The Swarm (1978)

Richard Widmark: Gen. Slater

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Quotes 

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

• [Slater is about to attack the swarm with a highly toxic pesticide] 

  Brad Crane : General, if you use that, nothing will grow out there for the next 10 years!

  General Thalius Slater : Why worry about shaving when somebody's going to cut your head off!

• [Crane has found something at the ravaged picnic site] 

  Brad Crane : [holding it up]  Plastic. It's a piece of a plastic cup. There are pieces all around here.

  [he starts pointing out the other fragments] 

  Brad Crane : Look. Look, there. There. There.

  General Thalius Slater : What's so significant about that?

  Brad Crane : I'm afraid to speculate. But, I think, the bees, did this.

  Major Baker : Are you saying these bees eat plastic?

  Brad Crane : No, no. But I'm wondering. Your American honeybee has a weak mouth, that couldn't even break the skin, of a grape. But it looks like this species, is tearing up, plastic cups, possibly to line their hives. Now, if this is true, they didn't, just get here. I mean, the invasion, didn't, just now begin. They have been here some time. Breeding. Increasing.

  General Thalius Slater : So?

  Brad Crane : Well, suppose these bees, are using plastic, to insulate their hives.

  General Thalius Slater : No bee is that smart.

  Brad Crane : Suppose these African bees are.

• General Thalius Slater : Houston on fire. Will history blame me, or the bees?

• [Watching Crane pray after Helena suffers toxic shock from a bee sting] 

  Major Baker : Can we really count on a scientist who prays?

  General Thalius Slater : I wouldn't count on one who doesn't.

• Airman #2 : [radioing from a helicopter]  Oh, my God! Bees! Bees! Millions of bees! Air Search Two-Eight to base. Bees. Millions of bees!

  General Thalius Slater : Bees?

• Brad Crane : Are you endowing these bees with human motives? Like saving their fellow bees from captivity, or seeking revenge on mankind?

  General Thalius Slater : I always credit my enemy, no matter what he may be, with equal intelligence.

• Brad Crane : These bees, General, are of joint concern, and they are killing Americans, without reference as to whether or not they have a serial number and are expected to salute YOU! So there will be no air drops of any kind until I give the OK!

  General Thalius Slater : Your OK, huh? Then just possible I can persuade you to attack this particular swarm, now that we know where it is! Attack and eliminate it!

  Brad Crane : Possibly, if you can explain to me, how you air drop chemicals, without killing the native insect life! If your chemical will kill the African bee, it will also kill the American bee, right?

  General Thalius Slater : Right! And better a few American bees than a lot of AMERICAN PEOPLE!

  Brad Crane : That is the point, General! The honey bee is vital to the environment! Every year in America, they pollinate six billion dollars worth of crops! If you kill the bee, you're gonna kill the crops! If you kill the plants, you'll kill the people! No! No, General! There will be no air drop, until we know exactly, what we are dropping, and where, and how! Excuse me!

  [Crane storms off] 

• Dr. Hubbard : [Dismayed]  They're brighter than we thought.

  Dr. Krim : [Defeated]  They always are.

  General Thalius Slater : [Brash]  Maybe you shoulda tried bourbon and branch water and got 'em drunk!

• Airman #1 : [radioing from a helicopter]  Air Search One to Top Kick. We have visual contact.

  General Thalius Slater : Identify.

  Airman #1 : A black mass, sir. A moving black mass. Zero altitude. Dead ahead. They're hitting us! Oh my God! We're out - we're out of control! Ahhhhhhh!

• General Thalius Slater : Give me some of that bird seed.

• General Thalius Slater : Who are you?

  Brad Crane : I'm an entomologist.

  General Thalius Slater : Bugs?

  Brad Crane : Insects, General!

• General Thalius Slater : Slater to Air Search One. Contact and identify outgoing objects bearing 183 degrees. Distance: 30 miles. Estimated speed: 7 miles per hour.

• General Thalius Slater : Doctor Connors hasn't the foggiest idea whether I'm on, off, on top of, or under this complex!

• Jud Hawkins : I'm Jud Hawkins. I asked these tin soldiers of yours if I could see my son and they tell me its impossible. No way.

  General Thalius Slater : Who is your son? Why do you think he's here?

  Jud Hawkins : Because he was stupid enough to join your damn outfit, that's why! His name is Mark, Airman Mark Hawkins.

• General Thalius Slater : Rude sonofabitch, isn't he? Never even introduced us. You'd think he was a general.

• Brad Crane : How will you prevent the wind from carrying your pesticides across cities, parks, farms, and schools?

  General Thalius Slater : Sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils.

  Brad Crane : Ridiculous, General!

• General Thalius Slater : Well, you dropped your poison pellets and the Africans spit at it. Now they're moving towards Houston faster than expected.

  Dr. Hubbard : General, you should know that the enemy's always expected to do the unexpected.

• General Thalius Slater : I can tell you right now, we're going to have trouble with that nuclear power plant. No way they'll shut down voluntarily. Millions of people in the area need the energy.

  Dr. Hubbard : If we don't shut 'em down, the bees will.

• General Thalius Slater : The bees have formed almost a complete circle. Billions of 'em. And that's what we've been waiting for.

  Brad Crane : Waiting for what?

  General Thalius Slater : The battle plan is to get 'em all into one area - and then *zap* 'em.

• General Thalius Slater : So, the occupation of Houston has begun - and General Thailus Slater is your first officer in history to get his butt kicked by a mess of bugs!

• Major Baker : General! General!

  General Thalius Slater : What the hell's going on?

  Major Baker : The bees have broken inside.

  General Thalius Slater : Now what?

• General Thalius Slater : English?

  Brad Crane : American.