Poster
Watch

The Swarm

The Swarm

  • Status: Released
  • 14-07-1978
  • Runtime: 116 min
  • Score: 5
  • Vote count: 173

Scientist Dr. Bradford Crane and army general Thalius Slater join forces to fight an almost invisible enemy threatening America; killer bees that have deadly venom and attack without reason. Disaster movie-master Irwin Allen's film contains spectacular special effects, including a train crash caused by the eponymous swarm.

Michael Caine

Brad Crane

Katharine Ross

Capt. Helena Anderson

Richard Widmark

Gen. Thaddeus Slater

Richard Chamberlain

Dr. Hubbard

Olivia de Havilland

Maureen Schuester

Ben Johnson

Felix

Lee Grant

Anne MacGregor

José Ferrer

Dr. Andrews

Patty Duke

Rita

Slim Pickens

Jud Hawkins

Bradford Dillman

Maj. Baker

Fred MacMurray

Maj. Clarance Tuttle

Henry Fonda

Dr. Walter Krim

Cameron Mitchell

Gen. Thompson

Christian Juttner

Paul Durant

Morgan Paull

Dr. Newman

Alejandro Rey

Dr. Martinez

Don 'Red' Barry

Pete Harris

Elizabeth Rogers

Woman Scientist

Doria Cook-Nelson

Mrs. Durant

Robert Varney

Mr. Durant

Ernie F. Orsatti

Duty Officer

Patrick Culliton

Sheriff Morrison

John Furlong

Cameraman

Chris Petersen

Hal

Jerry Toomey

Eddie

Barbara Costello

Receptionist / Nurse

Jenifer Taurins

Nurse

David Himes

Radioman

Mara Cook

Secretary

Joey Eisnach

Bee Boy

Stephen Powers

Radarman

Chris Capen

Lieutenant

Tony Haig

Officer #2

Bill Snider

Radarman #2

George Simmons

Nurse

Arell Blanton

Sergeant

Trent Dolan

Radio Sergeant

John Williams

Launching Officer

Steven Marlo

Pilot #1

Phil Montgomery

Mechanic

Jim Galante

Doctor

Frank Blair

Self

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

Buzz Barbee

Briefing Guest (uncredited)

Ken Clayton

Dr. Moore (uncredited)

Marneen Fields

Train Passenger (uncredited)

Bob Harks

Townsman (uncredited)

Mike Johnson

Burning Man (uncredited)

Jack Krupnick

Train Passenger (uncredited)

Lawrence Moran

Colonel's Son (uncredited)

Monty O'Grady

Briefing Guest (uncredited)

John Otrin

Wild Lines (uncredited)

Leoda Richards

Briefing Guest (uncredited)

Norman Stevans

Briefing Guest (uncredited)

Ragnar_Danneskjöld

Before we had Murder Hornets...We had THE SWARM!!!! In the 70s, this was one of the media's tools to terrify the populace. Unbelievably as it may seem, when released this movie scared the pants off of America in the same way that Jaws did when it made it to the theaters. The Killer Bee swarms in South America, created in cross-breeding African and Western Honeybees, of course had to share the stage with the other big threats of the day: The Upcoming Global Ice Age and Nuclear Power Plant disasters, both of which also made minor appearances in this film. Nevertheless, the fashionable fear in 1978 was bees and Hollywood was there to make sure YOU got the message that Man was bad and Nature would soon kick his ass. That asides, the movie in itself now is laughable, no better than the Global Warming Fear Films that the SyFy channel (AKA NBC) churns out today. The movie passes well beyond the level of believable when train passenger cars explode as they roll down a hill, the nuclear plant explodes like an atomic bomb killing 36 thousand people or when the military decides to burn Houston like Sherman did Atlanta, even though the bee swarms are not inside buildings or cars. The over-the-top fiction that even 2 stings from these bees will kill you, even though Science (oh, doesn't the Left like to laud that term up on a pedestal when it suits their agenda) knew at the time that the level of toxin in this new strain of bee was no more lethal than that of the average Honeybee. Rather, it was their aggressiveness in tracking threats and ruthlessness of their attack, compared to normal bees, that was the true fact of concern. The movie does bring a grade A cast to the table and most of the performances are respectable, although I did find the fact that Michael Caine liked to explode and shout through scenes rather disconcerting and over-dramatic. There are plenty of other situations that make no sense, like Henry Fonda's character using himself for a guinea pig when he's the only one who can work on a serum or Michael Caine breaking out a pane of glass to gain entry to a locked building, when people were already inside who could have opened the door, when the bees were attacking the town (and now had easy access to all the people in the building via the broken glass). Unlike the other disaster films of that decade, The Swarm doesn't even come close to being a serious threat and is little more than an inconvenient buzzing in the ear of the audience.