A good question. But if you had asked it in 1951, everyone would have sat around, puzzled at your words and speculations. (People might have even jumped up and run screaming from the room, fearing you were one of THEM.)
But if you will go back and read your question, you will see numerous words that were just not in the heads of hardly anyone except members of the Science Fiction Book Club--one of which was I.
Your question is asked against a backdrop of nearly 60 years of scientific and space discovery, story and imagery development, and extraterrestrial and space movies.
In 1951, a drone would have been one of the members of a bee colony.
On the other hand, people of 1951 had a different context and view. I have pointed out elsewhere in the pages to someone who asked why The Thing was wearing a uniform with an insignia, I said that, in those years, the Air Force Crew, the movie scientists and others who had fought in WWII, and virtually all of the audience, would have known immediately that the presence of a uniform meant a military mission of some kind. So now one was surprised when The Thing was hostile and, presumably, hungry.
reply
share
adriaticHR
11 years ago
that still doesnt explain why the original novella makes perfect sense, while the film does not. why did they have to make the thing a freaking carrot-frankenstein.
reply
share
Flame_of_Udun_49
11 years ago
that still doesnt explain why the original novella makes perfect sense, while the film does not. why did they have to make the thing a freaking carrot-frankenstein.
A 1951 film studio would have been completely unequipped to realize the multi-morphed being from Campbell's novella. At the time there was simply no way to do it. And I don't think a 1951 audience would largely have been prepared to comprehend it - Frankenstein monsters were what they understood.
The film is pretty good for what it is. And we owe Howard Hawks a debt of gratitude for attempting to adapt Campbell's novella. If he hadn't, it would have slipped into utter obscurity and been forgotten, and it's unlikely we'd have any cinematic versions of this story, period.
Memory says, I did that. Pride replies, I could not have done that. Eventually, memory yields.
reply
share
first-things-first
11 years ago
We'll said. Sometimes I forget to remember the time period by demanding more. This is one of the better movies for the era in my opinion.
If we can save humanity, we become the caretakers of the world
reply
share
Carycomic
11 years ago
Budgetary constraints, adriaticHR. Remember, in 1951, this was only the _very second_ s.f. film in Hollywood history. The first being the slightly lesser-known "The Man From Planet X" (circa 1950).
reply
share