science fiction

Them! Movie Review

Starring: Edmund Gwenn, James Whitmore, James Arness
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Review Summary
By 1954, radiation paranoia had become real enough that Hollywood started cashing in. The first and best of these “what-if” films was “Them!,” in which nuclear testing in the New Mexico desert mutated an ant colony into giant but believable proportions with the “chirping” sounds to go with it.

When the authorities discover murders and mayhem, they summon campy Dr. Medford (Gwenn), a government scientist, who immediately suspects ants because one victim is filled with “enough formic acid to kill twenty men.” Gwenn's explanations, based on well-researched entomological facts, add to the movie's intelligence and professional detail.

As the professor further clarifies the ants' behavior, we enter their hive with FBI man (Arness) and fatherly Sergeant Peterson (Whitmore) who represent an unusually clever law-military alliance. They bring out the big guns, (“burn them all,”) only to learn that flying queens have spawned, potentially jeopardizing the entire world. One such queen has nested deep within L.A.'s forgotten storm tunnels, where the good guys become surrounded in the dark.

Angry Jim Magin, Resident Scholar


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Plot

Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzle - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%




**Fantasy or Science Fiction?** - science fiction story
Giant monster movie? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - scientist
Age: - 60's-90's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Body type - fat (man)
Events of movie makes character more... - sensitive
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
Sense of humor? - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Male
Body type - average build (man)
How much in movie? - 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)

Main Adversary
Identity: - bug
Has special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - is very quick - super strength - can fly
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 60%
Hair color - brunette (Black)
unclothed? - full frontal
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th Century (1950-1970)
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Desert? Yes
Misc settings - fort/castle - bar/restaurant
Small town? Yes

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
Comedy or somewhat funny movie? Yes
Check here if B&W Yes
Any profanity? - None
Kinds of F/X - exploding bombs
If Soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE... - Orchestra/classical
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