The Blob
It crawls. It creeps. It eats you alive!
Country
Genre
Budget
$240 000
Box office
$4 000 000
Director
Actors
Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, John Benson, Robert Fields, James Bonnet, Olin Howland, George Karas, Stephen Chase, Vincent Barbi
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Jack H. Harris
Camera operator
Thomas E. Spalding
Composer
Ralph Carmichael
Artist
Audition
Editing
Alfred Hillmann
Whole Team (23)
Whole Team (23)
Short description
A drive-in favorite, this sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steve and his best girl, Jane, as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The first to discover the substance and live to tell about it, Steve and Jane witness the blob destroying an elderly man, then it growing to a terrifying size. But no one else has seen the goo, and policeman Dave refuses to believe the kids without proof.
What's left behind the scenes
- The plot of the film 'The Blob' was based on the 1950 discovery of so-called 'star jelly' (also known as astromyxin or astral jelly) by four police officers in Pennsylvania. They attempted to pick it up, but the gelatinous material disintegrated. It was mistaken for a byproduct of industrial production or waste disposal.
- The actual filming took only a month, whereas creating the special effects took between six and nine months.
- The film was originally intended to be titled 'The Glob,' but it turned out that the name already belonged to comic book artist Walt Kelly. According to producer Jack H. Harris, the film's script was titled 'Molten Meteorite'.
- Initially, Paramount Pictures intended to show the movie as a double feature with Gene Fowler Jr.'s sci-fi film 'I Married a Monster from Outer Space' (1958). Market research and ticket-purchase surveys showed that audiences primarily chose 'The Blob.' Consequently, the advertising campaign focused mainly on this film.
- The alien substance is never actually referred to as a 'blob' in the film. In the script, it is designated as 'the mass'.
- The substance was created by special effects artists from Valley Forge Films. It consisted of silicone mixed with vegetable dye. Almost all scenes featuring the Blob were filmed in miniature on tilted sets. The Blob would occasionally grow in size or shrink. This effect was achieved by spreading the colored silicone over balloons. Dye was added to the silicone from time to time because, according to the script, the Blob became increasingly red as it absorbed more and more victims.
- The so-called 'star jelly' found in Pennsylvania in 1950 still exists. It remains in the container in which it was placed for delivery to the filmmakers in 1958. Over time, it has become a permanent fixture of 'Blobfest,' an annual three-day festival held every summer in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where the movie was filmed. The festival showcases the miniatures used during filming and features reenactments of some of the movie's scenes.
- The old man's cabin and the crater were filmed on a studio soundstage. Two cabins were built: one full-scale and a second model about one meter high, which was used for panoramic shots utilizing forced perspective.
- For the dining scene, a photo of the building was placed on a table equipped with gyroscopes, and the camera was set up there as well. The table was shaken, causing the Blob to slide off. The negatives were then developed in reverse, making it appear as though the substance was crawling onto the building.
- Before the Blob attacks the movie theater, the main characters, played by Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut, stand in front of the entrance. Across the street, the dark windows and turned-off sign of a shoe store called 'The Bootery' are visible. On the evening this scene was filmed, the store owner happened to be staying late. Seeing that filming was taking place nearby, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity. This is why, when the terrified moviegoers run out of the theater, the windows and displays of the shoe store are brightly lit, with sale signs visible behind the glass.
- Steve McQueen is never shown smoking in the film, but during filming, he was never without a lit cigarette. In one of the scenes, a wisp of smoke can be seen rising from behind McQueen's figure. The actor was holding a lit cigarette behind his back.
- The scene in which the Blob devours the doctor was significantly cut during editing. At the time, it was considered too gruesome.
- When the crowd of viewers runs out of the cinema, the same man is shown three times (wearing a short-sleeved plaid shirt and sunglasses). Similarly, a woman runs out of the cinema three times (an African American woman in a blue dress with a gold handbag). She can be spotted closer to the right edge of the screen.
- In one of the film's episodes (the reverse car race), it is noticeable that the gases are being sucked into the exhaust pipe rather than coming out of it.
- In the siren scene, when the character wakes up and gets dressed, the sound of the siren changes from an air raid warning to a fire alarm. You can even hear the director prompting the actor with the word "Fire!" a split second before the actor says it.
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