"You mean this little pebble’s been out there Hot-Roding around the universe?"
An alien from outer space lands near a small town. An old man gets too close to it, and it grabs on to his hand. Steve Andrews (Steve McQueen) and Jane Martin (Aneta Corseaut) find him and take him to the doctor. The thing starts to grow and devours the old man, and the doctor, and the nurse, and then heads to the local garage for the second course. Each time it eats someone it grows bigger. Number 5 on our “How to create a monster” list. Something from outer space.
Really great movie. Really slow movie. And I mean sloooow. I loved “The Blob” when I was a kid and I still do. It’s just that there is an awful lot of nothing in between the action. And a lot of violins too. The opening credits with “The Blob” theme song have more pep in it. (A Theme song written by Burt Bacharach and Mack David.) After that there are violins. After the “kids” sneak out of the house there are violins. When they are stuck in the freezer there are violins. When they are stuck in the diner there are violins.
In between the violins you’ll find lots of blob, hot-rods, and teenagers trying to spread the word. Now you’re talking. Once the action starts the fun starts. “Blob” (played by food coloring and silicone.) looks a lot like Raspberry Jam but don’t let it fool you. It’s silent and it will sneak up on you when you’re not looking. Get too close and you’re absorbed.This simple premise is what makes this horror movie a classic. And I don’t care what you do, you can’t beat a classic.
McQueen was 28 at the time he played this 17-year-old. Corseaut was 25. Corseaut played Andy Taylor’s girlfriend Helen Crump on “The Andy Griffith Show”. I can forgive the less than stellar acting since these two actors were old enough to have kids instead of play kids.
Movie
The Blob (The Five Blobs) 1958