The Blob

If you happen to be statistically inclined here’s a little project you might find interesting. Just attend a few science fiction conventions and chart the ages of the attendees. You will notice what you might expect, a large spike around late teens to early twenties. What you might not anticipate is a second peak for baby boomers; those of us born in the fifties. We grew up in the golden age of Sci-Fi when every week you could go to the local movie house or drive-in to watch horrible creatures invading earth or the marvels of technology help us explore the universe. This reflected the actual world we lived in where atomic power and space flight was rapidly becoming common place. There are many flicks that invoke fond memories of s Saturday afternoon sitting in a dark theater with friends watching a creature feature but one in particular seems to exemplify the genre; the 1958 cult classic; ‘The Blob’. This movie just seems to represent the fifties Sci-Fi genre perfectly from how it was constructed to being the launching pad from many, long, successful careers. I must have seen this film literally hundreds of times and it never ceases to be a lot of fun. As far as midnight fun flicks go you can’t get much better than this one. It has practically everything you could want from s movie of this sort and it is certain that if you happen to be a baby boomer it is certain to result in a lot of great memories flooding back. Thankfully this is one of many movies like this that have been released on DVD I’m sure that a lot of the people who remember this movie have this as part of their collection already but for that younger population spike at the conventions this movie is a required part of your education if you ever hope to present yourself as a Sci-Fi aficionado.

The script is typical of the genre; simple but very well executed. Behind the screenplay were Theodore Simonson and Kay Linaker. Both were new to writing for films but they had prior teleplays in a couple of the TV dramatic anthology series that made for great television during that time. The direction fell to Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. who also directed another of my favorite flicks of the period ‘The 4D Man’. This is considered one of the best drive-in movies ever for s fee simple reason; the plot doesn’t get in the way of the fun and the characters are readily identifiable to the target demographic of teens old enough to have cars. In fact the opening sequence is one that is familiar to many of that group; parking in a dark, remote spot. The teens so involved are a good girl, Jane Martin (Aneta Corsaut) and her boyfriend from the tough side of the tracks Steve Andrews (Steve McQueen). They are interrupted by a shooting star streaking across the sky. Steve estimates it was a meteorite that landed nearby and wants to go find it. Before they can get there an old man (Olin Howland) comes across the object and pokes it with a stick. The vital life lesson we received from this film is never poke a meteorite with a stick. The old man didn’t know this and some goo flies out of the broken rock and begins to eat away at his hand. The kids almost run him over and rush him to the local physician, old Dr Hallen (Alden 'Stephen' Chase). He was about to leave to go to a medical conference but stays with his nurse/ realizes that he has to amputate the affected limb but before he can perform the procedure the mass grows enveloping first the man then the nurse. Jane and Steve return from inspecting the site at the behest of the doctor only to see him consumed by the ever growing gelatinous creature.

The kids try to tell the authorities, Lieutenant Dave (Earl Rowe) Sgt Bert (John Benson). Dave is friendlier to the teens of the town only scolding Steve for a recent stunt of drag racing backwards on Main Street while Bert is fed up with the lot of them. This also means than Dave is more likely to believe the kids when they recant their outrageous tale that basically comes down to a bowl of Jell-O eating people. With little help from the adults Steve and Jane enlist the assistance of the local teens. There was a group that was enjoying fright night at the local theater join up until the thing oozes through the projectionist booth resulting in panicked patrons flying into the streets. After a tense encounter at the Supermarket owned Jane’s father there is a final showdown at the town’s diner trapping Jane and Steve inside as the Blob literally grows large enough to surround the entire building. Of course at the last minute the kids discover the Blob’s only weakness is cold and with the help of troops outside freeze it solid. There are some many iconic scenes in this one that never seem to get old. One is the deadly red gel slipping through every little crack and opening. This was the very first film for Steve McQueen who would go on to an A List career. Corsaut was best known as Sheriff Andy’s Griffith’s girlfriend in ‘Mayberry’. One note that I hadn’t realized for many years is the origins of the theme song. My late wife and I joked about it for many years; a silly ditty with someone singing ‘Beware of the blob’. This song was written by legends in the music world; Burt Bacharach and Mack Davis. Yes the men, who would go to composing some of the great songs of our time, particularly had a national hit with this off best tune. This is just one of the cult classics that needs to been seen and appreciated by the next generation of genre fans.

Posted 07/18/2010