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FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2023 • VOL. 53, NO. 8
“Them!,” Radioactive Movie Memories And Memorabilia
Locati Holds Online Sale Locati LLC, an auction company based in Pineville, Pa., holds monthly online sales. Its January sale had several stars, such as a Walter Bowman Russell (1871-1963) oil-on-board painting selling for $1,900. A French Art Deco Macassar Ebony dressing table realized $4,100, and a French bronze equestrian group sold for $1,400. Prices do not include a buyer’s premium. Locati’s offices are located at 761 Durham Road, Pineville, Pa. To learn more, call 215-619-2873 during business hours.
Hollywood Archives By William J. Felchner The 1950s was an especially fertile era for science fiction films. In 1954, a one-word picture simply titled “Them!” struck terror into theater audiences with its fantastic story of giant, radioactive-spawned ants breeding in the New Mexico desert. Although “Them!” (and the exclamation point says it all) is now nearly seven decades old, the movie still retains quite a following, especially among sci-fi fans and collectors who readily snap up all memorabilia associated with this cult Atomic Age film. Based on an original story treatment by American screenwriter George Worthing Yates, “Them!” was produced by David Weisbart for Warner Bros. Penning the screenplay were Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes with Gordon Douglas directing. Serving as cinematographer was Sidney Hickox, with music by Bronislau Kaper. “Them!” featured a fine cast of actors with James Whitmore (Sgt. Ben Peterson), Edmund Gwenn (Dr. Harold Medford), Joan Weldon (Dr. Pat Medford) and James Arness (FBI Special Agent Robert Graham), in his pre-”Gunsmoke” days, leading the way. Also along for the horror ride were Onslow Stevens,
This rare standee sold for $2,151.
Continued on page 7
This three-sheet poster brought $1,673.
This rare style Z poster sold at auction for $6,572.50. Sean McClory, Chris Drake, Sandy Descher, Mary Alan Hokanson, Don Shelton, Fess Parker and Olin Howland. One can also glimpse a young Leonard Nimoy of future “Star Trek” fame in a bit, uncredited part as an Army communications sergeant. Originally conceived as a 3D color picture, “Them!” was eventually shot in standard black-and-white. Filming commenced in the fall of 1953 and featured onlocation shooting in the Mojave Desert near Palmdale, Calif.; the concrete spillways of the Los Angeles River between the First and Seventh Street Bridges; and Mercy Hospital in Brownsville, Texas (now Valley Baptist Medical Center). The giant, menacing ants seen in the film were constructed and operated by special effects technicians under the supervision of
Ralph Ayers. The horrific cries emitted by the ants were actually recorded in 1947 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and featured the calls of bird-voiced tree frogs mixed in with the calls of a wood thrush, hooded warbler and red-bellied woodpecker. The deadly flame throwers used with devastating effect in “Them!” were on loan from the U.S. Army and wielded by actual WWII veterans who had used them in combat. “Them!” opens in the New Mexico desert, where state troopers Ben Peterson and Ed Blackburn discover a bedraggled little girl wandering alone through the rugged terrain. The girl is in a state of shock, obviously traumatized by a horrific encounter with some unknown entity. With the assistance of a spotter aircraft, the troopers are led to a nearby vacation trailer owned by FBI Special Agent Ellinson. It is here where the little girl was staying, along with her parents and brother. Evidence points to an attack on the trailer, with the little girl surviving but other family members now missing. While being
placed in the ambulance, the girl reacts to a strange, high-pitched sound emanating from the desert, something which isn’t picked up by her rescuers. Troopers Peterson and Blackburn later investigate a general store owned by “Gramps” Johnson, where they find a partially-destroyed wall and the elderly store owner inside dead. Peterson departs the store and leaves Blackburn behind to secure the brutal crime scene. While investigating a strange, pulsating sound outside, Blackburn is forced to use his service revolver, firing several shots at his attacker before going missing himself. Later, an autopsy is performed on the unfortunate “Gramps” Johnson, where it’s discovered that his body contains a large amount of fomic acid. Arriving on the scene is FBI Special Agent Robert Graham. Outside the Ellinson trailer, Graham and his fellow investigators discover a large impression, which prompts a call to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Enter prominent entomologists Dr. Harold Medford and his daughter, Dr. Pat Medford, who suspect that Camponotus vicinus ants may be at work here. The elder Dr. Medford’s theory is then proved correct when he exposes the little girl to fomic acid fumes, prompting the child to awaken and cry out repeatedly, “Them!” At last, a giant ant reveals itself at the Ellinson campsite, where Peterson and Graham shoot off the ant’s large antennae, effectively blinding the monster, and then finish it off with blasts from a tommy gun. The elder Dr. Medford then conveys his theory: atomic testing in the desert and the resulting Continued on page 2
Governor Wolf Historical Society Antiques Show And Chestnut Street Show Planned Two Different Shows At Two Historic Sites Set For March 4 And 5 By Karl Pass The first weekend in March kicks off Pennsylvania antiques show season with two great primitive country shows. Only a stones Continued on page 3
In This Issue SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . . . starting on page 2 SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . on page 3 EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR . on page 4 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . starting on page 4 AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . on page 4
FEATURE AUCTION: Heritage Auctions’ Americana And Political Signature Auction, Feb. 25 & 26 - Page 5
CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . .on page 7