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The Swarm
[Warner Home Video]
1978; color
Directed by Irwin Allen
Starring: Michael Caine, Katharine Ross & Richard Widmark
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The Swarm is another classic, albeit long-winded flick from the "Master Of Disaster," Irwin Allen. While some of the long-windedness may be due to the fact the DVD we viewed is the massive 155-minute director's cut, even if it was edited down to 100 minutes it might still get a bit long in the tooth. As with all '70s disaster epics we get a "star studded" cast, although by the time they got around to The Swarm, in 1978, the leads were Michael Caine, Richard Widmark, Katherine Ross and Henry Fonda. The ensemble cast is where the Hollywood Square-like level of celebrity really comes into play with minor roles by Richard Chamberlain, Fred MacMurray, Olivia De Haviland, Patty Duke and Slim Pickens. Things start off on an odd note, with civilian entomologist Michael Caine the only surviving soul in an Air Force ICBM site. He tells the recovery team that all the military personnel were killed by a swarm of African Killer Bees. Needless to say, this - ahem - plausible story is bolstered when a doctor (Ross) and a handful of survivors are found in a vault. Unfortunately the survivors, who'd only been stung once or twice, begin to die. Soon enough, the military whips into action and sends two choppers to track the swarm. Can you guess what happens to the choppers? Exactly, they're swarmed by the bees and crash. Soon after, a couple and their tween son are out for a picnic when - you guessed it - bees shoot out of a hollow tree like water form a fire hose and kill mom and dad. The boy escapes in the car and drives back to the quaint local town, where soon everyone learns about the swarm. Caine is put in charge of the effort to destroy the bees, but he doesn't have much luck; even when he brings in scientist buddy Henry Fonda. The bees attack the small town, kill a couple hundred people and set off a national panic. After the small town is attacked the rest of the population is evacuated via train - which is, of course, attacked by bees - plunges down a steel hill and explodes. Around this time, everyone figures out the swarm is making a beeline (sorry, I couldn't resist) for Houston so they set up shop there and wait for the final showdown. Now, these bees are smarter than your average bees, they know exactly which skyscraper is the base for all military operations which they attack with deadly results. In the end, Caine figures out a sonic strategy that lures the bees over the Gulf Of Mexico, using an audio signal they think is their mating noise, and the swarm is incinerated by a giant fireball. Despite being better known for his disaster epics, the bulk of Irwin Allen's career was in TV, and there's no doubt in my mind The Swarm would have made a much better TV movie than theatrical release.
—the Kommandant
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