I decided to shake the dust off of
The Blob (1958) before diving into
Beware! The Blob and
The Blob (1988).
When a meteor crashes down on the outskirts of a rural Pennsylvania town, it is up to a teenage couple, played by Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut, and their hot rodding friends to save the community from an amorphous, jelly-like creature that devours every living thing in its path. As the alien mass, which emerges from the crash site as a gooey substance that covers the hand of a hapless elderly hermit and gradually increases in size as it consumes more people, makes its way from one unsuspecting victim to another, our young protagonists are greeted by skepticism from the local adults. All bets are off, however, when the titular menace wreaks havoc at a crowded movie theater.
The 1958 sci-fi horror feature,
The Blob, which was directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. (
4D Man,
Dinosaurus!), distributed by Jack H Harris, and created independently in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, far from the familiar locales of Hollywood, still stands as one of the finest offerings of drive-in cinema from that decade, despite its odd casting, its simple premise, its crude special effects, and its endearingly sloppy continuity errors. Steve McQueen, who was 27 years old during the filming, looks way too old for his teenage character, as do Corsaut and the other actors who are supposed to be rambunctious high school kids. Certain scenes place characters against authentic backgrounds, only to show them seconds later against differing color backdrops. During the centerpiece rampage at the theater, several extras can be seen laughing as they run from the monster. The blob itself, which was created from silicone and red dye, moves as slow as molasses, but still manages to overtake perfectly healthy people who apparently did not receive the memo that cardio is the number one rule in life.
Somehow, despite its surface flaws, everything comes together with this movie, and it struck a chord with audiences of the late 1950s. I suspect that much of its success is due to the fact that, in early monster movies of that era, the heroes were usually stodgy old authority figures or adult scientists. The idea of allowing teenagers (or older actors who are playing teenagers) to save the day at a time when the older generation of World War II veterans often looked down on the young with disdain was a stroke of brilliance. The Cold War-era nuances of the movie are worth a mention as well, with regard to the teenage heroes trying to warn obvious townspeople from a terror that seems to crazy to be believed and, of course, with regard to the creature itself, which becomes larger and redder each time it assimilates an American into its mass.
The Blob was one of my favorite movies during my childhood, and I used to watch it with fascination each time it aired on the Turner Broadcasting System SuperStation. I loved the notion that an actual space alien may be an oddly incomprehensible life form, as opposed to the standard little green men that usually populated sci-fi fare decades ago. I also warmed up to the inherent likability of McQueen as a courageous lead and to the now humorously quaint aspects of the town in the film. Finally, this is a fantastic-looking cinematic endeavor, thanks to its widescreen colors by De Luxe that jump out of the screen during every still frame.
The title song, “Beware of the Blob”, which was written by Burt Bacharach and Mack David, is a groovy good time that kicks off the proceedings with a wink.
I give this film five stars, because its sheer blobittude cannot be denied.
During the film's conclusion, when the deadly creature is defeated and transported to the Arctic, we are reassured by McQueen's character that everything will be okay
“as long as the Arctic stays cold.”
Going by this logic, I'm expecting the Blob to awaken for another rampage any day now.
This
Criterion Blu-ray sports a high definition presentation that is pretty much beyond reproach. The colors look incredible here. Two commentary tracks examine the movie's place in 1950s cinema, while a collection of stills show us some interesting stage sets and props.
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