The 1950s was an especially fertile era for science fiction films. In 1954, a one-word picture simply titled Them! struck terror into theater audiences with its fantastic story of giant, radioactive-spawned ants breeding in the New Mexico desert. Although Them! (and the exclamation point says it all) is now nearly seven decades old, the movie still retains quite a following, especially among sci-fi fans and collectors who readily snap up all memorabilia associated with this cult Atomic Age film. Based on an original story treatment by American screenwriter George Worthing Yates, Them! was produced by David Weisbart for Warner Bros. Penning the screenplay were Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes with Gordon Douglas directing. Serving as cinematographer was Sidney Hickox, with music by Bronislau Kaper. Them! featured a fine cast of actors with James Whitmore (Sgt. Ben Peterson), Edmund Gwenn (Dr. Harold Medford), Joan Weldon (Dr. Pat Medford) and James Arness (FBI Special Agent Robert Graham), in his pre-Gunsmoke days, leading the way. Also along for the horror ride were Onslow Stevens, Sean McClory, Chris Drake, Sandy Descher, Mary Alan Hokanson, Don Shelton, Fess Parker and Olin Howland. One can also glimpse a young Leonard Nimoy of future Star Trek fame in a bit, uncredited part as an Army communications sergeant. Originally conceived as a 3D color picture, Them! was eventually shot in standard black-and-white. Filming commenced in the fall of 1953 and featured on-location shooting in the Mojave Desert near Palmdale, Calif.; the concrete spillways of the Los Angeles River between the First and Seventh Street Bridges; and Mercy Hospital in Brownsville, Texas (now Valley Baptist Medical Center). The giant, menacing ants seen in the film were constructed and operated by special effects technicians under the supervision of Ralph Ayers. The horrific cries emitted by the ants were actually recorded in 1947 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and featured the calls of bird-voiced tree frogs mixed in with the calls of a wood thrush, hooded warbler and red-bellied woodpecker. The deadly flame throwers used with devastating effect in Them! were on loan from the U.S. Army and wielded by actual WWII veterans who had used them in combat. Them! opens in the New Mexico desert, where state troopers Ben Peterson and Ed Blackburn discover a bedraggled little girl wandering alone through the rugged terrain. The girl is in a state of shock, obviously traumatized by a horrific encounter with some unknown entity. With the assistance of a spotter aircraft, the troopers are led to a nearby vacation trailer owned by FBI Special Agent Ellinson. It is here where the little girl was staying, along with her parents and brother. Evidence points to an attack on the trailer, with the little girl surviving but other family members now missing. While being placed in the ambulance, the girl reacts to a strange, high-pitched sound emanating from the desert, something which isnt picked up by her rescuers. Troopers Peterson and Blackburn later investigate a general store owned by Gramps Johnson, where they find a partially-destroyed wall and the elderly store owner inside dead. Peterson departs the store and leaves Blackburn behind to secure the brutal crime scene. While investigating a strange, pulsating sound outside, Blackburn is forced to use his service revolver, firing several shots at his attacker before going missing himself. Later, an autopsy is performed on the unfortunate Gramps Johnson, where its discovered that his body contains a large amount of fomic acid. Arriving on the scene is FBI Special Agent Robert Graham. Outside the Ellinson trailer, Graham and his fellow investigators discover a large impression, which prompts a call to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Enter prominent entomologists Dr. Harold Medford and his daughter, Dr. Pat Medford, who suspect that Camponotus vicinus ants may be at work here. The elder Dr. Medfords theory is then proved correct when he exposes the little girl to fomic acid fumes, prompting the child to awaken and cry out repeatedly, Them! At last, a giant ant reveals itself at the Ellinson campsite, where Peterson and Graham shoot off the ants large antennae, effectively blinding the monster, and then finish it off with blasts from a tommy gun. The elder Dr. Medford then conveys his theory: atomic testing in the desert and the resulting radioactivity has spawned a colony of giant super ants, who are now on the prowl and responsible for the recent destruction and