# Them! (1954) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111 "2011-08-26T00:56:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/1 "2011-08-26T00:56:02Z")
Just watching one my favorite movies, and I just saw, in the credits, Fess Parker! Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/2 "2011-08-26T01:22:58Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Just watching one my favorite movies, and I just saw, in the credits, Fess Parker! Who knew? According to one source, Disney was looking for actors for his upcoming series, and spotted Parker in that tiny role, and brought him in for a test. He became **Davy Crockett** as a result. : > [@](#): > > According to Parker himself, when the Walt Disney Company was looking for an actor to play Davy Crockett, they originally considered James Arness for the title role. Parker had recently graduated to a contract weekly actor, but listened to his agent and appeared in a B movie called Them! which required only one day’s work. He had a small scene in the movie as a pilot put into an insane asylum after claiming his plane had been downed by giant flying insects. Arness appeared in a larger role in the same film.[11] > **[Fess Parker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fess_Parker)** > > Fess Elisha Parker Jr. (born F. E. Parker Jr.; August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010) was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of the title characters in the Walt Disney television miniseries Davy Crockett (1954–55; ABC) and the television series Daniel Boone (1964–70; NBC). > Parker was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised on a farm in Tom Green County near San Angelo. His father – born Fess Parker but later added the initial "E." – was a tax assessor. The name Fess ... as noted, it had Arness, and also James Whitmore. The film won an Oscar for Special Effects. It’s kind of a shame that it won, while animated films like _The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms_, which virtually created the genre of 50’s monster films, did not. But it was effective full-size mechanical work. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/3 "2011-08-26T01:38:38Z")
Make me a sergeant, gimme the booze! I’m curious: what do Dopers think–does **Them!** need to be re-made? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/4 "2011-08-26T01:40:22Z")
And, of course, Leonard Nimoy and Santa Claus (Edmund Gwynn) It’s one of the best horror films of the era, and still holds up wonderfully well. Some sly humor, too – I loved it when they sent the little girl to her _aunt_ (the word was weirdly stressed like that). Also, the female lead actually knew more than the protagonist, and was willing to get in and do things. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/5 "2011-08-26T01:49:35Z")
I was impressed rewatching it this past year. It really has held up pretty well. It was fairly well written compared to most of the Sci-Fi of the time. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/6 "2011-08-26T01:53:17Z")
I hope they never do a remake, but even if they do, it won’t matter, the original will still be better. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/7 "2011-08-26T02:07:59Z")
I was thinking about _Them!_ the other day, because of the footage of the Cessna 170 in it. (I love seeing General Aviation aircraft in movies.) _Them!_ was one of my favourite monster movies when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/8 "2011-08-26T02:08:45Z")
That movie scared the CRAP out of me when I was a little kid. When I’d go outside on a supper night, I was SURE I could hear that creepy whistling sound the ants made. And for years, that was always the movie I associated with James Whitmore. Whenever I saw him in something else, I always thought “the guy in the ant movie.” I love it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/9 "2011-08-26T02:08:53Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I hope they never do a remake, but even if they do, it won’t matter, the original will still be better. Totally agree. It’s already happened with “War of the Worlds” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. I ‘made’ my two kids watch this once, (they never wanted to watch ANY movie that was in black and white.) They were probably 8 and 12. By the time we got to “Make me a sergeant and charge the booze” it was their new favorite movie. For a month or two. That was 13 years ago, they still sometimes use that quote. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/10 "2011-08-26T02:28:23Z")
From a movie poster: * * * A HORROR HORDE OF CRAWL-AND-CRUSH GIANTS CLAWING OUT OF THE EARTH FROM MILE-DEEP CATACOMBS!\*\*\* _“The city is under martial law until we annihilate THEM!”_ _“Kill one and two take its place!”_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/11 "2011-08-26T03:02:51Z")
“Your safety relies on your full cooperation with the military authorities.” ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/12 "2011-08-26T03:33:33Z")
