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Title: The Blob Post by: Angilas on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM A great movie, and a great monster! Such a simple idea: a blob of protoplasm that grows as it absorbs human victems, quiet, doesn't leave a trace of it's doings when it leaves, and it's still scary today! For proff I had the most terrifying nightmare about the Blob the other night.
Beware the Blob! Title: The Blob Post by: David Fullam on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM "The Blob" is the ultimate pop culture film! Would you believe I bought the DVD one day before your review appeared here? Criterion put the DVD out and it is spectacular. A crisp, letterboxed print, packed with a ton of extras (including a mini poster), I highly reccomend it.
Title: The Blob Post by: on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM The Blob is the seminal "old man investigates" film. How many others have borrowed - or spoofed? - it's opening? Probably the best spoofs were Killer Klowns from Outer Space", where the old man finds the circus tent, and The Stuff, where a pile of goo is also found, only this time he tastes it!
No coincidence both are found on this website! Title: The Blob Post by: Chadzilla on November 25, 2006, 04:09:03 PM In the world of b-movie monsters The Blob is the undisputed King of the Mountain. Think about about it, how many other monster do you know of that could win a fist fight with this thing?
Side bar to Andrew: The remake cleared up all those little factual errors in the original, but a lot of the charm was lost in the realism. Great flick. Title: The Blob Post by: Ned on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM The Blob was filmed here in Chester County Pennsylvania. I used to live at the property where the studio was. The blob ate the Phoenixville "Colonial" theater, and the Downingtown Diner, both still standing. The studio also was a producer of religious films.
Title: The Blob Post by: Bob Weymouth on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM The Blob is one of my all time favorites. The second one paid homage to the first when the young male lead said, "I think I killed the strawberry jam!" Young Stephen McQueen, if he had called her "Janie Girl" one more time, wouldn't have had the Blob to worry about. I loved that mischievous but lovable gang of young youth (or yutes) prowling around town getting into trouble pushing parked cars around and driving backwards. Its a shame today's yutes aren't as cute. I am going to go watch it now......wait, what's that?...it's coming toward me,.....aauugghhh!!!!
Title: The Blob Post by: Kent Hicken on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM "It creeps, and leaps, and slides and glides..." Oh man, this movie brings back some horrifying (yet somehow fond) childhood memories for me! Like the review said, I insisted on watching "The Blob" when I was eight and, like the review said, I was terrified for weeks... of course, the Blob was always just under the bed ready to pounce!
The sequel, "Beware, the Blob!" actually sent me running home from a neighborhood pal's house after I saw Godfrey Cambridge sitting down on his "blobba-sized" La-Z-Boy chair... whooo man! Anyway, my sister and I are going to make sure that my nine year old nephew has the chance to see this "classic!" Whhhhooooo Haaaaa Haaaaa Haaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Title: The Blob Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM Indeed "a true classic of the genre" and indeed worthy of 5 slimes. If for no other reason, then this is the film that made Steve McQueen a star. Enjoy
Title: The Blob Post by: Paul Westbrook on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM I am really glad that this movie, finally got a well deserved mention on this site. This, the original Blob was the classic of drive-in fare of the fifties. I really enjoy the scenes with the Blob at the movie theatre, as all the teens run in panic, as the Blob attacks. Kind of reminds me of what happens at a movie theatre today, but only when the film is rotten. The remake has it's own appeal, but this is the better of the two. You noticed, I never mentioned Son of Blob, directed by Larry Hagman, which, in my opinion bastardized the whole genre.Stick to this, the only definitive version.
Title: The Blob Post by: Scaarge on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM The Blob is a great monster, one of the scariest. Because unlike practically every other monster I can think of, the Blob is totally silent...you never know when it's nearby. Other monsters roar or buzz or something (the ants from Them sound like car alarms) or at least make some kind of noise when they walk.
This is one of the reasons I prefer the original to the remake. In the remake, the Blob squeals and mewls and sounds like a toilet flushing when it moves. Nice gore effects though. Title: The Blob Post by: Mike on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM The blob song lyrics " Beware of the blob, the blob the blob the blob blah da da the blob the blob blah da da the blob" Repeat
Title: The Blob Post by: Dr. Maniac on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM Steve McQueen was 26 years old when he played 17 year old Steve Andrews (whew! at least they didn't name his character Archie!) and he allegedly told the director "I can't play 17, I'll just be myself." which explains the backwards drag race scene.
