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Them! Overview:

Them! (1954) was a Science Fiction - Horror Film directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by David Weisbart.

SYNOPSIS

Atomic radiation once again transforms tiny harmless creatures into gigantic holy terrors. Probably the best of the '50s Cold War paranoia phenomenon, this top-notch thriller presents giant ants spawned by nuclear testing using the sewer systems of Los Angeles like a vast ant farm. Ant expert Gwenn and his daughter Weldon direct the efforts and Whitmore makes sure they go in but they don't come out. Stellar effects and dignified performances make this better than average.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Them! Quotes:

Dr. Harold Medford: [over the helicopter headset] Search Able to Search Baker.
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: Say "Over."
Dr. Harold Medford: Huh?
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: Then say "Over."
Dr. Harold Medford: "Over?"
Dr. Patricia 'Pat' Medford: Medford in Baker to Medford in Able: Go ahead, Dad. Over.
Dr. Harold Medford: Have you found anything yet?
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: Say "Over."
Dr. Harold Medford: I just said it.
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: I know. Say it again.
Dr. Harold Medford: Oh. "Over!"
Dr. Patricia 'Pat' Medford: Baker to Able: Not yet. We're about three quarters of the way across our sector. We're now at coordinates Charlie-Six. Over.
Dr. Harold Medford: Well, don't pass up any possibilities. Let me know the moment you find ANYTHING.
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: If you're finished, say "Over and out."
Dr. Harold Medford: But she KNOWS I'm through talking with her.
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: I know she does, Doctor. It's a rule, though. You gotta say it.
Dr. Harold Medford: [irritated] Ah...
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: Isn't that right, General?
Brig. Gen. Robert O'Brien: Right, Sergeant.
Dr. Harold Medford: This is ridiculous! A lot of good your rules are gonna do us if we don't locate the...
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: [over the headset] Over and out.
Dr. Harold Medford: Oh, now you're happy.
Dr. Harold Medford: Get the antennae! Get the antennae!
[the nest has been saturated with cyanide]
Robert Graham: Boy, if I can still raise an arm when we get out of this place, I'm gonna show you just how saturated *I* can get.
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson: [appraising the ruination of a trailer] This wasn't caved in, it was caved out.
Brig. Gen. Robert O'Brien: [making a public broadcast] A couple of months ago in the desert of New Mexico, gigantic ants were discovered. These ants are similar in appearance and characteristics to the household and garden pests you are familiar with, except that they are mutations ranging in size from nine to twelve feet in length. The New Mexico colony was destroyed, but two queen ants escaped. One has been accounted for and destroyed. The other has not yet been found but is now known to have established a nest somewhere in the storm drains beneath the streets of Los Angeles. It is not known how long this nest has been established or how many of these lethal monsters have hatched. Maybe a few, maybe thousands.
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Them! Facts
Unique script that begins as a standard police murder mystery and ends as a science fiction classic.
This was Warner Bros.' highest grossing film of 1954.
The B-25 Mitchell bomber transporting the doctors Medford was actually the personal transport for a 2-star General.
WILHELM SCREAM: Can be heard four times in the film. When the giant ants attack the crew of the ship at sea, when James Whitmore's character Police Sgt. Ben Peterson is throttled to death by a giant ant, when a soldier is struck by the falling debris in the sewer and when James Arness gets separated from the rest of the Army and ants try to attack him. The ceiling falls in and while he reloading his weapon, an ant tries to attack him. There's also a scream off-screen from Peterson's partner, Ed Blackburn when he investigates the sounds made by the ants.
Relating to the "S.S. Viking" incident, there was no cruiser named "U.S.S. Milwaukee" in commission in the United States Navy at the time this film was made. The last ship so named was an Omaha-class light cruiser (CL-5) which was commissioned in 1923 and scrapped in 1949 after service in World War II in both the U.S. and Soviet navies. The next ship named "Milwaukee" would be a Wichita-class replenishment oiler (AOR-2) that would be in service from 1969 until her decommissioning in 1994. Her name was stricken from the Navy's list in 1997, and at the time of this writing (2007), she is awaiting final disposal at the James River Reserve Fleet, Fort Eustis, VA.
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