The Blob

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The Blob

Directed by	Irvin Yeaworth
Produced by	Jack H. Harris
Written by	Story: Irving H. Millgate Screenplay: Kay Linaker Theodore Simonson
Starring	Steve McQueen Aneta Corsaut Earl Rowe Olin Howland
Music by	Ralph Carmichael Burt Bacharach
Cinematography	Thomas E. Spalding
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	Image:Flag of the United States.svg September 12, 1958
Running time	86 min.
Language	English
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For other meanings of this term, see Blob.

The Blob is an independently made American science-fiction film from 1958 depicting a blob-like alien that terrorizes a small town. The film achieved instant success and today is recognized as one of the prototypes of the 1950s American sci-fi film.^{[citation needed]} It features the debut peformances of Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut. The film is also known for its tongue-in-cheek theme song, "Beware of the Blob" which was written by a pre-stardom Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

1 Synopsis
2 Production
3 Legacy
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Blob is an amorphous creature from another planet which lands on Earth encased in a meteor. It escapes, then survives and grows by absorbing any human being or animal with which it comes in contact. A group of teenagers discover the Blob but the adults won't believe them until it is almost too late. The Blob's one weakness is cold; in the end, it is hit by freezing gas (specifically, carbon dioxide fire extinguishers) and frozen solid. Thus frozen, it is shipped to the Arctic.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Production

The Blob was directed by Irvin Yeaworth, who had directed more than 400 films for motivational, educational, and religious purposes. Yeaworth was never particularly proud of this film.^{[citation needed]}

The Blob was filmed in and around Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The primary shooting took place at Valley Forge Studios, and several scenes were filmed in the towns of Chester Springs, Dowingtown, Phoenixville and Royersford. It was filmed in color and widescreen.

Steve McQueen received only $2,500 for this film; he had turned down an offer for a smaller up-front sum with 10% of the profits because he didn't think the movie would make any money; it ended up grossing $4 million.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Legacy

A comedy sequel was made in 1972, entitled Beware! The Blob, directed by Larry Hagman. In 1988, a remake was made, in which the Blob is rewritten as a secret government project gone wrong. In 2006, Paramount Pictures announced a second remake will be produced by Scott Rudin, slated for release in 2007; Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes, who penned the remake of House of Wax, have been hired to write the screenplay.

Scenes from The Blob appear in the 1975 musical, Grease.

Since 2000, the town of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania - one of the filming locations - has held an annual "Blob Fest." Activities include a re-enactment of the scene in which moviegoers run screaming from the town's Colonial Theatre, which has recently been restored.

"Treehouse of Horror XVII", an episode of The Simpsons, contains a parody of The Blob, in which Homer Simpson eats a green marshmallow from space and turns into a large mass that consumes everything.