History Film / Them

* ShownTheirWork: To inform some military officials about what they are up against, Dr. Harold Melford provides a presentation about ants via footage of real-life ants with him narrating details about ant biology. All of the facts he states about them are entirely true and the details about ant biology in the film is on point to what was known at the time.
** The exception of the ants communicating via sound instead of pheromones is forgivable as the latter was poorly known at the time, and the assumption was that ants used infrasonic calls humans couldn't typically hear. Not unless you drastically scaled them up.

* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: While Dr. Harold isn't precisely ''ugly'', more short and rotund in a teddy bear kind of way that makes him resemble [[{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}} the Sultan]] or [[Film/BeautyAndTheBeast Maurice]], it's still a headscratcher as to how he's the father of his stunning daughter Pat, who towers over him.

* EverybodySmokes: And how.
* ExcitedShowTitle: More like scared one, but you get the point.

* GenderMisdirection: The characters expect "Dr. Pat Medford" to be a Patrick, not a Patricia.

A classic SciFiHorror movie from 1954, directed by Gordon Douglas and starring James Whitmore, Creator/EdmundGwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness.

* SplashOfColor: The entire movie is grayscale with the exception of the title at the start.

* MaleGaze: Our first glimpse of Pat combines this with FeetFirstIntroduction, ShesGotLegs, and SkirtsAndLadders. As she exits from the bottom of a plane, her skirt gets caught on a ladder, putting her legs on display for a few seconds. A crewman offers assistance, but she demurs.

* AdmiringTheAbomination: Subverted with Dr. Medford. While fascinated by the giant ants, he isn't at all blind to the danger and is adamant they must be destroyed before they threaten mankind.

* NothingIsScarier: Much of the beginning of the film shows only the aftermath of the ants' attacks. We see only the damage they have caused and a few bodies, one of which is filled with acid and chewed to bits. This helped build up their menace prior to them turning up on screen.

* SoundOnlyDeath: [[spoiler:Blackburn hears the sound of the ants outside the wrecked store he's stationed guarding at. As it's growing dark due to both a duststorm and night approaching, he turns off the light in the store and moves towards the hole while drawing his pistol. He steps outside and out of frame, and the audience is treated to the sound of the ants' calls intensifying, several shots, and finally Blackburn's screams.]]

* StayInTheKitchen: Impressively averted, considering the era it was made.

* HotScientist: Joan Weldon as Pat Medford.

** The military gasses the nest of giant killer ants, and the next stage is for someone to go down into the nest and confirm they're all dead. This is universally recognized as a [[DarknessEqualsDeath very bad idea]], yet HotScientist Dr. Pat Medford argues firmly and convincingly that she ''has'' to go down into the nest as her father is too old and she can't give the two male leads "a crash course in insect pathology".

* SquareCubeLaw: Obviously ignored, but let's face it — [[NecessaryWeasel you couldn't have the movie if you didn't]].

A little girl is found wandering in the New Mexican desert, the only survivor of an unknown calamity that befell her vacationing family. When roused from her catatonia, she can only scream [[TitleDrop "Theeeeem!"]] Official investigation finally leads to the discovery that the culprits are Cadillac-sized ants, [[ILoveNuclearPower mutated by atomic radiation]]. The race is then on to locate and destroy the ants' nest before new queens hatch out and fly across the world.

* ILoveNuclearPower: The ants are enormous because of radiation-induced mutations. They appear in New Mexico because that's the site of the first atomic bomb test at Alamogordo.

Not to be confused with the 2006 French horror film ''[[Film/{{Ils}} Them]]'', the 1960s BluesRock band fronted by Music/VanMorrison, or ''Series/Them2021''.

* AdultFear: Thomas Lodge's wife is absolutely broken after learning of her husband's brutal death and her sons' disappearance.

* {{Blooper}}: Doctor Pat Medford states that the ants haven't yet been seen by anyone because of the remoteness of the desert location. Yet, seconds later when the nest is found, dirt roads can be seen behind the mound, with several cars parked on them.

* InfantImmortality: Though this is still a pretty grim dark movie, mostly played straight, but averted for one subtle instance offscreen before the start of the film; see Fridge tab...

* Blooper: Doctor Pat Medford states that the ants haven't yet been seen by anyone because of the remoteness of the desert location. Yet, seconds later when the nest is found, dirt roads can be seen behind the mound, with several cars parked on them.

* ItsPersonal: Peterson takes the death of his partner at the hands of the ants ''very'' personally.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Initially, it's believed some kind of escaped homicidal maniac is behind all this, due to the grisly deaths and how no money is ever taken. The police captain only starts to doubt this shortly before the coroner brings in his report.