Them!

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For the films of the same name, see Them (2006 film) or Them (film).

Them!
Original film poster
Directed by	Gordon Douglas
Produced by	David Weisbart
Written by	Ted Sherdeman Russell Hughes George Worthing Yates (story)
Starring	James Whitmore Edmund Gwenn Joan Weldon James Arness Onslow Stevens Sean McClory Chris Drake
Music by	Bronislau Kaper
Cinematography	Sidney Hickox
Editing by	Thomas Reilly
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	1954
Running time	94 min.
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Them! is a 1954 black and white science fiction film about man's encounter with a nest of radiation-giganticized ants. It is based on an original story treatment by George Worthing Yates, was developed into a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes for Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., which was produced by David Weisbart and directed by Gordon Douglas for the company. It starred James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon and James Arness.

One of the first of the "nuclear monster" movies, and the first "big bug" film, Them! was the biggest moneymaker for Warner's in the year of its release.

[edit] Plot

Lobby card for Them!

The film begins with New Mexico State Police Sergeant Ben Peterson investigating the disappearance of a vacationing FBI agent and his wife, the Ellisons, after discovery of their little girl wandering the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, mute and in a state of shock. The FBI sends in Ellison's fellow agent Robert Graham to assist. The Ellison trailer is found pulled asunder by some great force, with strange tracks all around the wreckage. When the FBI is unable to identify the tracks, they attract the attention of Doctors Harold and Pat Medford, a father/daughter team of entomologists from the Department of Agriculture. The elder Doctor Medford arrives on the scene with a theory, but will not disclose it until he tries an experiment on the Ellison girl, having her smell the contents of a vial of formic acid, which frees her from her state of near-catatonic withdrawal, screaming "Them! Them!" Returning to the destroyed trailer with Peterson, Graham and his daughter, Medford has his theory dramatically given its final proof when the group encounters a patrol of foraging ants, mutated by atomic radiation to the size of automobiles. The lawmen kill one of the ants with their firearms.

A company of the US Army is brought in, led by General O'Brien (Stevens), which locates the ants' nest and exterminates the inhabitants with poison gas, but not before two young queens hatch and fly away to establish new nests. Trying to avoid a general panic, the government covertly monitors and investigates any reports of unusual activities as sightings of "flying saucers". One of the queens ends up in the hold of an ocean-going freighter, which is then overrun by the ants and sunk by a US Navy cruiser. The other queen is finally tracked to the Los Angeles storm sewer system, forcing the Army to openly declare martial law and launch a major assault. Peterson rescues two young boys trapped by the ants in a sewer tunnel, at the cost of his own life. The nest's queen and egg chamber are destroyed with flamethrowers, but the senior Dr. Medford issues a grim warning that the atomic genie has been let out of the bottle, and further horrors may await mankind.

[edit] Cast

Other actors who appear in small parts include John Beradino, Willis Bouchey, Booth Colman, Richard Deacon, Lawrence Dobkin, Ann Doran, Douglas Spencer, Dub Taylor, and Harry Wilson.

When casting his planned Davy Crockett episode of the Disneyland television show, Walt Disney viewed the film to see James Arness who had been recommended for the role. However, Disney was impressed by a brief scene of Fess Parker insisting that he saw the giant flying ants despite being held in an institution. Disney realized he had found his Crockett.^[1]

[edit] Production

Opening color title from Them!. Note that the background is b/w, only the letters and punctuation have color.

When Them began production in early 1954, it was originally conceived to be in 3-D and WarnerColor. During pre-production, tests were to be shot in color and 3-D. A color tests were shot, but when it was time to shoot the other test, WB's "All Media" 3-D camera rig malfunctioned and no tests were shot. The next day, a memo was sent out that the color and 3-D aspects of the film were to be scrapped, and that black and white and widescreen would be the preferred format. Because of the preparation of certain shots, however, many of the camera set-ups for 3-D still remain, such as the opening titles and flame-throwers that are shot at the camera.^{[citation needed]}

Although WB was dissatisfied with the color results, the opening titles, however, were printed in color against a black and white background to give the opening of the film a "punch." This effect was achieved by an Eastman Color section spliced into each print.^{[citation needed]} The VHS release in 1985, the subsequent laserdisc, and the current DVD release have the lettering of the main title colorized on the otherwise black-and-white background.

[edit] Cultural Legacy

Joe Dante's 1993 movie Matinee, starring John Goodman, parodies both Them! and the lifestyle of horror movie director William Castle. Elaborate and deliberately hokey special effects are shown. Another parody is an unfinished episode of Invader Zim called "Those!".

The film's distinctive, shrill giant ant sound effect would be used in the 2006 film The Ant Bully.

The film inspired a Misfits song of the same name which appeared on their Famous Monsters album.

In Cloverfield, there is a still frame inserted from Them! along with others from King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.^[2]

Them! has also been referrenced to in a number of games:

• The easter egg "Ant Missions" in Counterstrike, the expansion to the game Command & Conquer: Red Alert. When starting the first Ant Mission, a small animation shows an ant crawling up a hole, with the words: "They Came From Red Alert!"^{[citation needed]}
• A classic computer game called It Came From the Desert.^{[citation needed]}
• In the video game Zombies Ate My Neighbors, the characters battle giant ants.
• It is also mentioned by the character Para-Medic in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater during a radio transmission.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

1. ^ "Uncle John's 4-ply Bathroom Reader." New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003.
2. ^ http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/2008/04/dvd-easter-eggs-monsters.html

[edit] External links

• How To Steal A Scene, by James Whitmore
• The Thunder Child Them! Sourcebook
• Suite of the film score re-recorded on "Monstrous Movie Music" label
• Google Video

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