carnage. When Peterson, Graham and Pat Medford journey down into the ant colony nest, Pat reports that apparently two queens have hatched and are now on the loose, establishing colonies elsewhere. A government task force is quietly assembled as strange reports begin to surface: a civilian pilot in Texas, now confined to a mental hospital, tells investigators that UFOs in the shape of giant ants forced him to land; monster ants have attacked a freighter in the Pacific, killing most of the crew; a large sugar theft has occurred at a rail yard in Los Angeles, where the mutilated body of a father is also found near the citys storm drains, his two young sons missing. Peterson and Graham later descend into the storm drains beneath Los Angeles, where they encounter the two missing boys and a nest of giant ants. Army reinforcements also arrive, where a titanic battle ensues. The movie ends with this haunting observation from the elder Dr. Medford: When man entered the Atomic Age, he opened the door to a new world. What we may eventually find in that new world, nobody can predict. Them! premiered in New York City on June 16, 1954. Variety reported: This science-fiction shocker has a well-plotted story, expertly directed and acted in a matter-of-fact style. Them! proved to be a big hit for Warner Bros., grossing over $2 million during its initial release and earning an Oscar nomination for Best Special Effects. Them! is big mojo in the movie memorabilia field, with a variety of radioactive artifacts available to todays collectors. Leading the way is the films standard one-sheet movie poster (27-by-41 inches), which features the garish, tongue-twister blurb: A Horror Horde of Crush-and-Crawl Giants Clawing Out of the Earth From Mile-Deep Catacombs! One restored example on linen in very fine- condition sold for $3,120 at auction. One of the more desirable promotional items is the rare Style Z poster (30-by-40 inches) whose come-on reads: Kill One And Two Take Its Place! Pictured are giant marauding ants wreaking havoc in Los Angeles, with one creature clutching a terrified woman in a red evening dress in its deadly mandibles. One rolled example in fine/very fine condition brought a top bid of $6,572.50 at auction. A little more affordable is the movies insert poster (14-by-36 inches), whose secondary blurb reads: An Endless Terror! A Nameless Horror! One example in folded fine+ condition sold for $525.80 at auction. Always a fan favorite is the eight-card movie lobby set which features various scenes from Them!, including the teams first deadly, illuminated foray into the ant catacombs in the New Mexico desert. One example in very fine+ condition brought $1,135.25 at auction. For those collectors who like their memorabilia big (we are talking about giant ants here, after all), theres the films three-sheet poster (41-by-82 inches). One restored example on linen in very fine- condition sold for $1,673 at auction. And, if the three-sheet doesnt quite fit the bill in terms of size, theres the pictures resident monstrosity, the giant six-sheet poster (81-by-81 inches), whose blurb screams: No Terror Like Them Ever Known By Man Or Beast Before! One example in fine/very fine condition realized a top bid of $776.75, and more than likely now adorns an entire wall in the buyers home. One of the more offbeat Them! items is the pictures standee (32-by-59 inches), a movie lobby artifact that rarely comes up for sale. One example in folded very fine- condition sold at auction for $2,151. Foreign movie posters are quite attractive to collectors. One of the best and most valuable is the Italian 4 folio (55-by-78 inches), which features killer artwork by Luigi Martinati and the title Assalto alla Terro (Assault on the Earth). One restored example on linen in very fine+ condition realized $4,481.25 at auction. Another superb foreign job is the British quad poster (30-by-40 inches), which features no artwork but simply the main blurb: No Terror Ever Like Them! One restored example on linen in very fine- condition sold at auction for $507.88. The Them! Belgian poster (14-by-22 inches), titled in French Demons Atomiques (Atomic Demons), is a real knockout. One example in very fine- condition sold for $299. Auction results and images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas. William J. Felchner is a graduate of Illinois State University. His work has appeared in a number of periodicals, including Hot Rod, True West, Movie Collectors World, Corvette Quarterly, Big Reel, Old West, Sports Collectors Digest, Illinois, Goldmine and Pennsylvania Magazine.