The Blob (1958)

Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.

USA

82 min, color, English

Review © 2004 Branislav L. Slantchev

I did not approach this film with the right expectations, which probably explains my serious disappointment with it. I had just seen It Came From Outer Space, and thought that this would be another solid piece of sci-fi. Well, it was a piece of something, but solid it was not. It is a flick that was obviously made on the cheap, and that rarely rises above B-level. It does have Steve McQueen, who hams his way through like this was his first acting role ever, which it was. But it's still a stupid film that is not even particularly entertaining.

If women had higher standards, we'd be dead	Close encounter of the slimy kind

The premise was promising: a meteorite crashes just as Steve is putting the moves on Jane (Aneta Corsaut). An old-timer pokes it with a stick and gets some slimy substance all over his arm. It turns out that the substance is... THE BLOB, an alien slug that will destroy the earth. It cannot be killed, it cannot be stopped, it cannot be reasoned with (it's not clear whether it is even reasoning or an animal). In short, it is indestructible. So it's a pretty cool idea overall.

Who's up for a game of chicken?	Driving backwards? Is that illegal?

Unfortunately, that's all the film has going for it. The blob is truly horrifying unless one can muster the strength to crawl, at which point one can get to a safe distance pretty quickly. For some reason everyone who sees the blob manages to trip over his or her shoelaces and position himself or herself conveniently for consumption by said blob. This would not have been too bad except the blob grows after devouring people. That's bad even if the blob grew by about five times the amount of matter it consumed (or else it was snacking when nobody was looking).

Dog steals the scene	Teenage delinquency in the 1950s

How do you stop the unstoppable? How do you destroy the indestructible? Who let the dogs out? These are all valid questions. Unfortunately, our teens are in bad straits for all adults, as usual, treat them with mild amusement and neglect. (Nobody believes them.) That's because they are all delinquents. In the 1950s that meant unbuttoning your top shirt button, and going 50 mph on the highway. You can see these kids would never amount to any good. But they do, thanks to a well-meaning policeman (Earl Rowe) who does not let the generation gap get in the way of incompetent law enforcement. When the juniors and seniors put their heads together and combine their skills with a decent animator, the blob is bound to get it. Maybe. Recall that it is indestructible.

Oh, no! It's meat from rBGH-treated cows!	The blob oozes from the projection room

The film has some nostalgic value for many people. For me, it was amusing to see what people thought were real problems with adolescents in the 1950s. Everyone is really good and nice, wholesome Americans all. That goes for the nearly thirty-year olds who were straining to pass themselves for teenagers. The special effects were neat, surprisingly so. They should have put more blob in the film. They should have also let the dog get it (for dramatic purposes). Otherwise, the only memorable thing about this film is the truly cool opening credits song.

United we stand (and lose)	ILM, eat your hears out!

It is amazing that Criterion would go out and restore this schlock while we're all waiting for a decent release of Gamera films. Still, when they do something, they do it well, and this DVD is no exception. The anamorphic widescreen picture is excellent, with stable colors and nice contrast throughout. The mono soundtrack is crisp and audible, which is what you need to get into the groove of the title song. There are two audio commentaries that are actually quite informative. Some photos round up the extras.

August 1, 2004