The Thing from Another World (1951)

A genuine classic, and the snappiest-talking monster movie of the decade. Made by Howard Hawks's company, with Christian Nyby credited as director, it lets its Arctic crew talk over one another, which gives the base a lived-in, wisecracking warmth before the dread sets in. James Arness plays the creature. It comes from John W. Campbell's novella Who Goes There?, the same source John Carpenter went back to in 1982, and the closing broadcast's "Keep watching the skies" became the era's motto.