Saturday, January 5, 2008

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD - Dimitri Tiomkin - "Playing Cards Jive" (1951)

Four time Oscar winning child prodigy Dimitri Tiomkin is one of the best known and beloved composers in Hollywood history. If composing the music for "It's A Wonderful Life" wasn't enough by itself, Dimitri did everything from three films with Alfred Hitchcock, to "Mad Love" in 1935, "The Dude Goes West" and "Tarzan And The Mermaids" in 1948, this film "The Thing" in 1951, classic westerns "The Alamo" and "Rio Bravo" and the list just goes on and on! Although most of his scores are orchestrated, Dimitri was well versed in jazz and swing, and used it occasionally like in this scene to great effect. Coupled with some great dialogue, here's a killer scene from "The Thing", a classically brilliant film on multiple levels that should be mandatory viewing in classrooms around the world! Period! 
 
This shot is so amazing, it looks like an Edward Hopper painting!! 
 
The club is swingin' when journalist Scotty arrives! 
 
It's rumored that James Arness even scared himself in this film!! 
 
I believe it!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This print is obliviously the Ted Turner colorized version...

Greg Goodsell said...

How about the shot where the monster sticks his hand through the door, they slam it, and they all break off like carrots?

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??