This film is why 1950s B-movie sci-fi is so great. This film was the first of the big bug series of flicks that infested the decade. Though it's clearly a B-movie, it doesn't act like one, because it plays its material straight and with a natural tone.
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson (James Whitmore, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) discovers a 5-year-old girl (Sandy Descher, THE PRODIGAL) wandering alone in the desert in a daze. The side of her trailer has been bashed in and so has the side of the general store. After an officer is killed, FBI agent Robert Graham (James Arness, TV's GUNSMOKE) is assigned the case and calls in scientists Dr. Harold Medford (Edmund Gwenn, THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY) and his daughter Dr. Pat Medford (Joan Weldon, 1954's THE COMMAND). What they discover is that the atomic bomb testing in the desert has mutated the ants in the region to 9 feet. So the film's heroes must destroy the mutant ants, but what will they do when the bugs reach Los Angeles?
In other B-movies of the same time, the acting was poor and the drama was heightened beyond belief. Here, the acting in general is good, especially from Whitmore and Gwenn. The giant ants are awful looking in retrospect, but that adds to the film's charm a little. In some ways, they work better than some modern visual effects, because once one is in the story as long as the effects are somewhat decent our suspension of disbelief will take over.
The film's real success comes from its playing of the material. It doesn't go for camp; it just plays the material like it is really happening. Its attempts at humor are actually funny. The sequence in the helicopter between Sgt. Peterson and Dr. Harold Medford is laugh out loud funny, mainly done to the great delivery of the actors. Then in the end, the film actually attains some real tension. One thing that really dates older horror and thriller flicks is their tameness compared to what comes out today. When it comes to 1950s B-movie fun, it really doesn't get much better than this flick.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
