Why is "Them!" so good?

[Graybeard]

I'm am watching Them! (1954) on Turner Classic Movies now, for maybe the 50th time. It is one of my favorite monster/sci-fi films. Others include The Thing (1951) and The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). I can watch all of these over again beginning to end.

In common they are all black & white and presented in a semi-documentary
format. I know the dialog just about verbatim and yet I never tire of seeing them.

Anyone out there as nutty as me?
.

[pinboy3niner]

1. Marshal Dillon! :)

I remember James Arness in that (and Fess "Davy Crockett" Parker, too!). The special effects were very good for its time.

[trof]

2. That the one about the giant ants?

Scared the crap out of me when I saw it in a theater.
Nucular monsters.

[mockmonkey]

3. I love "The Thing"

It's really smart and the people act more real than what you normally see in movies of that type. I really like the character of the reporter.

I haven't seen "Them!" in years but I remember it and especially the noise the ants make. Richard Whitmore was in another movie that I really liked. It's not really a horror movie it's called "Face of Fire."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052793/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_105

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" what more could you ask for?

[Graybeard]

5. James Whitmore, Jim Arness, Edmond Gwenn.

Having top actors in 'Them!' did make a difference.

'The Thing' used the technique of overlapping dialog to

perfection. As you say it made it very naturalistic.
.

[RebelOne]

7. "The Thing" is my favorite sci-fi movie.

I saw "The Thing" when it was first released. Yes, I am that old. I think it has topped any sci-fi flick ever made. I have a tape of the original movie. One day I will have it converted to DVD.

Saw "Them", but "The Day The Earth Stood Still" was also my favorite from the '50s. I was an ardent sci-fi movie fan when I was a teenager.

[loli phabay]

4. great movie in its day and even now, wwho can forget the ant sound

Watched another great movie today, hell in korea. Hell of a cast including michael caine in his first movie, stanley baker and robert shaw.

[UTUSN]

6. That was my first - AND ONLY - scariest thing EVER - & therefore NEVER AGAIN!1 nt

[nolabear]

8. Absolutely! Love them!

Maybe it was being impressed early, but I've got my bunch. Them is in it. TDTESS is probably at the top. Invasion of the Body Snatchers too.

[mainer]

9. Anyone remember "Robinson Crusoe on Mars"?

One of my favorites.

Also, the original B&W version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

As a kid, I watched "Them" about, oh, a hundred times.

[Graybeard]

10. R.C On Mars is a lot of fun.

Clever retelling of the classic as a sci-fi adventure.

The First 'Body Snatchers' can't be beat for sheer
suspense and scariness.
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[Codeine]

11. I saw that at age 5 and still remember it vividly nearly 40 years later.

What a kick-ass film.

[bluesbassman]

12. Because they featured Van Morrison?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. ah . yeah !! That THEM ... was lost for a minute, thanks BBM

[Orsino]

14. The tease?

Haven't seen it since the seventies, but the suspense of the gradual reveal through a scientific investigation is very Lovecraftian.

Strike that. I'm actually recalling a broadcast of Quatermass and the Pit.

[MicaelS]

15. Woo-hoo, me too!!!

When Dr. Medford gives his speech about humans becoming extinct he does it so matter-of-fact.

Plus how often does a lead actor get killed at the end like that? Why he even dies screaming. Brrr.

Superb film.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is the best.

"If you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burnt out cinder."

[Graybeard]

16. Fave line from 'Day the Earth Stood Still'.

Klaatu has corrected Prof. Barnhardt's blackboard and the Professor is convinced that Klaatu is who he says he is.

Professor Barnhardt: "Please sit down. I have several

thousand questions I want to ask you."
.