The Thing from Another World: Howard Hawks and the Cold War

As always there are spoilers ahead!
For the full show notes with no character limits you can click the episode on the website watch page here.

Description:
We are finally in the 1950s! The Golden Era of science fiction cinema.

Although the 1950s are known for may B Movies The Thing from Another World was produced (and possibly directed) but the very famous Howard Hawks and came from RKO which was a big name studio at this time.

This film capitalised on the growing appetite for science fiction in the USA which was up until this recently largely in print but also a little on television although studios were still wary of the science fiction label. Based on the John W Campbell novella Who Goes There? from 1938 there were a few significant changes made to the story.

The Experts
Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including the 2023 Selling Science Fiction Cinema.

Marc Longenecker is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Film Studies at Wesleyan University.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the show and guests
02:40 The 1950s sci-fi explosion
06:34 The studio aversion to science fiction and the paramount decree
09:55 Howard Hawks, Howard Hughes and who really directed this film?
16:20 If it walks like a Hawk: Hallmarks and the Hawksian woman
21:52 The Cold War, flying saucers and “the group”
34:05 Jay’s comparison to The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
36:26 The influence on John Carpenter and The Thing (1982)
44:21 The legacy of the film
48:56 Recommendations for listeners

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be taking a closer look at The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). You can check Just Watch to find out where it can be found in your region and is available to buy or rent at many outlets including Apple TV.