Fess Parker

[The Baron]

Obituary

Another old icon gone. The funny thing is, I never saw him in the roles he was famous for, but remember him from his brief but memorable cameo in the film Them!, which starred James Arness, brother of the late Peter Graves.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I used to watch Daniel Boone reruns every day when I came home from school ... that was back in the days when there still were independent TV stations that used to fill up time with stuff like cartoons from Warner Brothers, Walter Lantz (Woody Woodpecker and cohorts) and Harvey (Casper the Friendly Ghost and pals); sitcoms like Here's Lucy; schlocky comedies and horror movies from the '50s and '60s;

... and, well, reruns of fare like the original Mickey Mouse Club and Daniel Boone. Fess Parker came across on that show as an affable presence, strong without being ostentatiously "tough," if you get what I mean (like, say, Chuck Norris or Steven Segal).

[Doctor Hmmm?]

That sounds vaguely familiar, Baron. Can you remind me of the scene?

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

The Village Voice blog has an interesting anecdote about Parker.

And I second Doc's question, Baron. It's been a few years since I've seen Them! -- what did Parker do in it?

[The Baron]

Fess Parker played a Texan pilot who'd seen a giant flying ant. Since the existence of giant flying ants had not yet been made public, he was locked up in a psych ward. Arness and one of the other characters went down to Texas and interviewed him. They reassured him that he wasn't crazy, and that they'd do what they could to get him released. Once they left his room, however, they told the shrinks to keep Parker locked up until they said he could be released. Sure hope someone remembered to let him out, eventually, and I'm sure glad nothing like that happens in this country in real life.

Of course, a very young Leonard Nimoy was in that picture, too.

[Commander Benson]

Rob Staeger said:

It's been a few years since I've seen Them! -- what did Parker do in it?

Parker appeared in one scene, but it was memorable, more so because of his personality. He played Alan Crotty, a Texas ranch foreman who was piloting a plane destroyed by giant flying ants. When he told his story, he was confined to a mental ward---where he was interviewed by FBI Special Agent Graham (James Arness). This confirmed that some of the mutated aunts had survived the destruction of the original nest and had bred a new colony.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Cool -- Thanks, Commander!

(I just tried to find a video of his scene online, but so far, no luck.)

[The Baron]

Of course, now I know what disk I'm breaking out and watching later tonight.

[Commander Benson]

Them! was the epitome of the "giant-creature/nature-run-amok" genre of SF film. This was the result of the confluence of an intelligent, well-developed script; creative direction by Gordon Douglas; and solid, capable acting by James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn (an inspired choice), Joan Weldon, Onslow Stevens, Parker, and virtually every other performer. (The performance by Sandy Descher, the little girl who, before the actual start of the film, saw the rest of her family devoured by the ants, is unsettling and horrifying in its import.) Nobody just walks through his scene, and everyone gives the situation an adult, mature handling. This is what gives the situation an undertone of legitimate, palpable menace.

Them! set the benchmark that other films of this genre aimed for but rarely reached.

[The Baron]

I know what you mean - Them! started out like an episode of some 50's cop show - if you didn't know beforehand, it'd be quite a ways into the picture you realized you were watching a sci-fi movie. There never was a better "giant insect" movie - the only one which comes close for me was Mothra, which went in the opposite direction, being as deliriously unrealistic as possible. But Them! tops them all.

[Commander Benson]

The Baron said:

Of course, now I know what disk I'm breaking out and watching later tonight.

As inviting as that thought is, I'll be watching something different. I finally broke down and bought a DVD set---the first season of Mannix. That's the season of the show that no station ever re-runs because of its different format, but it was always my favourite. That was the season that Mannix worked for the high-tech, computerised agency, Intertect, run by his old friend, Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campenella). The angle of the first season was Mannix's old-style, gut-instinct sleuthing versus Wickersham's insistence on the modern approach of sterile analysis by data.