The Swarm

1978
PG
1h 56m

IMDb RATING

4.5/10

YOUR RATING

Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Michael Caine, Richard Chamberlain, Patty Duke, José Ferrer, Slim Pickens, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Bradford Dillman, Lee Grant, Ben Johnson, and Fred MacMurray in The Swarm (1978)

Play trailer2:15

1 Video

99+ Photos

Disaster Horror Thriller

Deadly African bees spread over Texas and kill thousands of people. Scientists led by Bradford Crane and Captain Helena Anderson try to find an antidote and destroy the swarm - against the a... Read allDeadly African bees spread over Texas and kill thousands of people. Scientists led by Bradford Crane and Captain Helena Anderson try to find an antidote and destroy the swarm - against the advice of Army General Thalius Slater.Deadly African bees spread over Texas and kill thousands of people. Scientists led by Bradford Crane and Captain Helena Anderson try to find an antidote and destroy the swarm - against the advice of Army General Thalius Slater.

Director
- Irwin Allen
Writers
- Arthur Herzog III
- Stirling Silliphant
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.5/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Irwin Allen
Writers
- Arthur Herzog III
- Stirling Silliphant
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Videos1

Trailer 2:15

The Swarm

Photos101

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9:57

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Sir Michael Caine stated in an interview that during filming he thought the little yellow spots left by the bees on his clothing was honey, so he began to eat them, entirely unaware that what he was eating was actually bee feces.

Goofs
"In the background, a paralyzed scientist in a wheelchair kicks a door open." This is incorrectly regarded as a goof, as it is never stated that Dr Krim is paralyzed or has no use of his legs at all, merely it is indicated that he is wheelchair bound and even remarks that he does not intend to be "stuck in this thing forever."

Quotes
General Thalius Slater: By tomorrow there will be no more Africans... at least not in the Houston sector.

Crazy credits
Disclaimer in the closing credits: The African killer bee portrayed in this film bears absolutely no relationship to the industrious, hard-working American honey bee to which we are indebted for pollinating vital crops that feed our nation.

Alternate versions
The 2024 German Blu-Ray from Plaion features both the extended and U.S. theatrical cuts.

Connections
Featured in Inside 'The Swarm' (1978)

User reviews180

Featured review

7/10

Good B-Movie Bee Movie

The subject line says it all: this is a B-Movie about, well, bees. Sorry about the pun! Despite the big budget and big cast, this essentially is an old 1950's style B-Movie, and in that way it works very well as a guilty pleasure. Mixing together the cliched concepts of both a creature feature with a 70's disaster epic, what The Swarm ends up as is not quite exactly either one, but certainly a good part of both. The effects are good but not great, some of the performances are pretty good (Richard Widmark I thought played Slater very well), and it kept my interest for its entire (extended) running time. This one is worth checking out if you are a fan of Irwin Allen, bug movies, or 70s-style monster movies.