THE BLOB (Criterion, 1958) D: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., w/ Steve McQueen, Aneta Coursaut. Rating: NNN Blu-ray package: NNNN Rating: NNN
Red jello from outer space crashes to Earth, chows down on Pennsylvania small-towners and starts to grow at a monstrous rate. Only a couple of teens know what’s happening, and the cops won’t listen.
There’s surprisingly little cheese in The Blob – a bad line reading and some clunky dialogue here and there – but cast and crew take the story seriously and pull off some tense moments and okay low-budget effects. Also, there’s a cool theme song by an uncredited Burt Bacharach.
Steve McQueen, in his first starring role, has the presence that would make him an A-list movie star within five years, and he’s surrounded by veteran character actors who lend credibility to the proceedings.
The Blob’s production history, related by producer Jack H. Harris on the first of two commentaries, reveals a lot about the state of indie filmmaking in the days before film school, while director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. and actor Robert Fields give a good account of the shoot all three tell fun McQueen stories.
EXTRAS Two commentaries, memorabilia gallery, essay booklet. English audio. No subtitles.
