Context

This line is spoken by Ned "Scotty" Scott, played by Douglas Spencer, in the film The Thing from Another World, directed by Christian Nyby (1951).

This quote comes up in the final lines of the movie. A group of men stationed at the North Pole have just defeated a creepy plant creature from outer space. Since the moment its spaceship landed in the snow, this thing has been trouble, so now it's good riddance. E.T. it was not.

Now that the weather is clearing, Scotty sits down to broadcast the tale of their heroism in the face of a strange and terrifying U.F.O. But he leaves his audience with one warning. Keep checking the skies. If there was one of these guys, there could be more. So keep a look out.

An ominous note to an otherwise happy ending.

Where you've heard it

This is a warning that can be applied to any situation where things are starting to look too rosy. If there's one alien out there… there could be hundreds! Constant vigilance!

Additional Notable References:

• This movie was based on John W. Campbell Jr.'s novella Who Goes There?
• John Carpenter remade the movie as The Thing in 1982. Super scary.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Sure, you might sound a little paranoid telling people to keep watching the skies. But pretentious? Not so much.