retro-the-best....: [New post] Them! (1954)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

[New post] Them! (1954)

Them! (1954)

dailypop | June 19, 2011 at 11:06 pm | Tags: classic monster movies, them! | Categories: Cult SciFi | URL: http://wp.me/p4kUt-2KN

In 1954, Them! was the debut of the atomic monsters for American cinema, something that became all too familiar in the years to come. The only foray into science fiction/horror by director Gordon Douglas (better known for hos work on the Hal Roach Our Gang films and later such diverse films as Robin and the 7 Hoods and They Call Me Mister Tibbs!), this remains one of the most important movies of the 20th Century in my opinion. It paved the way for lesser films that would either ride on its coat tails or vainly attempt to top what Them! so excellently executed. Screenwriter George Worthing Yates went on to pen many similar films from the Amazing Colossal Man, Earth vs. the Spider, and even Godzilla Vs. King Kong, but he really hit the sweet spot with this one. Cinematographer Sid Hickox excels here and he too was a newcomer to the material, being more familiar with swashbuckling Errol Flynn pictures and gangster movies such as White Heat.

It's a combination of a great script, superb camera direction and out of this world monsters designed with no stingy limitations from the studio.

Set in the desert of New Mexico, the film opens with the haunting discovery of a little girl wandering alone through the desolate landscape. Unable to talk, she can offer no clues to what caused the devastation that transformed her home into a shell of wood and plaster. When a pair of specialists from Washington DC are sent in to take over the investigation, things get even more interesting.

An aged etymologist Doctor Harold Medford (played by Miracle on 34th Street's Edmund Gwenn) strikes a very imposing figure over the film simply because he can appreciate the problem from a unique perspective. I know readers of this blog will think that I have a one-track mind, but he reminded me in certain aspects of Doctor Who in the way that he could analyse a seemingly inexplicable problem, come up with the answer and realize that it could mean the end of humanity without losing his mind. This was also from the days when you couldn't make a sci-fi film without an old guy, as my buddy Greg Moutafis loves to point out. The aged genius was the Megan Fox of the 50's. Speaking of foxes, Dr. Medford's daughter (played by Joan Weldon) is a smart and brave little philly who looks great in a kerchief and isn't shy about risking her life against any danger. Yeah... it's a lot like Doctor Who, really.

When Dr. Medford (senior) finally gets the little girl to talk, she managed to emit a bloodcurdling scream of just one word, THEM! This, along with the proximity to the atomic experiments in Los Alamos, confirms Medford's suspicions that this is not just a dangerous man on the loose causing havoc.

Sandy Descher evokes the titular title

It's giant ants.

In subsequent films, giant monsters would be represented by a zoom in on an actual lizard or spider presented on the screen through camera trickery. But with Them! the giant ants are on the silver screen in fill force as real working props. The impact is so intense that even today it stands up well. These days CGi would be used and no real impact would be felt but as a fan of science fiction on TV and film I could appreciate that this was a giant freaking prop that was constructed and placed in action, shot at and even set afire in some instances.

Vintage trailer
watch?v=q2PLls02gOU

Overkill? They're giant ants!!

The etymologists from Washington take the lead on the case and after many investigations, realize that they must use the knowledge of the insect's behavior as a model to attack the problem. This causes a double pronged problem as the area of infestation could be immense but the public at large must be kept in the dark about the creatures.

Ironically it's a town drunk who provides the most useful piece of information when he tells the investigators that he saw the massive ants in the river bed... oh and he wants to join the military on the provision that he is made a sergeant and put in charge of 'the booze.'

The most strangely memorable scene
watch?v=1PBEcNn8aQ4

As the military becomes involved, the situation is more dire. All of the efforts of the armed forces from machine guns to flame throwers and pesticide are useless unless the queen is found. The hunt is on, but the further the search extends the more difficult it becomes to keep the situation secret and the more innocents are placed in danger, including two young boys who are missing in the sewers. As their mother looks on, a convoy of jeeps are sent in to find the giant killer insects, but will they find the kids in time? This is the kind of tension that Spielberg is so sure of presenting but overshoots so often.

Them! was the most profitable film that Warner Brothers released in 1954 and is a contemporary of other sci-fi classics such as The Day the Earth Stood Still. A startling yet intelligent film that addresses the dangers of mankind's meddling with the forces of nature in much the same way that Godzilla had in Japan, Them! is an absolutely astounding classic.