|
Them!
''Them!'' is a 1954 American black-and-white science fiction film, science fiction monster film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by David Weisbart, directed by Gordon Douglas (director), Gordon Douglas, and starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness. The film is based on an original story treatment by George Worthing Yates, which was then developed into a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman and adaptation by Russell S. Hughes, Russell Hughes. ''Them!'' is one of the first of the 1950s "nuclear monster" films, and the first "arthropods in film, big bug" feature film to use insects as the monster. A nest of Enlargement (in fiction)#Excessive growth, gigantic irradiated ants is discovered in the New Mexico desert; they quickly become a national threat when it is discovered that two young queen ants and their consorts have escaped to establish new nests. The national search that follows finally culminates in a battle with ''Them'' in the concrete spillways a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Arness
James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the CBS television series ''Gunsmoke''. Arness has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in five decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in '' Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge'' (1987) and four more made-for-television ''Gunsmoke'' films in the 1990s. In Europe, Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the Western series '' How the West Was Won''. He was the older brother of actor Peter Graves. Early life James Arness was born in Minneapolis. His parents were businessman Rolf Cirkler Aurness and journalist Ruth Duesler. His father's ancestry was Norwegian; his mother's was German."Ancestry of James Arness" '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthropods In Film
Arthropods, mainly insects and arachnids, are used in film either to create fear and disgust in horror and thriller movies, or they are anthropomorphized and used as sympathetic characters in animated children's movies. There are over 1,000,000 species of arthropods, including such familiar animals as ants, spiders, shrimps, crabs and butterflies. Early 20th century films had difficulty featuring small insects due to technical difficulties in film-stock exposure and the quality of lenses available. Horror movies involving arthropods include the pioneering 1954 ''Them!'', featuring giant ants mutated by radiation, and the 1957 ''The Deadly Mantis''. Films based on oversized arthropods are sometimes described as big bug movies. Arthropods used in films may be animated, sculpted, or otherwise synthesized; however, in many cases these films use actual creatures. As these creatures are not easily tamed or directed, a specialist known as a "Bug Wrangler" may be hired to control and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Douglas (director)
Gordon Douglas Brickner (December 15, 1907 – September 29, 1993) was an American film director and actor, who directed many different genres of films over the course of a five-decade career in motion pictures. Early life Born Gordon Douglas Brickner in New York City, he began his career as a child actor, appearing in some films directed by Maurice Costello. He also worked at MGM as a book-keeper. Career Hal Roach and ''Our Gang'' As a teenager, Douglas got a job at the Hal Roach Studios, working in the office and appearing in bit parts in various Hal Roach films. He made walk-on appearances in at least three ''Our Gang'' shorts: '' Teacher's Pet'' (1930), '' Big Ears'' (1931) and ''Birthday Blues'' (1932). By 1934, Douglas was assistant to director Gus Meins and served as assistant director on Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's 1934 film '' Babes in Toyland'' and on the ''Our Gang'' comedies made between 1934 and mid-1936. Beginning with ''Bored of Education'' in 1936, ''Our ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmecology
Myrmecology (; from Greek: μύρμηξ, ''myrmex'', "ant" and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is a branch of entomology focusing on the scientific study of ants. Some early myrmecologists considered ant society as the ideal form of society and sought to find solutions to human problems by studying them. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of social systems because of their complex and varied forms of eusociality (social organization). Their diversity and prominence in ecosystems also has made them important components in the study of biodiversity and conservation. Recently, ant colonies are also studied and modeled for their relevance in machine learning, complex interactive networks, stochasticity of encounter and interaction networks, parallel computing, and other computing fields. History The word myrmecology was coined by William Morton Wheeler (1865–1937), although human interest in the life of ants goes back further, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Sherdeman
Ted Sherdeman (21 June 1909 – 22 August 1987) was an American radio producer, television writer and screenwriter. He was known for the films '' The Eddie Cantor Story'' (1953), ''Away All Boats'' (1956), ''St. Louis Blues'' (1958), '' A Dog of Flanders'' (1960) and ''Misty'' (1961); and the TV series ''Wagon Train'' (1958-1965), '' Hazel'' (1963-1966), ''My Favorite Martian'' (1964), ''Flying Nun'' (1968), '' Bewitched'' (1965). He died on 22 August 1987 in Santa Ana, California at aged 77. With director James Clark, with whom worked together on ''Dog of Flanders'' for Associated Producers Inc, later formed their own company, Gemtaur Productions. They also worked together in ''The Big Show'', which was made with API. ''Songs by Sinatra'' (1945–47) was a 30-minute program aired on CBS on 12 September 1945, at 9 p.m, featuring Frank Sinatra. In December 1946 the director of the programm Mann Holiner was succeeded by