Comments on: Star of Them! Dies

By: EastTexan

EastTexan — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:06:35 +0000

THEM was (and still is) an enjoyable movie. I met and visited with Mr. Whitmore in the early ’70s when he was doing his Will Rogers show. He was a true gentleman. Another of my favorite James Whitmore movies was “The Next Voice You Hear”.

By: MattBille

MattBille — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:52:57 +0000

Hulk, that’s interesting. My late father-in-law was a Marine wounded on Saipan. Now I’ll always wonder if they might have met.

Them was a teriffic movie to me as a kid. A lot of those early efforts still hold up well as movies, whether the effects are dated or not. Black Lagoon does, as do SF efforts like The Thing and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Some were cheesy even then, but fun (The Deadly Mantis) and some were terrible even then (The Giant Claw).

There are good actors and actresses’ today (Naomi Watts did an incredible job playing to a blue screen in King King), but I am trying hard to think of someone currently hot whose departure would leave a void in the acting world the way Whitmore or Paul Newman or Kate Hepburn did. I can’t come up with one.

By: HulkSmashNow

HulkSmashNow — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:13:20 +0000

Mr. Whitmore was also a veteran of World War II. As a Marine, he served in the Battles of Saipan and Tinian.

By: DavidFullam

DavidFullam — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:43:08 +0000

THEM played at least once a month on TV here in town when I was growing up. Still the best of the atomic monster movies (Gojira comes close). If it were remade, they would wimp out on the end and his character would survive, I’m sure. RIP Mr. Whitmore.

By: camperwoman

camperwoman — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:52:59 +0000

My family watched “Them!” as the late-night creature feature on New Year’s Eve when I was 5 or 6 (mid-60’s) as a way to stay up until midnight. It was the first time I was allowed to stay up that late to see in the New Year. I watched it again recently, and, even though the special effects are crude (probably cutting-edge for that time), I still enjoyed the story and acting. In fact it had been so long since I’d seen a young James Whitmore, I’d forgotten how handsome he was.

Godspeed, Mr. Whitmore.

By: Alligator

Alligator — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:28:01 +0000

I just watched “The Shawshank Redemption” in which Whitmore played Brooks the prison librarian. A minor but important tragic role in the movie. I think it may have been his last movie role.

Whitmore was also excellent playing the part of Harry Truman in “Given Em Hell Harry.” Uncanny similarity to the real Mr. Truman whom I saw growing up.

“Them” was on AMC the other night. I can’t belive it scared me so bad as a kid (the ants seem so fake now) but for 1954, it was first class science fiction and special effects, much better than the majority of sci-fi movies of the period to follow.

I don’t think any of the contemporary actors and actresses quite stack up to this older generation like Whitmore.

By: gavinf

gavinf — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:15:39 +0000

THEM was a great sci-fi movie. And because James Whitmore and the rest of the cast played it straight, not cheesy, it’s a movie that will always be great.

He seemed to be a truly good man. My condolences to the family.