The old man who finds the blob is Olin Howland. Most of us remember him as Jensen, the likable wino in THEM! who takes his sighting of giant ants rather matter-of-factly ("Well they're gone now!"). For those who care, if you visit Downingtown, PA today you will find the Downingtown Diner just as it was when the movie was filmed. Someone bought it and restored it to its old look. You can enjoy a burger and fries and even pick up a copy of THE BLOB on VHS. The movie theatre is still there too but it is a multiplex now. The grocery store is long gone though. Speaking of the theatre, freeze frame on that poster. It shows Robby The Robot from FORBIDDEN PLANET but the title says THE VAMPIRE AND THE ROBOT. That was one of the titles for Bela Lugosi's movie OLD MOTHER RILEY MEETS THE VAMPIRE during its very breif run in this country. Could it be . . .? Title: The Blob Post by: lostmissy on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM for the poor lost souls who enjoyed this movie (and who also have a large amount of idle time and alcohol readily available), I highly recommend "the creeping terror" ..words cannot begin to describe that experience!! .
Title: The Blob Post by: dash riprock on February 26, 2002, 11:14:25 AM Ahhhh.... the innocence,the two parent families, the cozy hometown, the friendly hometown cops, makes me want to jump through the tv screen and into the 50`s.
Title: The Blob Post by: fishmorgjp@yahoo.com on March 10, 2002, 02:14:19 PM Oh yeah... scared hell out of me when I was a kid, especially when the doctor is seen struggling at the window. I think the blob was made out of food thickener -- bean gum or something.
Title: The Blob Post by: Swamprat on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM Classic "B" of the highest order. I don't know of anyone who doesn't remember this one fondly. She calls her car "Elvis" cause it "Shakes and shimmys but can really go." Who ever wrote this thing had to have done some time somewhere as a gagman. The only hangup I've ever had about this film is Steve McQueen as a teenager...hard, very hard...but Hell! He's Steve McQueen, one of the coolest guys to ever leave a mark in American film. This was one of the few "B" horor movies of its time that seems to have had any real effort put into it. They didn't have much to work with but they did a damn good job with what they had...I love it when a film gives me that sort of feeling...no matter how "bad" the film itself might be. The Blob is not a "Bad" film...it's a fine little B monster movie that can certainly serve as an example of the genre when it's done well. If you ever get the chance to see it in a real theater be sure to check all the fire extinguishers...ya never know.
Title: The Blob Post by: Rita Fetter on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM I love The Blob, and live just a few miles from where it was filmed.
I'm looking for anyone who was around when the movie was made, either as extras or bystanders. I'd also like to hear from anyone who had relatives who were in the movie. I have a Blob Site at: http://theblobsite.150m.com and I want to fill out my trivia section. I'd like to make it the authority on the making of the original film. I have the Criterion DVD, but would really prefer to hear some first or second hand stories. Dr. Maniac's comments are wrong is a few details. The Downingtown Diner does *not* look like it did in the movie, and the Colonial Theater is not a multiplex. --Rita Title: The Blob Post by: John on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM The remake was 100% better! 'nuff said!
Title: The Blob Post by: klas on November 25, 2006, 04:09:03 PM the reason why every thing looks so brilliant and detailed during the night shots is that it was all shot in daylight (french night) where all ligthing are extra strong and cameras are coupled with special light deminishing filters.
Title: The Blob Post by: George on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM I was 9 years old and had a great time.
Picture the "Last Picture Show" town and theater, with three rows of kids complete with our Saturday Movies brown bag with grapes, apples, oranges, and plums. The entertainment included the Blob, another equal "feature", several serials, and a half dozen cartoons for 25 cents. What I remeber most of the picture was the cute girl in the row ahead of me that I had no clue how to communicate I thought she was cute, my horse riding buddies in line with me kidding about the film, and the manager, a man of saintly wisdom keeping the kids in line but happy with the event. Steve McQueen turned out to be a truely great actor. The blob was along the lines of the Creature of the Black Lagoon, the whole gang of kids, small town same kids, got to see at Church Youth Group on a Sunday night, only rather than the Saturday movie brown paper bag of fruit, we had coolaid and sugar cookies. You would have to be a kid in the 50's in a small Texas town to get the great fun The Blob gave us, which was not about the movie but children growing up where you could go to any door in town and be welcome, and children got to be children without hinderances or fears. That movie brings back to me very fond memories of America at its best. Title: The Blob Post by: Mark Spangler on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM What can I say. This is THE classic.
