It came from a derelict, downed alien ship that contained thousands of eggs.Resourceful, self-reliant, hard-assed, feminist action heroine Lt.Ellen Ripley (unknown stage actress Sigourney Weaver in her first major film role) suspected the signal wasn't an SOS but a warning signal.Her remote activation of the emergency flood mechanism, submerging the corridor with the controls, would make it difficult to stabilize the bomb core in the reactor.Whale anticipated all current and future horror parodies with his effective, insurmountable, over-the-top swan song to the genre.Then, they leave the cattle for James to mind and mount up, riding off to spend the evening in Tombstone for shaves and glasses of beer.