Thing, so we all watched it together. > > They doubted me. What was this 40-year-old movie starring a guy with a beard? No CGI? What the… They LOVED it. Loved it. > [snip] I am jealous! I tried streaming The Thing for my 18yo daughter who still lives with me, a while back. No dice. In fact, she doesn’t like any classic movies I try to get her to watch (granted, maybe I over played my hand streaming movies starring Cary Grant, or Bette Davis). Tibby: _C’mon, girl, watch this movie, you’re gonna love it!_ Tibberina: _I AM watching it, Pop!_ Tibby: _You haven’t lifted your head from your phone once during the entirely of the movie._ Tibberina: _I’m not old like you, I can watch two things at once._ Oh, but let me divert my attention for even a moment during one of her slasher movies, and I’m scolded severely. My oldest daughter at least _pretended_ to like some of my movies when she lived home. I’ll reward her well in my will. I thought perhaps my daughter’s new boyfriend would like some of my selections, so I streamed Casino last week. Nope, they both buried their heads in their phones the whole time. At least he looked up during the head-in-the-vice scene and said, _“that’s kinda bad-ass.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/92 "2021-10-01T22:02:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > > > Check this out: a 2010 short story, giving us insights into the the '82 film from _the Thing’s_ point of view. > > > > > [The Things by Peter Watts : Clarkesworld Magazine – Science Fiction & Fantasy](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/) > > > > > > **The Things** > > > — by Peter Watts — > > > 2011 Hugo Award Nominee, 2010 BSFA Award Finalist, 2010 Shirley Jackson Award Winner, 2011 Finalist: the Locus Award for Best Short Story, 2011 Theodore Sturgeon Award Nominee > > I’d read that before, and it’s terrific. And the last line… brrr! Just read it. Fucking brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/93 "2021-10-01T22:13:39Z")
I saw the '51 Thing as a young boy, circa 1959 or so, on local tv and it frightened the living crap out of me. On a re-watch decades later, I still appreciated the film as a product of its time but the casual misogyny made my eyes water. There’s a running joke through the movie about the scientist’s assistant trying to “land a man” while the team leader attempts to avoid “the trap.” Ok, that was typical and the movie should be forgiven for it. But I couldn’t enjoy watching “Mad Men” either for kinda the same reason. Damn, I like old movies in general, too. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/95 "2021-10-02T12:43:12Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I saw the '51 Thing as a young boy, circa 1959 or so, on local tv and it frightened the living crap out of me. > > On a re-watch decades later, I still appreciated the film as a product of its time but the casual misogyny made my eyes water. There’s a running joke through the movie about the scientist’s assistant trying to “land a man” while the team leader attempts to avoid “the trap.” Similarly, I saw the '51 Thing early on. I videotaped it for whatever reason, and watched it quite a lot. I love the snappy, overlapping dialogue (characteristic of Howard Hawks) and the cool professionalism of the characters. It remains one of my favorite films. Much as I also love the remake, one of the things I hate about it is how, in so many discussions of it, a lot of people feel compelled to throw in a gratuitous “And the '51 movie sucks!” This thread has, thankfully, largely avoided that. I would push back a bit on the notion of misogyny. Compared to the typical heroine of SF/monster movies of that day, Margaret Sheridan’s Nikki is a huge leap forward. She’s never individually menaced by the Thing (she’s in danger, but it’s the same danger all of the men are in), she doesn’t faint and get carried away, and–possibly unique in a horror film of this era–she never screams once. She’s clearly intelligent and self-assured. While it’s true that she’s obviously into Kenneth Tobey’s character and would like to marry him, I never get the impression that she is desperate to “catch a man.” On the contrary, they have a flirty, bantering relationship in which she gives as good as she gets. And as we know from the description of their most recent date, she can drink him under the table. In short, she strikes me as a very typical Howard Hawks strong, tough-talking leading lady. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/96 "2021-10-02T14:46:27Z")
That’s a very reasonable take and gives me pause thinking about my own. ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2021, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/97 "2021-10-04T06:19:06Z")
I remember when I was a kid (1960s) the 1951 version being shown on TV _very_ frequently (usually, on a creature feature-type show on the weekends). The kids I grew up with all knew this movie, and it wasn’t unusual for someone to occasionally make a “keep watching the skies” joke (eg, when talking about pigeons pooping). So it was part of the popular culture… _back then_. Fast forward to the 1990s. Speaking to my nephews, I quoted the line, “Oh, the pain, the pain!” from Dr. Smith in _Lost in Space_ (this was before the 1998 film had been made). My nephews–_who are only 10 years younger than me_–just stared at me blankly. I said, “You know? Dr. Smith? _Lost in Space_?” My wife turned to me and said, “Before their time, honey.” But then my nephews went on and on about _Land of the Lost_! My point being, cultural exposure is often generational. So I’m sure there are many over the age of 60 who know and remember the 1951 film _The Thing from Another World_… as well as _Gunsmoke_, and James Arness… while there’s probably many millennials (and younger) who have never heard of it. I hasten to mention: the film _Gold Diggers of 1933_ was _way_ before my time, but I knew it well because it was shown frequently on TV when I was growing up (along with many other old movies that were shown on TV). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/98 "2021-10-04T18:18:13Z")
Kind of interesting that the '51 movie had a strong (for her time) female character and the '82 movie had none. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/99 "2021-10-04T18:51:00Z")
One of the other interesting things is that “Nikki”: Nicholson (played by Margaret Sheridan) isn’t the only woman at the arctic base. If you look close there’s another one, who I didn’t notice until I’d watched the film a zillion times. Based on the IMDB listing, this must be Sally Creighton (playing Mrs. Chapman). ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/100 "2021-10-04T21:28:16Z")
I didn’t see it mentioned, but Tarantino was greatly influenced by The Thing when creating The Hateful Eight. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421/101 "2021-10-05T01:49:53Z")
What do you call the Chessmaster 2000!? She beat mac at chess. How much more strength do you need? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421.md?page=6)