Police Sgt. Ben Peterson (James Whitmore) finds a shocked little girl wandering in the New Mexico desert. She escaped from giant ants that attacked her family trailer but is now catatonic. Soon the ants are attacking the locals. FBI agent Robert Graham (James Arness) arrives to investigate. Dr. Harold Medford (Edmund Gwenn) and his daughter Dr. Pat Medford (Joan Weldon) from Department of Agriculture arrives later to explain that the atomic testing in 1945 had mutated giant ants. Harold Medford shocks the little girl and she screams "Them!" The group is able to kill one of the ants. Then they discover the entrance to the colony. After destroying the nest, they find two queen ants had already hatched and escaped. The action continues to move until it reaches Los Angeles.
The first half is quite compelling. The ants aren't shown. It is simply the eerie squeaking ants sound amongst the wind. The investigation is interesting. The acting is quite good consider its B-movie size. Both James Whitmore and Edmund Gwenn are Oscar caliber actors. The escape to LA is problematic. It would have been better to have the cops battle the ants out in the desert. The action is ant-tastic but it can get a little repetitive. Nevertheless this is one of the better creature features from the era. Also one can also play a game of spot the Leonard Nimoy in one of his early minor acting role.
The first half is quite compelling. The ants aren't shown. It is simply the eerie squeaking ants sound amongst the wind. The investigation is interesting. The acting is quite good consider its B-movie size. Both James Whitmore and Edmund Gwenn are Oscar caliber actors. The escape to LA is problematic. It would have been better to have the cops battle the ants out in the desert. The action is ant-tastic but it can get a little repetitive. Nevertheless this is one of the better creature features from the era. Also one can also play a game of spot the Leonard Nimoy in one of his early minor acting role.