Them! Overview:

Them! (1954) was a Science Fiction - Horror Film directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by David Weisbart.

SYNOPSIS

Atomic radiation once again transforms tiny harmless creatures into gigantic holy terrors. Probably the best of the '50s Cold War paranoia phenomenon, this top-notch thriller presents giant ants spawned by nuclear testing using the sewer systems of Los Angeles like a vast ant farm. Ant expert Gwenn and his daughter Weldon direct the efforts and Whitmore makes sure they go in but they don't come out. Stellar effects and dignified performances make this better than average.

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Quotes from

Brig. Gen. Robert O'Brien: [making a public broadcast] A couple of months ago in the desert of New Mexico, gigantic ants were discovered. These ants are similar in appearance and characteristics to the household and garden pests you are familiar with, except that they are mutations ranging in size from nine to twelve feet in length. The New Mexico colony was destroyed, but two queen ants escaped. One has been accounted for and destroyed. The other has not yet been found but is now known to have established a nest somewhere in the storm drains beneath the streets of Los Angeles. It is not known how long this nest has been established or how many of these lethal monsters have hatched. Maybe a few, maybe thousands.


Robert Graham: And I thought today was the end of them.
Dr. Harold Medford: No. We haven't seen the end of them. We've only had a close view of the beginning of what may be the end of us.


[the nest has been saturated with cyanide]
Robert Graham: Boy, if I can still raise an arm when we get out of this place, I'm gonna show you just how saturated *I* can get.


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Facts about

Walt Disney screened the movie because he was interested in casting James Arness as Davy Crockett. However, he was so impressed by Fess Parker as the "Crazy Texan Pilot" that he chose him for the part.
The camera Dr. Pat Medford is using in the helicopter is a Stereo Realist, which is a 35mm format stereoscopic (3-D) still camera. This is both perfectly natural and ironic since the film itself was originally planned as a 3-D release.
The sound that the giant ants from "THEM!" make as they approach their prey is a recorded chorus of bird-voiced treefrogs (Hyla avivoca) of the southeastern United States. Occasionally a grey treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) can be heard on the soundtrack as well, as these species can often be heard together at the same wetland.
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Also directed by Gordon Douglas




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Also produced by David Weisbart




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Also released in 1954




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