A few neat tidbits... yes, that IS Helen Crump as Steve McQueen's sweetie. She apparently moved on from here directly to Mayberry. The title tune is not to be missed and everytime I pop in the video, my eight-year-old son rolls his eyes and sways when the chorus intones "ooooohhhh, ohhhhh" like a passing European police siren. Is it just me or does the blob, at times, resemble poop... I mean, it's a little red, like poop from a pup that has an intestinal bug, but poop none-the-less. Watch the patrons running out of the "air conditioned" theatre. They're LAUGHING. How can I pay the prices TODAY that were advertised in the grocery store window THEN? I like cheap watermelon. Why are the firemen wearing white? And I know they're supposed to remain calm, but when the "fallen electric line" bit didn't kill the blob all we get is a dead-pan "it didn't work." Odd, the teenagers were the heroes here and the Chief of Police was not a bad guy. Unusual for a 50's flick. Doesn't Steven McQueen bear a striking resemblence to STEVE McQueen from "The Great Escape", "Bullit" and "Towering Inferno" fame. GREAT FLICK... four kernals out of five! BEWARE OF THE BLOB WHEEEEE! Title: The Blob Post by: jazzman_2002us@yahoo.com on August 19, 2003, 03:30:18 PM I love this website. I also love the audio clips from the movie. I have loved this movie for the last 20 years and have seen over 8000 times, maybe even more. I know every piece of dialogue and every scene. Thank you for treating this classic with the respect that it deserves.
Title: The Blob Post by: Steve on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM This is THE prefect 50's Sci Fi monter movie. The plot is great, this was the first unstopable mindless creature from outrespace flic. The acting was great for this type of movie so what has anyone got to complain about?
Title: The Blob Post by: night heron on June 14, 2004, 09:14:28 PM IT CREEPS IT CRAWLS IT EATS YOU ALIVE and the unforgetible theme song and the part when her little brother throws his gun at it and being trapped in the diner wow what a classic they could never remake it as good as it realy was
Title: The Blob Post by: firebird on July 22, 2004, 09:37:00 PM I got this movie just a few months ago from a local second ahnd store for only $3:00 and its just great imagine old coot pokes small meteor with a stick and out comes THE BLOB
Title: The Blob Post by: just me on November 25, 2006, 04:09:03 PM Gotta love the classics!
You gotta wonder how they created the blob though, and made it move. Title: The Blob Post by: Samantha on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM I believe the remake belongs on this site. The remake was possibly worse than the original. I cannot the remake or the original were ever considered "horror."
Title: The Blob Post by: Sora the B-Movie Alchemist on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM A classic. The song was stuck in my head for a month (Arrrrgh! It came back!) And one comment I made in my Sci-Fi class summed up the last bit. "And then the blob ate the diner via osmosis"
And by the way, we all learned not to poke things with sticks. Violence: * Goofiness: ***** Monster: *** Actors: * Overall: *** Title: The Blob Post by: Carl Booth on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM As far as I'm concerned, the blob was the best actor in this film. It's too bad it didn't eat Janey's little brother.
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: giant Claw on March 05, 2007, 12:01:37 AM BEWARE OF THE BLOB IT CREEPS AND GREEPS ACCROSS THE FLOOR A SPLOTCH A BLOTCH BECARFUL OF THE BLOB wow that was one of the best theme song to a montser movie everand i got it on VHS a few years ago at YARD SALE
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: Joe the Destroyer on March 05, 2007, 01:27:16 AM The Blob always used to scare the living crap out of me as a kid. The ideas of something that could get you from any angle, could not be killed by almost anything, and painfully absorbed/melted you to death like acid were just a horrifying combination. I think the thing that freaked me out the most as a kid was that you couldn't hear it, so I would always think if it ever came for me when I was asleep there would be nothing I could do. God, was I an odd kid...
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: Kooshmeister on November 28, 2007, 01:09:52 AM Recently got the Criterion Collection DVD, and saw it for the first time. Great movie, although I prefer the remake (I think because I saw it first). Can't wait to listen to the commentaries on the DVD.
