Character Relationship Map: Them!

Characters

• Sgt. Ben Peterson (played by James Whitmore) — protagonist

  A New Mexico State Police sergeant who discovers the catatonic girl and the destroyed trailer with his partner. He joins the FBI investigation, helps confront the giant ants, and later searches the Lo...

• FBI Agent Robert Graham (played by James Arness) — protagonist

  An FBI agent assigned to investigate the mutilated victims and the abandoned trailer. He works closely with the state police and the two myrmecologists, follows the investigation from New Mexico to Te...

• Dr. Pat Medford (played by Joan Weldon) — supporting

  A myrmecologist sent by the Department of Agriculture with her father to investigate the unusual evidence. She encounters a giant ant, assists in exploring the nest, travels with the FBI investigation...

• Dr. Harold Medford (played by Edmund Gwenn) — supporting

  An experienced myrmecologist and Pat's father who identifies the threat as giant, mutated ants. He uses formic acid to revive the frightened girl, explains the mutation theory, investigates the nest a...

• Trooper Ed Blackburn (played by Chris Drake) — supporting

  A New Mexico State Police trooper and partner of Ben Peterson. He remains at the ravaged trailer while waiting for assistance, hears a strange pulsating sound, and investigates alone. He fires at an u...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• FBI Agent Robert Graham → Trooper Ed Blackburn (Professional Investigation Connection) — Blackburn's attack forms part of the case Graham is assigned to investigate.

  Blackburn is attacked after Peterson leaves him at the trailer, and Graham is subsequently called in to investigate the case involving the trailer and...

• Sgt. Ben Peterson → Trooper Ed Blackburn (Professional Police Partners) — State police partners investigating the first attack sites.

  The plot identifies Blackburn as Peterson's partner. They investigate the trailer and store before Peterson leaves Blackburn to await backup.

• Dr. Harold Medford → Dr. Pat Medford (Family Father And Daughter) — They combine their scientific expertise during the investigation.

  The plot identifies Harold and Pat as father and daughter, and describes them as myrmecologists sent together to investigate.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Sgt. Ben Peterson → Dr. Harold Medford (Alliance Investigation Teammates) — Peterson provides field support while Harold interprets the ant threat.

  Harold directs Peterson and Graham during the encounter with the giant ant, and later joins the investigation into the colonies.

• Sgt. Ben Peterson → Dr. Pat Medford (Alliance Ant-Fighting Teammates) — They cooperate during the investigation and the final search.

  Pat is accosted by a giant ant near the trailer, and Peterson helps shoot and kill it after Harold explains how to disable it.

• FBI Agent Robert Graham → Dr. Pat Medford (Alliance Investigation Partners) — They work together across multiple stages of the investigation.

  Graham and Pat travel to Brownsville to investigate a witness's claim, and she later helps search the Los Angeles drains and confirm that no queens es...

• FBI Agent Robert Graham → Dr. Harold Medford (Alliance Investigation Collaborators) — Graham relies on Harold's scientific expertise to understand the threat.

  Graham works with Harold to investigate the giant ants, and Harold explains the threat and its possible consequences to the investigators.

• Sgt. Ben Peterson → FBI Agent Robert Graham (Alliance Investigation Teammates) — Their cooperation carries the investigation from New Mexico to Los Angeles.

  Peterson joins Graham's FBI investigation, and they work together with the Medfords to confront the ants and investigate their spread.

Story Analysis

An investigation into giant mutated ants expands from New Mexico to a worldwide threat, ending with the destruction of a Los Angeles colony and a warning about nuclear consequences.

Plot Progression

1. Desert Evidence and the First Attack — Peterson and Blackburn find a traumatized girl, a ravaged trailer, and a destroyed store. Blackburn is attacked, bringing federal investigators into the case.
2. The Ant Threat Revealed — The Medfords connect the girl's reaction to ants and identify the creatures as giant, mutated ants. The team finds a nest, but evidence reveals that queens have escaped.
3. Queens Beyond the Desert — The investigation follows reports across locations, while an escaped queen's offspring attack a freighter in the Pacific. A stolen sugar shipment and witness account direct attention to Los Angeles.
4. The Los Angeles Drain Search — Investigators conclude that the remaining queen and two missing boys may be in the city's storm drains. Under martial law, the search finds the boys and the final colony; Peterson dies saving the chil...