Written By Ken Hulsey
Back in 1954, monster movies were experiencing an exciting revival. At Universal Pictures, the team was gearing up to release "Creature From The Black Lagoon," the last of their classic monster lineup. Meanwhile, over in Japan, Toho was wrapping up their own monster epic, "Gojira" (or Godzilla), which would kick off a legendary film series lasting five decades. At Warner Bros, director Gordon Douglas and producer David Weisbart were busy working on their own creature feature, "Them!" This film introduced audiences to colossal ants that emerged as a result of atomic testing in the New Mexico desert. Little did Douglas and Weisbart know, "Them!" would significantly alter the direction of American monster movies for the next twenty years.
After the success of "Them!", filmmakers in the U.S. decided to leave the giant dinosaur tales to the Japanese and turn their creative energies toward exploring what would happen if insects turned the tables on humans. Initially, Warner Bros had grand ambitions for "Them!", planning to film in color and even in 3D to compete with Universal's 3D version of "Creature." Early tests with mechanical giant ants showed great promise, but when the camera rig broke down, they had to scrap both the color and 3D plans altogether. Choosing to incorporate three life-sized mechanical ants, rather than resorting to stop-motion or actors in suits, was a bold move for the production. No film had dared to take on such a challenge before, but it paid off. The remote-controlled ants worked exceptionally well, especially in scenes where they interacted with human actors.
Using stop-motion animated ants just wouldn't have had the same effect, and we’ve seen from films like "Empire of the Ants" that enlarging real ants and inserting them into scenes is not a feasible option! Thankfully, "Them!" was blessed with an outstanding cast. James Arness, who would later become famous for his role as Marshal Matt Dillon in the popular television series "Gunsmoke," was among the stars, along with James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, and Joan Weldon. The film also provided a launching pad for the careers of several television actors, including Fess Parker, who would find fame in Disney's "Davy Crockett" (despite the studio’s original preference for Arness), and Leonard Nimoy, who would go on to portray Spock in "Star Trek." Lastly, actor Booth Colman had a small role in the film before moving on to his memorable performance as Dr. Zaius in the short-lived "Planet of the Apes" television series. What a fascinating time for monster movies!
The film begins with New Mexico State Police Sergeant Ben Peterson (played by James Whitmore) discovering a little girl wandering the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The girl is mute and in a state of shock. Soon, more mysterious deaths and disappearances occur in the area. When a store owner named Gramps Johnson is found dead, his store is literally torn apart, and his empty rifle is bent and twisted beside his body. The police theorize that there may be a maniac killer on the loose. However, Peterson's boss points out that Gramps' 30-30 rifle was emptied, and that Peterson's patrol partner Ed Blackburn (played by Chris Drake) was a crack shot. As he notes, “Unless your killer is armored like a battleship, there's no maniac in this case.” The coroner later delivers a grim verdict: "Gramps Johnson could have died in any one of five ways: his neck and back were broken, his skull was fractured, his chest was crushed, and here's one for Sherlock Holmes: there was enough formic acid in his body to kill twenty men."
In response, the FBI sends Robert Graham (played by James Arness), a fellow agent of Ellinson, to assist. A single strange track is found in the desert, but when the FBI fails to identify it, they attract the attention of Doctors Harold (played by Edmund Gwenn) and Pat Medford (played by Joan Weldon), a father-daughter team of entomologists from the Department of Agriculture.
Dr. Medford arrives on the scene with a theory but refuses to disclose it until he conducts an experiment on the Ellinson girl. He has her smell the contents of a vial of formic acid, which frees her from her state of near-catatonic withdrawal; she screams, “Them! Them!” Returning to the destroyed trailer with Peterson, Graham, and his daughter, Dr. Medford’s theory is dramatically validated when they encounter a swarm of foraging ants, mutated by atomic radiation to the size of automobiles. The lawmen initially kill one of the ants with a Thompson submachine gun, discovering that their revolvers have little effect. Following Dr. Medford's advice, they aim for the antennae, realizing that the ants are helpless without them.
A company of the U.S. Air Force, led by General O'Brien, is brought in to locate the ants' nest and exterminates the inhabitants with poison gas. The younger Dr. Medford, who accompanies Peterson and Graham into the nest, discovers evidence that two young queens have hatched and flown away to establish new colonies. To avoid mass panic, the government covertly monitors reports of unusual activities and disguises them as sightings of "flying saucers." One of the queens ends up in the hold of an ocean-going freighter loaded with sugar, which is subsequently overrun by the ants and sunk by a U.S. Navy cruiser. From the ramblings of an alcoholic and an investigation into the death of a father protecting his two young sons from an apparent ant attack, the other queen is tracked to the Los Angeles storm sewer system. This forces the Army to openly declare martial law and launch a major assault.
During the assault, Peterson finds the two missing boys, named Mike and Jerry, alive and trapped by the ants in a sewer tunnel, which also serves as the entrance to the nest. Peterson calls for backup but bravely decides to enter alone, heroically rescuing the boys while killing numerous ants with his flamethrower. He leads the boys back through the pipe to safety. After hoisting up the first boy, Jerry, an ant appears from behind. Thinking quickly and selflessly, Peterson saves the second boy, Mike, but after lifting him into the pipe, he lacks time to save himself. As he climbs into the pipe at the last moment, an ant grabs him in its mandibles and crushes him at the waist, and he cries out in agony.
Graham arrives quickly with reinforcements and kills the ant attacking Peterson, rushing to his side just in time to hear Peterson's last words, confirming that the boys are safe before Peterson dies in his arms. Graham orders that Peterson's body be left undisturbed and returns to the battle, nearly getting killed himself when a cave-in temporarily seals him off from the other men as they march toward the egg chamber. Several ants charge at him, but Graham manages to hold them off long enough for the other troops to tunnel through the debris and reach him. The nest's queen and egg chamber are then destroyed with flamethrowers after a short but fierce battle. However, 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.
The success of "Them!" led to two decades of imitators, including Universal's "Tarantula" and "Deadly Mantis," American International's "Empire of the Ants," TransCentury Pictures' "The Giant Spider Invasion," and even Warner's "The Black Scorpion."
Among all the 'giant bug' films produced throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, "Them!" truly stands out as the best. Many regard it as one of the greatest science fiction films from Hollywood's golden age.
Indeed, "Them!" is a well-executed monster film. The script, written by Ted Sherdeman, Russell Hughes, and George Worthing Yates, is simple yet effective. The effects are surprisingly realistic, especially for a film made in the 1950s. The acting is believable and heartfelt, which is not something typically seen in many sci-fi films of that era.
What really stands out to me is how well the film holds up over 50 years after its release—a true testament to the filmmaking talents of Gordon Douglas, David Weisbart, and their crew.
If you choose to see just one giant monster film in your life, you might want to watch "King Kong" or "Gojira" first, but if those spark your interest, definitely check out "Them!" next.
I initially thought about recommending "Them!" first, but I can’t honestly say that it surpasses "Kong" or "Godzilla."
Trust me, though—"Them!" is excellent and a must-see for all sci-fi and monster movie fans.
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