From: mleeper@optonline.net   
      
   THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS did well enough for Warner Brothers   
   that they followed it up with another monster film, THEM!  In fact,   
   THEM! was one of the better Fifties science fiction films and one   
   of only a handful that are still fairly effective forty years after   
   it was made due in large part to some very intelligent script   
   choices.  The style of the film begins as a straightforward police   
   procedural in which the killer turns out to be giant mutated ants.   
   The feel of the drama is no less than one would find in "Dragnet."   
   The terrible poster used in the ad campaign gives away that this is   
   a monster movie.  But with the exception of the comic scientist,   
   the parts are all played with grim realism.   
      
   Certainly the opening does not immediately give a clue of what is   
   to come.  A girl is found wandering in the desert of New Mexico.   
   The police investigate as they would a human crime and besides some   
   odd clues there is no evidence that the police are not dealing with   
   human criminals.  Investigating is Police Sergeant Ben Peterson   
   (played by James Whitmore) and his partner.  As the police   
   investigated keep finding apparent crime scenes and odd clues.  The   
   partner is killed after having been left at a crime scene.  One of   
   the first victims was an FBI agent, so another agent is assigned to   
   the case, Robert Graham played by James Arness.  Arness had been in   
   two previous science fiction films: TWO LOST WORLDS and more   
   notably in the title role of THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD.  The   
   plot unfolds tensely, but has time to have several comic vignettes.   
   Some of the comedy involves Edmund Gwenn as an entomologist brought   
   in to when somebody discovers that the clues point to giant ants.   
   Joan Weldon appears as his daughter, also a scientist.  Reportedly   
   one of the minor players built an entire career on this film.   
   Walt Disney--who reportedly was a fan of THEM!--saw Fess Parker   
   and decided he would be a good Davy Crockett.   
      
   Some of the touches have their problems.  Multiple times ant   
   footprints are found, but always singly.  Do ants hop on one foot?   
   In the ant colony, Whitmore's and Arness's voices are muffled by   
   their breathing gear, but Joan Weldon's voice seems to be clear and   
   unmuffled.  The ant props are surprisingly well-handled to give the   
   impression of many more ants were than props than there actually   
   were.  In fact, there is only one and a half adult ant mock-up built   
   for the film and half of another that were used in the films.  The   
   audience never sees more than one ant and a half ant in any one   
   scene.  The film was made in color, by the way, and the ants were   
   purple.  THEM! was released in black and white and that probably   
   helps the tension of the film.   
      
   BEST TOUCH: The combination of realism with the science fictional   
   plot.   
      
   WORST TOUCH: The usual expository lectures about ant natural   
   history seem particularly awkward.   
      
   This film stands up very well today because it was taken seriously   
   by the filmmakers.  I rate it a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.   
      
   Film Credits:   
      
      
   What others are saying:   
      
      
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