People seemed to like the last Them! candid, so….
The guy, I’m assuming, is director Gordon Douglas. A journeyman helmer (or, if you’re being less generous, a bit of a hack) who made a lot of pictures over the decades, Them! is his best movie. It’s really very, very well directed, probably because the shedding of color and 3-D at the last minute pushed them into a very clean, Dragnet style that really enhanced the film. There’s a shot in the beginning where the camera follows the police spotter plane in the distance, tracking it until it flies behind the suddenly revealed little girl in the foreground of the shot. It’s not Citizen Kane, but it’s a very nice shot.
Douglas’ next film after this was the Liberace picture Sincerely Yours (!), which was the Technocolor ‘A’ picture Them! was originally supposed to be. In direct contrast to his work here, the direction in that film is downright turgid.
Look how Douglas and the crew guy are dressed, and pity Joan Weldon in her tweeds and the actors in their black, fully buttoned-up cop uniforms, or suits and ties. Man, it must have been sweltering.
I’ll see some of you at Sandy’s place. Feel free to use this as an open thread, maybe sharing any Halloween experiences. Have a great week, everyone.
