THEM! (1954) *1/2 In which government agents wearing flame-retardant garb attack giant ants with flamethrowers and cyanide bombs. Like every other aberration or mutant in the area the ants head for L.A. in search of sugar. They make high-pitched squeeching noises like a '72 Chevy Impala that needs a new fan belt (in this sense, at least, the film can be considered ahead of its time). This noise was considered so brilliant that it was used again three years later as the voice of The Black Scorpion. As my daughter said, in a statement more laden with poetic than biological truth, "all these old movies are about giant insects." The high point is a scene in the alcoholic ward where a witness mistakes the intent of his government inquisitors and begins chanting "Make me a sergeant, charge the booze! Make me a sergeant, charge the booze!"
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