Gordon Douglas (1907–1993)

“We shall visit the desert now.” — Edmund Gwenn
“It's getting pretty late, Doctor.” — James Arness
“Later than you think.” — Edmund Gwenn

One of the few bright spots during the decline of quality films in American cinema after the 1940s was the sci-fi genre which developed in the 1950s. At its best it was both fun and entertaining, as well as thought-provoking. Them! does all that and more, and is loads of fun. Star Trek fans might even get a glimpse of a young Leonard Nimoy at a teletype machine if they look fast enough. Those who grew up watching Daniel Boone will enjoy Fess Parker minus his coonskin cap as a pilot who has seen THEM so is presumed bonkers.

It all begins in White Sands, New Mexico, as cop Ben Peterson (James Whitmore) patrols the unending desert with air support above. They find a young, traumatized girl wandering nowhere, in shock and unable to speak. Following her trail to discover what has transpired, a ravaged trailer and a general store in shambles are just the beginning. Bob Graham (James Arness) is called in from the FBI. When a strange acid is found in a body, both men realize they are in over their heads. What neither can understand is why, once those results are sent to the government, the response is to send two scientists and the Army.

Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon are father and daughter, and he has a theory he doesn’t want to reveal until he’s absolutely sure. Bob and Patricia (Weldon) hit it off as that strange and eerie sound in the desert wind is revealed to be a product of atomic testing by man; ants have mutated and grown so gigantic they have no choice but to find the only source of food available. They prove hard to destroy, and the heroes must follow escaping queens all over the US, culminating in an exciting battle in the storm drains of Los Angeles with the lives of two frightened children and an anxious mother hanging in the balance.

Ted Sherdeman’s screenplay adaptation of George Worthing Yates’s story has a message about man’s interfering in the natural course of nature while director Gordon Douglas never forgets this is supposed to be a fun sci-fi/horror movie. Good clean fun for a dark and stormy night.… (more)