I remember seeing an old movie when I was a kid about giant ants. The movie was black and white and I’d guess that it’s from the 1950’s. I believe the premise was that the ants got so large (several times larger than humans) by crawling around in some radioactive chemicals. I don’t remember most of the movie, but I do remember that at the end, they decided to seal the nest by blasting the entrance with a rocket launcher. What was the name of that movie?
Them!
Is it “Them” ? I don’t remember if it was black and white though, but it had giant ants in it and it came out in the 50s sometime.
Rio by Duran Duran?
Antz…
They were pretty big up on that movie screen…
:smack: that was in color, wasn’t it?..Never mind.
The Food of the Gods had giant wasps and giant rats. There may have been giant ants as well.
Them! is a great movie. I tend to think of the movies from that era, especially unlikely giant monster movies, as being pretty lame, but Them! is actually really very good.
I believe it was “Them!”. It didn’t take you guys long to get it. Now maybe I can watch it again some time.
As stated many times, you’re undoubtedl thinking of Them! (with the exclamation point).
But if you’re into giant ants, don’t verlook Empre of the Ants, supposedly based on an H.G. Wells story and starring Joan Colins. Prime MST3K material, although they never did it. Cheesy special effects, well worth watching to make fun of.
Have you seen it? How was it? I heard it was awful. The book is amazing. But I heard the movie had a bit less philosophy than the book.
(If I can hijack, as the OP has been answered.)
I was eight or nine when it came out. My brother actually saw it in the theater. I did see it a few years later and oh my Og, it was bad. Filled with C and D list actors and horrible FX and Marjoe Gortner.
For some reason that has yet to be determined a sequel was made 13 years later - it is available on DVD. While I have never seen the sequal, I will be willing to bet that it is as bad, in every way, as the original.
Nimoy?
There’s a young and incredibly hot James Arness in there, but I didn’t notice Nimoy when I watched Them! a few months ago. Is he one of the cops at the beginning?
…
Ahh, Nimoy’s listed as one of the staff sergeants.
Thus solidifying Superdude’s reputation as a pop culture savant.
Someone needs to cross post this with the “explorable sewers” thread! Them! is great!
The sci-fi club at Texas A&M presented “Them!” my freshman year, and they had one of the bug professors giving a lecture afterwards, and the professor commented on how the movie actually got a great deal of ant-related science facts right (except for the bit about them being able to grow that big).
Why, you can look forward to more great threads from me in the future. Wheels are turning.
Must…resist…Simpsons…reference…GAAAAAH!
“I for one welcome our new ant overlords!”
He tears off a teletype report and has about one line. It’s in the middle of the film.
You can also spot Fess Parker as the guy in the mental hospital (not the drunk in LA: the earlier scene, where they keep him locked up for national security reasons). Rumor has it that Disney saw him in the film and decided he was the right guy to play Davy Crockett.
And, yes, other than the size, the science is very accurate; they even stop the film to give a lecture on the natural history of ants.
In addition, the scientist’s daughter is a fully capable scientist herself, and puts herself in danger (over Arness’s protests) to go into an ant’s nest to determine if any queens have hatched.
Finally, if you want to see another pretty good movie about other giant creatures, check out Jack Arnold’s Tarantula (and see if you can spot Clint Eastwood in a bit part).
So, let’s see:
Them!–giant ants
Tarantula
Monster from Green Hell– giant wasps
The Black Scorpion
The Monster that Challenged the World–giant sea snails (not a bad movie, actually–helluva scene in a lab at the climax)
What’s the one with the giant grasshoppers?