Them! (1954)
86%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
15 wins & 54 nominations total
One of the best creature features of the early atomic age, Them! features effectively menacing special effects and avoids the self-parody that would taint later monster movies
Them” is the perfect movie for anyone who wants to see giant ants wreak havoc on unsuspecting humans. The special effects are so realistic that you’ll be squirming in your seat, just like the critics. But don’t worry, you won’t actually encounter any giant ants in real life…unless you stumble upon a bustling colony like Dorothy Masters did. Overall, “Them” is a thrilling and silly ride that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Production Company(ies)
Block 2 Pictures, Jet Tone Production Orly Films,
Distributor
Warner Home Vídeo, Cinema Classics, Warner Bros.
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
St George’s Hall, St George’s Place, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some fantasy action violence
Year of Release
2016
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.112-Track Digital Sound IMAX 6-Track Auro 11.1 Sonics-DDP
-
Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 34m
-
Language(s):English, Central, Khmer
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 19, 1954 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 3, 2009
Genre(s)
Sci-Fi
Keyword(s)
starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens, Sean McClory, Sandy Descher, directed by Gordon Douglas, written by Russell S Hughes, Ted Sherdeman, sci-fi, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Marion Aitchison, Dorothy Masters, Philip K Scheuer, Leonard Lerner, Boston Globe, Dorothy Adler, Mildred Martin, Lillian Blackstone, C.A Lejeune, Josephine O’Neill, Hortense Morton, Jay Carmody, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Warner Home Vídeo, Cinema Classics, Warner Bros., MPAA rating, giant ants, atomic radiation, FBI agent, scientist, military, creature feature, special effects, monster movies, horror, suspense, thriller, Los Angeles, sewer tunnels, flamethrowers, egg chamber, decaying ant bodies, aliens, James Cameron, inspiration, 1954, Warner Brothers, David Weisbart, Russel S Hughes, Ted Sherdeman
Worldwide gross: $814,044,001
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,003,308,062
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 95
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 109,412,002
US/Canada gross: $234,037,575
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $288,450,975
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 208
US/Canada opening weekend: $74,403,387
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $91,702,068
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 90
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $180,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $221,849,741
Production budget ranking: 64
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $119,466,086
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $661,992,235
ROI to date (est.): 194%
ROI ranking: 642
Edmund Gwenn – Dr. Harold Medford
Joan Weldon – Dr. Patricia ‘Pat’ Medford
James Arness – Robert Graham
Onslow Stevens – Brig. Gen. Robert O’Brien
Sean McClory – Maj. Kibbee
Director(s)
Gordon Douglas
Writer(s)
Russell S. Hughes, Ted Sherdeman
Producer(s)
David Weisbart
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
15 wins & 54 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (57) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (4)
Views of the creatures which had the youngsters screeching delightedly are plenty scary — in fact the blown-up scenes of actual ants, such as everyone in the hot country knows, are enough to make you squirm.
September 28, 2021
Marion Aitchison
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
There is added conviction in performance and dialogue, both of which are particularly good for a production largely designed for chilling spines.
September 28, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Dorothy Masters
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
In the parking lot outside the [theater], I came upon a bustling colony of ants near a crack in the sidewalk. I gave them a wide berth. I had just seen their oversized brothers and sisters in action… and I wanted no more trouble with them.
September 28, 2021
Philip K. Scheuer
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
The picture has all the necessary ingredients mixed in the proper proportions to make it a top-notch thriller.
September 28, 2021
Leonard Lerner
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Sound and lighting effects help to create an eerie atmosphere in the black-and-white film and Warner Brothers has taken pains to make the enormous ants properly frightening.
September 28, 2021
Dorothy Adler
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
Ominously titled Them, this all too plausible Warner Brothers chiller starts with a shiver and ends with a bang.
September 28, 2021
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Edmund Gwenn is such a convincing old actor that he and his scientific calculations have you actually believing in the 8-feet-high ants bringing terror and destruction in Them!
September 28, 2021
Lillian Blackstone
Tampa Bay Times
It moves fast and is superbly silly.
September 28, 2021
C.A. Lejeune
Observer (UK)
The monsters are certainly a homely change — 15-foot ants from earth, instead of Outer Space, invaders in tatty fancy-dress. James Whitmore’s cop is lively, and Edmund Gwenn’s scientist lectures with feeling.
September 28, 2021
Josephine O’Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
This leads us through Los Angeles sewers; delightful but net serious suspense; audience hysteria (hey, is school out?), and flame throwers guaranteed to scare the wits out of anyone who ever had a hot foot.
September 28, 2021
Hortense Morton (Screen Scout)
San Francisco Examiner
With ants of such drawing power as these, Warner Bros. might have skimped on cast costs in the production of Them. To its credit, it did nothing of the kind.
September 28, 2021
Jay Carmody
Washington Star
The implausible idea and the thin story pervade the entire production despite good performances by Edmund Gwenn and James Whitmore.
September 28, 2021
Julian Fox
Brooklyn Daily Eagle…
Plot
In mid-1920s New York, Newt Scamander, a British young activist wizard, arrives in the city, holding a mysterious leather suitcase that shelters diverse and magical creatures that exist among us. Amid an already fragile equilibrium of secrecy, and the increasing disasters ascribed to the dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, Newt’s precious suitcase goes missing, and to make matters worse, several creatures manage to escape. Before long, this unforeseen complication catches Senior Auror Percival Graves’ attention who targets Newt, against the backdrop of an invisible, devastating, and utterly unpredictable menace that still wreaks havoc on 5th Avenue. In the end, is there a hidden agenda behind Graves’ intentions? Moreover, what will happen to the remaining fantastic beasts that are still on the loose?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast includes James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness.
Gordon-Douglas.jpg
