The Swarm (1978)

Director:

Irwin Allen

Writers:

Arthur Herzog Jr. (novel)
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 July 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

It's more than a speculation - it's a prediction !

Plot:

A huge swarm of deadly African bees spreads terror over American cities by killing thousands of people.

Plot Keywords:

Dead Children | Massacre | Latin America | Fever | Child Driving Car

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Dr. Bradford Crane
Katharine Ross	...	Capt. Helena Anderson
Richard Widmark	...	Major General Thalius Slater
Richard Chamberlain	...	Dr. Hubbard
Olivia de Havilland	...	Maureen Schuster (as Olivia De Havilland)
Ben Johnson	...	Felix
Lee Grant	...	Anne MacGregor
José Ferrer	...	Dr. Andrews (as Jose Ferrer)
Patty Duke	...	Rita (as Patty Duke Astin)
Slim Pickens	...	Jud Hawkins
Bradford Dillman	...	Major Baker
Fred MacMurray	...	Mayor Clarence Tuttle
Henry Fonda	...	Dr. Walter Krim
Cameron Mitchell	...	General Thompson
Christian Juttner	...	Paul Durant
Morgan Paull	...	Dr. Newman
Alejandro Rey	...	Dr. Martinez
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Pete Harris
Doria Cook-Nelson	...	Mrs. Mary Durant (as Doria Cook)
Robert Varney	...	Mr. Durant
Patrick Culliton	...	Sheriff Morrison
Ernie F. Orsatti	...	Duty Officer (as Ernie Orsatti)
John Furlong	...	Cameraman
Chris Petersen	...	Hal
Jerry Toomey	...	Eddie
Mara Cook	...	Secretary
Joey Eisnach	...	Bee Boy
Stephen Powers	...	Radarman
Chris Capen	...	Lieutenant
Tony Haig	...	Officer #2
Bill Snider	...	Radarman #2
George F. Simmons	...	Nurse (as George Simmons)
Arell Blanton	...	Sergeant
Trent Dolan	...	Radio Sergeant
John Williams	...	Launching Officer
Phil Montgomery	...	Mechanic
James Turley	...	Reverend (as James Austin Turley)
Frank Blair	...	Himself
Steven Marlo	...	Pilot #1 (as Steve Marlo)
Marcia Nicholson	...	Captain
Arthur Space	...	Engineer
Chuck Hayward	...	Standby Engineer
Glenn Charles Lewis	...	Chemical Warfare Guard
Art Balinger	...	Radio Announcer
Michael Sheehan	...	Airman #1
Howard Culver	...	Airman #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barbara Costello	...	Receptionist / Nurse (extended version only)
Jim Galante	...	Doctor (extended version only)
David Himes	...	Radioman (extended version only)
Elizabeth Rogers	...	Scientist (extended version only)
Jenifer Taurins	...	Nurse (extended version only)
Marneen Fields	...	Train Passenger (uncredited)

Directed by
Irwin Allen

Writing credits
Arthur Herzog Jr.		(novel) (as Arthur Herzog)
Stirling Silliphant		(screenplay)

Produced by
Irwin Allen	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Fred J. Koenekamp		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Harold F. Kress

Casting by
Jack Baur

Production Design by
Stan Jolley

Set Decoration by
Stuart A. Reiss		(as Stuart Reiss)

Costume Design by
Paul Zastupnevich

Makeup Department
Ruby Ford	....	hair stylist
Tony Lloyd	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Norman A. Cook	....	production manager
George E. Swink	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herb Adelman	....	trainee second assistant director
Mike Salamunovich	....	assistant director
Skip Surguine	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ralph Aubert	....	property master
Tom Cranham	....	production illustrator
Irwin 'Eppy' Epstein	....	drapery
Harold Fuhrman	....	set designer
Alfred M. Kemper	....	set designer
Joseph Musso	....	production illustrator
William O'Brien	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jerry Jacobson	....	adr editor
Herman Lewis	....	production sound mixer
Michael Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Allan R. Potter	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Howard Jensen	....	special effects

