Them! is a 1954 American black-and-white science fiction monster film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by David Weisbart, directed by Gordon Douglas, and starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness. The film is based on an original story treatment by George Worthing Yates, which was then developed into a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman and adaptation by Russell Hughes.

Plot

New Mexico State Police Sgt. Ben Peterson and his partner, Ed Blackburn, discover a little girl in a catatonic state wandering the desert near Alamogordo. After they summon assistance, an ambulance arrives. While inside, the girl reacts unnoticed by the adults to a pulsating high-pitched sound coming from the desert by sitting upright, eyes open -- and then she lies back as the noise ceases. Later that night at a rural general store, the officers stumble upon the owner's dead body. Peterson leaves Blackburn behind to secure the crime scene. Upon hearing a strange, pulsating sound outside, Blackburn goes to investigate. Gunshots are heard, then screams. Days later, FBI Agent Robert Graham arrives to investigate. Additionally, the Department of Agriculture sends myrmecologists Drs. Harold Medford and daughter Pat to lend assistance. Medford exposes the little girl to formic acid fumes, characteristic of ants. The odor releases her from her catatonia. In panic, she cries, "Them! Them!"