Them! (1954)
Starring Chris Drake, Edmund Gwenn, James Arness, James Whitmore, Joan Weldon
We briefly highlight Gordon Douglas' sci-fi classic here, but be sure to check out SFMZ's extensive showcase on Them! 1954 at SFMZ's THEM! 1954 Image/Dialogue Gallery.
Them! is based on an original story treatment by George Worthing Yates, and developed into a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes for Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., which was produced by David Weisbart and directed by Gordon Douglas for the company.
One of the first of the "nuclear monster" movies, and the first "big bug" film, Them! was nominated for an Oscar for Special Effects and won a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing. It is significant that the film starts off as a simple suspense story, with police investigating mysterious disappearances and deaths, all from no explainable cause.
Tobor the Great (1954) B&W
Starring Chris Drake, Edmund Gwenn, James Arness, James Whitmore, Joan Weldon
Tobor the Great was written by Carl Dudley & Philip MacDonald, and directed by Lee Sholem. It stars Charles Drake, Karin Booth, and Billy Chapin. Tobor's design was the brainchild of Robert Kinoshita, television and film effects man and prop designer who would later go on to design Robby the Robot from the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, as well as the B9 environmental control robot from the 1960's hit sci-fi series Lost In Space.
STORY: Dr. Harrison and Prof. Nordstrom develop the robot Tobor for space flight, intending that he should be controlled by ESP. They announce their plans at a press conference which will spread the news worldwide, then they become concerned that press conference security was breached because an extra person attended and they wouldn't want the information falling into the wrong hands.
The extra person was a spy; he and his henchmen kidnap Nordstrom and his grandson, but Nordstrom cleverly signals Tobor to charge to the rescue. The spies tear open the boy's shirt and threaten to use a blowtorch on him, and the composition makes the torch appear to be pointed at the boy's temple while he concentrates on summoning his hero Tobor.
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