The Thing from Another World (1951)

Remade in 1982 as John Carpenter's "The Thing", this is the story of a UFO that crashes to Earth near a remote Arctic outpost. The frozen body of an alien is captured, melts, comes to life, then rampages. James Arness (Gunsmoke) plays The Thing, a role he was so embarrassed by, he refused to attend the premiere.

The Thing is a plant-like life form. Yes, they were being attacked by a giant carrot. Everybody is trying to kill it except a crazy scientist who wants to study and befriend it. Damn scientists! Won't they ever learn? Of course wiser heads prevail and they choose the saner plan of extermination. This, I understand, was the first time a full body burn was performed in a major movie.

Our main character is Captain Patrick Hendry, played by Kenneth Tobey. His love interest is the monstrous Margaret Sheridan. I guess there were no hot chicks in Hollywood during the week of casting. I liked this movie. You really got a feeling of the remoteness of the location, and the Thing was wonderfully menacing. Having said that, I can't see watching it again. I give it an AMRU of 3.