Sherdeman. Filmography Screenwriter Producer * ''Ridin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Academy Award nominations. Biography Early life and military service Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, for three years, before transferring to the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, on a football scholarship. He went on to study at Yale University, but he had to quit playing football after severely injuring his knees."James Whitmore dies at 87" by Dennis McLellan. Los Angeles Times, February 7, 2009. After giving up football, he turned to the Yale Dramatic Society and began acting. While at Yale, he was a member of Skull and Bones, and was among the founders of the Yale radio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the corresponding Golden Globe Award. He received a second Golden Globe and another Academy Award nomination for the comedy film ''Mister 880'' (1950). He is also remembered for his appearances in four films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. As a stage actor in the West End and on Broadway, he was associated with a wide range of works by modern playwrights, including Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy and J. B. Priestley. After the Second World War, he lived in the United States, where he had a successful career in Hollywood and Broadway. Life and career Early years Gwenn was born in Wandsworth, London to John and Catherine ( Oliver) Kellaway. His brother was the actor Arthur Chesney, and his co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Weldon
Joan Weldon (born Joan Louise Welton; August 5, 1930 – February 11, 2021) was an American actress and singer in film, television, and theatre. Early years Weldon was born in San Francisco, California in 1930. Her grandmother, Olio Cornell, raised her there after she "was left motherless at five." Weldon's great-grandfather was an actor on stage and in vaudeville. She attended Galileo High School, and was inducted into their Hall of Merit in 2019. Stage Weldon began her career singing in the San Francisco Grand Opera Company chorus. She also sang with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. On Broadway, she appeared in '' Kean''. She sang at the opening of the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center in 1964. After working in film and television, she resumed her career as a singer in road company productions including ''The Music Man'' and ''Oklahoma!'' Weldon retired in 1980. Radio In 1953, Weldon appeared as the soprano soloist on a broadcast of '' The Standard Hour'' on NBC r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monster Film
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the ... of horror folklore and literature. Typically, movie monsters differ from more traditional antagonists in that many exist due to circumstances beyond their control; their actions are not entirely based on choice, potentially making them objects of sympathy to film viewers. Traditional concepts The most common aspect of a monster movie is the struggle between a human collective of protagonis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar travel, time travel, or other technologies. Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition. The genre has existed since the early years of silent cinema, when Georges Melies' '' A Trip to the Moon'' (1902) employed trick photography effects. The next major example (first in feature length in the genre) was the film ''Metropolis'' (1927). From the 1930s to the 1950s, the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B movies. After Stanley Kubrick's landmark '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), the science fiction film genre was taken more seriously. In the late 1970s, big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects became popular wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney Hickox
Sidney Hickox, A.S.C. (July 15, 1895 – May 16, 1982) was an American film and television cinematographer. Career New York City-born Hickox started his film career at the age of 20 as an assistant cameraman at Manhattan's Biograph Studios and quickly became a full-time director of photography with ''Gloria's Romance'' in 1916. Following World War I, where he was a photographer for the US Naval Air Service, he relocated to Hollywood and joined the staff of First National Pictures. When the studio was absorbed by Warner Bros. in 1928, he remained there and worked on hundreds of projects until his retirement from feature films. Hickox also directed multiple episodes of the TV series ''I Love Lucy'' and ''The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'' during their final seasons, as well as most of the episodes of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' during its lengthy run. Filmography * ''Gloria's Romance'' (1916) * ''Democracy – The Vision Restored'' (1920) * '' School Days'' (1921) * '' Your Best Fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camponotus Vicinus
''Camponotus vicinus'' is a species of ant in the subfamily ''formicinae''. ''C. vicinus'' is widespread throughout western North America, from Alaska, south to Mexico, and east to Texas and Manitoba. Unlike its wood nesting "carpenter ant" relatives, ''Camponotus vicinus'' is typically found nesting in the soil under stones and other objects. The giant ants in the 1954 film Them! are identified as ''C. vicinus'', despite multiple anatomical differences, including the presence of a sting, which is absent in ''Formicine'' ants. References Further reading * External links * vicinus Martha Vicinus (born November 20, 1939) is an American scholar of English literature and Women's studies. She serves as the Eliza M. Mosher Distinguished University Professor of English, Women's Studies, and History at the University of Michigan. ... Articles created by Qbugbot Insects described in 1870 {{ant-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