Incidentally, I noticed a couple of funny things in the movie I thought might be of interest to some people. Firstly, check out this close-up of the old man's Blob-covered arm: (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Kooshmeister/Movie%20Deaths/The%20Blob%201958/the_blob_1958_oldguy08.jpg) Except for the actual arm, it's obviously a flat, two-dimensional drawing. They basically just laid the false gooey arm over a painting of the actor's chest. Then I noticed something about Dr. Hallen's death scene. Poor, poor Dr. Hallen. I think I know why he didn't get out in time. Here he is after locking himself in the den and grabbing the phone: (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Kooshmeister/Movie%20Deaths/The%20Blob%201958/the_blob_1958_hallen05.jpg) And here is the quick shot of him getting eaten as seen through the window: (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Kooshmeister/Movie%20Deaths/The%20Blob%201958/the_blob_1958_hallen07.jpg) He's got his suit jacket on in the shot of him being devoured, despite not having it on when he came into the room. So obviously, the poor fellow just had to get his jacket before trying to make his escape, allowing the Blob enough time to get in and get him. Title: Re: The Blob Post by: Kooshmeister on December 28, 2007, 07:52:06 AM I had no idea a remake from 1988 counted as "recent," but I guess it is, in the grand scheme of things. Anyway I liked the remake quite a bit, although this may have something to do with the fact I saw it first.
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: James on July 14, 2008, 09:01:25 PM Come on. The Blob is the best American Classic horror 50's film ever made. Godzilla and The Blob tie.
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: Roy on October 25, 2008, 07:26:02 PM I absolutely loved this movie from the first time I saw it. It had everything I ever wanted/expected from a B-Movie and in my opinion it it the definitive example in the genre (at least from what I have seen so far). This movie launched me on a tangent of looking for similarly good B-Movies. I guess the reason why I like the genre is the nostalgic quality of it (even though I wasn't around in the 50's) and the fact that you can laugh at what's supposed to be scary and the then-original cliches of the plotlines. This one has it all.
P.S. The 1988 version is not as good as this one for a few reasons; namely the less-nostalgic qualities and the attempts to make it more of a futuristic Sci-Fi film/action thriller. There were just too many subplots for it's own good. You should definitely see 1958's version first. Title: Re: The Blob Post by: D-ster on October 28, 2009, 07:20:55 PM the blob was the 1st 50s si fi movie i saw and really i think that "Them" and the blob are the same. 5 star!
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: Some guy on March 05, 2010, 05:25:08 PM I love "The Blob" I think I saw it when I was 10 or 11. I still have the vhs...
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: judge death on July 25, 2010, 04:59:13 AM The blob was a hit because it tapped into the zeitsgeist of the day" Commie phobia.
Think about it, the blob was a red, faceless, mindless mass bent on expanding itself by forcibly absorbing honest, decent americans into itself. Gee, what else in the world did americans have that image of in the 50's? It became the perfect commie surrogate. BTW, McQueen was sure the movie was dumb and wouldn't work for a percentage of the box. (This was before hollywood routinely screwed over the books so no movie ever makes a profit on paper) He took a flat, small salary. The blob became a hit and the people who took percentages made a lot more than he did. Title: Re: The Blob Post by: judge death on July 25, 2010, 03:00:43 PM Note that the 1988 sequal had the government responsible from the blob as no one in america was all that scared about "commies" anymore, but we were worried about our own government. Next blob will have to be a stand in for corporate america.
Title: Re: The Blob Post by: judge death on July 25, 2010, 07:25:18 PM Recently got the Criterion Collection DVD, and saw it for the first time. Great movie, although I prefer the remake (I think because I saw it first). Can't wait to listen to the commentaries on the DVD. Incidentally, I noticed a couple of funny things in the movie I thought might be of interest to some people. Firstly, check out this close-up of the old man's Blob-covered arm: ([url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Kooshmeister/Movie%20Deaths/The%20Blob%201958/the_blob_1958_oldguy08.jpg[/url]) Except for the actual arm, it's obviously a flat, two-dimensional drawing. They basically just laid the false gooey arm over a painting of the actor's chest. Then I noticed something about Dr. Hallen's death scene. Poor, poor Dr. Hallen. I think I know why he didn't get out in time. Here he is after locking himself in the den and grabbing the phone: ([url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Kooshmeister/Movie%20Deaths/The%20Blob%201958/the_blob_1958_hallen05.jpg[/url]) And here is the quick shot of him getting eaten as seen through the window: ([url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Kooshmeister/Movie%20Deaths/The%20Blob%201958/the_blob_1958_hallen07.jpg[/url]) He's got his suit jacket on in the shot of him being devoured, despite not having it on when he came into the room. So obviously, the poor fellow just had to get his jacket before trying to make his escape, allowing the Blob enough time to get in and get him. Quite a few scenes in the movie involved a blob prop and a still, 2d picture. The scene where it covers the diner, the scene where it's oozing into the diner are both set with 2d pictures. BTW, to see another masterpiece by the guy responsible for this, see "the 4d man". |