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3 commentsThem! (1954)
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Sat, July 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
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Nuclear testing in the desert ends up creating a giant race of killer ants (of course). When an aging expert and his sexy daughter are called in to investigate the murderous arthropods, all hell breaks loose. And by hell, of course I mean "giant killer ants." Can the military kill them all before they get into that sugar you spilled on the porch?
I first saw this on one of AMC's old monster movie marathons. I thought it looked neat but boring, so I dedicated myself to watching the first ten minutes of it. I was shocked when I saw the ending credits, realizing I had somehow suffered through the entire hour and a half. I've seen several reviews for this movie online, about how great it is-- and it should definitely be watched-- but only so you can laugh at it. I couldn't imagine anyone seriously enjoying this movie at face value. Here's a tidbit: the title of the movie comes from the lips of a stunned little girl they rescue from the side of the road-- not yet knowing about the ants. When prompted, she starts screaming "Them! Them!" and the camera moves in quickly for a close up-- sharp note, D minor.
Notice the eye lashes. Nice touch.
So I'm getting interested, waiting for the crazy ants-- and I wasn't disappointed. Imagine a cute fuzzy friend, blinking at you with big long lashes, as adorable as a kitten in a dress. Now imagine someone wasting it with a machine gun.
At this time in film history, there were already a few giant insect movies. They usually relied heavily on stop-motion bugs, or worse, rotoscoped in close ups of creepy crawlers. Well, the ants in Them! were neither creepy, nor crawlers. The film makers actually built two 9 foot giant ants, and controlled their "movement" with wires. While this may seem like the epitome in professional movie making, it should not be tried at home, as the ants could only move their heads up and down and, as aforementioned, blink at you with cute long lashes. Also, there were never more than two ants on the screen at a time. It's pretty tough to imagine a "hord of crawl-and-crush giants" when all you see are the same two insects, cleverly shot at slightly different angles, and sometimes being less or more adorable, so as to trick your mind into thinking they are different blood-thirsty ants.
One thing to note: in the very first scene, a few cops are driving near a dirt road in the desert. Now, I can't be sure, but I'm SURE they copied the exact location from It Came From Outer Space! And I also can't be positive, but I'm POSITIVE this script was originally going to be used in the TV show "I Love Lucy" as a way of writing off Ethel (the chocolate factory episode was supposed to have attracted the ants, and Ethel made into a tasty ant snack).
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THEM
James Arness and James Whitmore were outstanding as the heros of the piece. The female character was actually helpful and did not get in the way of the story a bit. The general was more understanding than most military types in the movies and the old professor was both informative and supplied some comic relief.
The dialogue was snappy and the pacing of the picture was excellent. No long winded explanations about where the ants came from or what a huge threat the represented. Just short pithy statements and then on with the action.
One of my favorite characters was the little girl. She did a great freak out scene and was consistently good at what she was given to do. Unusual in one so young.
All in all a super 50's bug eyed monster movie.
OUTSTANDING
one of the best 50's scifi films ever. Saw it when it was first released and have seen it MANY times since. along with the 50's war of the worlds, body snatchers, it, this rates as the best from that era/family. if you grew up during the 50's era, you would understand how this film was so popular. good writing and good actors. of course THEM not the best of props but all consider it still holds up today.