First time I learned about ants and formic acid. They tossed some education in too. If they remade it now, the scientist would have to save his kid and sexy wife from the ants . Oh my god, the ants biggest nest is right where my family is vacationing. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/13 "2011-08-26T09:13:04Z")
You’re vacationing in White Sands? Welcome to New Mexico! The movie’s version of White Sands does not look much like the real thing, but they tried. I’ll give them an A for effort. And they got the details of the state police uniforms right: The black-and-gray color scheme, the triangular shoulder patch, and the open-weave leather capband. As a native New Messkan, I was pleased that they did their homework. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/14 "2011-08-26T10:18:04Z")
_Them!_ is one of the only movies of that era that I really enjoyed. And I was surprised by that. Some friends and I were planning on making a spoof of it called _Those!_ but that idea seems to have been shelved. I was watching a more recent movie of a similar theme, _8-Legged Freaks_, and was surprised to see in the opening credits Scarlett Johansson, and I was racking my brains trying to recall who she may have played. Perhaps the heroine? Perhaps the waitress? Was there a waitress? But no, she played the 16 year old tearaway daughter, because she was still only a kid back then. I felt very old. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/15 "2011-08-26T12:17:17Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Make me a sergeant, gimme the booze! > > I’m curious: what do Dopers think–does **Them!** need to be re-made? NO! :mad: :mad: :mad: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/16 "2011-08-26T14:43:29Z")
Confession: I make my seventh graders watch it every year when we study insects. They adore it, and it does teach about ants and formic acid… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/17 "2011-08-26T14:46:53Z")
Loved this movie and would watch it every time it played on KTLA’s “Creature Feature.” I’m still convinced things like giant ants live in the LA River tunnels. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/18 "2011-08-26T14:56:48Z")
A question on the politics of this movie: Most 50s sci-fi monster films (_The Blob_, _The Giant Gila Monster_, _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_) feature plucky individuals taking care of business (or trying to, as in IotBS) after authority figures have either denied the problem or proven ineffectual. _Them!_ is the rare film (I think) that shows the government as responsible and competent in dealing with the monstrous threat. Given the context of 1954, does this make _Them!_ an exceptionally conservative film or an exceptionally liberal film? Or am I reading too much into a movie about giant ants? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/19 "2011-08-26T17:26:18Z")
I don’t know about the politics. I see it now as refreshingly sensible and realistic. Sadly, there’s no current political movement fitting that description. I saw the movie in the theater when I was 9 or 10. At night. With my older brother, who should have walked home with me but he ran and I couldn’t keep up. The cicadas in the trees make the same sound as those freakin’ ants. The DVD is on the TV stand now. I watch at least once a year, and the opening sequence is still impressive. And when the ants attacked that ship! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111/20 "2011-08-26T20:40:49Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > A question on the politics of this movie: > > Most 50s sci-fi monster films (_The Blob_, _The Giant Gila Monster_, _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_) feature plucky individuals taking care of business (or trying to, as in IotBS) after authority figures have either denied the problem or proven ineffectual. _Them!_ is the rare film (I think) that shows the government as responsible and competent in dealing with the monstrous threat. Given the context of 1954, does this make _Them!_ an exceptionally conservative film or an exceptionally liberal film? Or am I reading too much into a movie about giant ants? I’m not sure I agree with that assessment **the Thing** doesn’t fit into it. **Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, The Giant Claw, The Beginning of the End, the deadly Mantis** , and others have the military squarely facing the threat. Even in cases where the “plucky individuals” seem to be fighting a lone battle, it’s because they have trouble convincing the authoruities that there’s a real danger. Once they believe, in **the Blob** and **The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms** , for instance, the authorities step right in. There’s just more drama, I think, in situations where you have the lone iondividual trying to convince people that there IS a problem. After the authorities take over, the film tends to resemble a police procedural, with bigger criminals. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/them-1954/594111.md?page=2)