Episode 234: THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) with Finn Odum

With returning guest and Perisphere senior editor Finn Odum! THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD might be the precursor to John Carpenter’s THE THING (1982), but the creature feature uses its tale of a plant-based alien invader to a vastly different end. Instead of honing in on the slow creep of bellicose masculinity, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD instead takes the opportunity to pound its chest at the Communist threat Capitalist America had come to fear during the Red Scare and continue to fight during the Cold War. With Finn, we talk about the movie’s tendency to Other, its reliance on military might and imperialist common sense, and the mid-century shift in science fiction from fantastical, barely imaginable tales to a conservative, Earth-vs-outsiders worldview. Stick around for a first-ever extra-special bit: Finn’s Facts! Find Finn… On Twitter at https://twitter.com/Finnematic On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/finnofthedead/ On Trylove episodes about DIABOLIQUE (1955) and CON AIT (1997) “In Soviet Russia, Carrot Eats YOU!” by Lucas Hardwick for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/06/30/in-soviet-russia-carrot-eats-you/ Listen to Trylove Episode 40: THE THING (1982) wherever you get podcasts Watch THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) and also a Pingu stop-motion homage to THE THING (a.k.a. “THINGU”) on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/01-the-thing-from-another-world Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Main Titles" from the THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD soundtrack by Dimitri Tiomkin.