Stunts
Greg Anderson	....	stunts
Larry Holt	....	stunt performer
John Moio	....	stunt performer
Paul Stader	....	stunt coordinator
Mickey Caruso	....	stunts (uncredited)
Marneen Fields	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mike Johnson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mags Kavanaugh	....	utility stunts (uncredited)
Hubie Kerns Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Nowak	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ernie F. Orsatti	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Benson	....	camera operator
Hal Landaker	....	video supervisor
John Monte	....	still photographer
Edward Morey III	....	assistant camera (as Ed Morey III)
Gene Stout	....	gaffer
Serge Poupis	....	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Tim Board	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Les Fresholtz	....	re-scoring mixer
Donald Harris	....	music editor
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator
Arthur Piantadosi	....	re-scoring mixer
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Other crew
Nancy Claycomb	....	production secretary
Al Gail	....	production executive
Ron Gruchy	....	air force coordinator (as Major Ron Gruchy)
Tony Habeeb	....	publicist
Ken Harris	....	technical advisor: bees
Fred Hesper	....	technical advisor: bees
George Leslie	....	cost controller
Steven Marlo	....	dialogue coach
Sidney Marshall	....	production executive
Julie Pitkanen	....	script supervisor
Sheridan Dar Reid	....	location manager (as Sheridan Reid)
Bill Ryan	....	electronic foreman
Art Volpert	....	executive assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia-Warner Distributors (1978) (UK) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Van der Veer Photo Effects

Runtime:

116 min | USA:156 min (expanded video edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:12 (orginal rating) | France:-12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1978) | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Irwin Allen was so disheartened by the amount of money he lost on The Swarm (1978) that he forbade any of his employees to ever mention it again. He even cut short an interview when a question was asked about it.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As the flamethrower team sets a car on fire, you can briefly glimpse a film crew rushing up with water to put it out.

Quotes:

Maureen Schuster: Attention! Attention! This is Miss Schuster. Please listen very carefully. A swarm of killer bees is coming this way.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Nintendo All-Star Dai-Rantô Smash Bros. (1999) (VG)

Great fun, depending on which version you see...

THE SWARM

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)

Sound format: 4-track magnetic stereo

A swarm of African killer bees rampage across America's south-west before descending on Houston, destroying everything in their path.

Contrary to popular opinion, THE SWARM is not the worst movie ever made, and anyone who says otherwise clearly hasn't seen the collected works of Jesùs Franco, Andy Milligan or Woody Allen (just kidding!). Representing the last gasp of the disaster cycle inaugurated by Ross Hunter's big-time adaptation of Arthur Hailey's AIRPORT (1969) and further popularized by the likes of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972) and THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974) - the latter a bona fide Hollywood classic - THE SWARM encapsulates director Irwin Allen's basic commercial ethos: Big stars, big set-pieces, and big drama.

Taking its cue from previous small-scale entries like THE DEADLY BEES (1966) and TERROR OUT OF THE SKY (1978), Allen's old-fashioned monster movie revels in the destruction of towns, trains, nuclear power plants and the reputations of numerous high-profile actors. However, Stirling Silliphant's script is so hokey, it's difficult to believe he wasn't poking inglorious fun at the entire project: Michael Caine is so obviously miscast (as a 'brilliant' entomologist), and so clearly contemptuous of the material, his expression never changes throughout the entire film, though co-star Richard Widmark gives it everything he's got as a gruff military type who's eager to quell the threat by bombing everything in sight. Henry Fonda rises above the fray as a dedicated immunologist, and Slim Pickens is quietly dignified as a bereaved father, while Olivia De Havilland forms the centerpiece of a gentle romantic subplot (she's courted by Fred MacMurray and Ben Johnson). Richard Chamberlain, Lee Grant, Jose Ferrer, Bradford Dillman and Patty Duke Astin are featured in supporting roles alongside leading lady Katharine Ross, who seems particularly embarrassed by her ridiculous dialogue (get a load of her hysterical reaction to the death of a sympathetic younger character - if you lean forward, you can almost *smell* the ham!).

The film exists in two separate versions: The 116 minute theatrical print, and an expanded 'director's cut' running 155 minutes which pads the narrative with pointless dialogue exchanges, turning a tightly constructed disaster thriller into an endless yak-fest. Stick with the original.