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The Swarm (1978 film)

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The Swarm
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIrwin Allen
Screenplay byStirling Silliphant
Produced byIrwin Allen
StarringMichael Caine
Katharine Ross
Richard Widmark
Richard Chamberlain
Olivia de Havilland
Ben Johnson
Lee Grant
Jose Ferrer
Patty Duke
Slim Pickens
Bradford Dillman
Fred MacMurray
Henry Fonda
Cameron Mitchell
CinematographyFred J. Koenkamp
Edited byHarold F. Kress
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • July 14, 1978 (1978-07-14)
Running time
116 minutes
156 minutes (extended cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$21 million[1]
Box office$10 million

The Swarm is a 1978 monster horror film about a killer bee invasion of Texas. It was adapted from a novel of the same name by Arthur Herzog.

The director was Irwin Allen, and the cast included Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Richard Chamberlain, Olivia de Havilland, Ben Johnson, Lee Grant, Patty Duke, Slim Pickens, Bradford Dillman, Fred MacMurray (in his final film appearance), and Henry Fonda. Despite negative reviews and being a box office failure, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

Plot

A group of soldiers led by Maj. Baker (Bradford Dillman) is ordered to investigate a basement level station which they believed was attacked. After Baker contacts his commander, Gen. Slater (Richard Widmark), they begin to investigate who drove a civilian van into the base. It is revealed to be owned by a scientist named Dr. Bradford Crane (Michael Caine). Slater orders two choppers to check for a black mass (revealed to be bees), and they are sent out of the sky.

Cast

2

Alternate versions

The film was released initially at 116 minutes. When released on laserdisc in the 1980s, it was expanded to 156 minutes. This 156-minute version is the one available on DVD.

Reception

Many filmgoers and critics consider this film one of the worst "disaster films" ever made[citation needed], along with Allen's subsequent films Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and When Time Ran Out (1980). It was one of two disaster films (the other being 1979's Beyond the Poseidon Adventure), directed solely by the "master of disaster" Allen, who had experience directing several films and many episodes of his TV shows.

The film was a notorious box office bomb upon its release in 1978, barely making it two weeks in theaters. Michael Caine, despite other failed films, claims it is the worst film he ever made (along with his decade-earlier film The Magus and his later film Ashanti): "It wasn't just me, Hank Fonda was in it too, but I got the blame for it" he claimed in an interview with Michael Parkinson.

The film is also famous for Olivia de Havilland's "Scream Moan", in which when she sees the dead children outside the window she moans a scream.

Score

The musical score was composed by Academy Award winner Jerry Goldsmith and used French horns and such to sound like the humming of bees.

The score was originally released on Warner Bros. Records in 1978 at the same time of the film's release, but has since gone out of print. An expanded, remastered score was released in a limited edition by Prometheus Records and contained over 40 minutes of previously unreleased material. It has also gone out of print.

Remake

The film is currently in negotiations for a remake. Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment is producing.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 150-151
  2. ^ Beware The Swarm! Again!
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