Producer/distributor Jack Harris and director Irwin Yeaworth began their careers filming religious movies back in the early 1950’s. Circumstances led to the duo crossing over into commercial filmmaking with the 1958 monster film, THE BLOB. Low-budget science fiction and horror films were hugely popular during this period and both Harris and Yeaworth were determined to create a picture that would rise above the competition. Instead of spending huge amounts of money for name stars, they opted for unknowns in the major roles, and characters actors in the secondary roles. This allowed the filmmakers to put most of the budget into the special effects and color film stock. Paramount distributed THE BLOB, which was a hit with the matinee and drive-in crowds. Sequels and remakes followed, but none lacked the charm and wonder of the original. Home video has never been kind to THE BLOB, until the advent of LaserDisc. Criterion produced the LD version to great acclaim, and in late 2000, they finally released it to DVD. Criterion made sure the special edition DVD was better than the LD, so the disc includes an improved transfer and 2 newly recorded audio commentaries.

The late Steve (HELL IS FOR HEROES) McQueen debuts here as teenager Steve Andrews, a young man who has a difficult time getting people to believe he witnessed a monster attack. Aneta (THE TOOLBOX MURDERS) Corsealt plays Steve’s courageous girlfriend, Jane. Earl Rowe is the disbelieving police officer, Dave. John Benson is the skeptical Sergeant Bert, who believes Steve is pulling a prank. Steve (WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE) Alden portrays Dr. Hallen, the man who studies the creature. Robert (THE STEPFORD WIVES) Fields is Steve’s friend Tony. Olin (THEM) Howlin is the old man who discovers the Blob and becomes its first victim.

Small town teenager Steve Andrews (McQueen) and his girlfriend, Jane (Corseault) are getting romantic in the woods, when they spy a shooting star crashing over the hills. Steve and Jane forget romance, and speed off in Steve’s hotrod (didn’t every small town teenager have one?) to investigate the crash. Nearby, an old hillbilly (Howlin) finds the crash site and accidentally cracks the meteor open with a stick. A small alien Blob attaches itself to the old man and begins consuming him. Steve and Jane happen to ride by the old guy as he is running frenzied through the woods. Steve narrowly avoids hitting him, but then takes the traumatized man to the town physician, Dr. Hallen (Alden). The physician cannot believe what he is witnessing, as the alien Blob grows bigger by consuming the hillbilly. Dr. Hallen asks Steve to check out a few things for him, and as Steve and Jane leave the old man in the care of Dr. Hallen, they get sidetracked by Steve’s hot-rodding friends (which leads to a confrontation with officer Dave).

Dr. Hallen calls his nurse to assist him in determining what they are dealing with. When she arrives, the blob has completely dissolved the body of the old man. Furthermore, it exhibits predatory behavior and begins stalking and consuming the nurse. Dr. Hallen tries using his shotgun to stop it, but this only serves to make the formless creature more aggressive. Steve returns to the Dr. Hallen’s office just in time to see the Blob dissolve the physician’s body. Steve can’t believe what he just witnessed—and when he takes his story to the police, they can’t believe it either. Hard-assed Sergeant Bert believes that Steve and his teenage buddies are trying to pull off some prank. His superior, Dave (Rowe), wants to believe the teenagers’ claims, but there is no evidence to support that a man-eating monster exists. Steve, Jane, and their teen friends take the situation into their own hands and begin a campaign of awareness. Steve eventually tracks the alien Blob to his father’s supermarket. As soon as Steve and Jane enter the store, they are pursued by the gelatinous mass, which chases them into a meat locker in the rear of the building. However, the jelly-like tendrils of the creature leak through the cracks of the door. A frantic Steve and horrified Jane look for a way to save themselves. But the authorities do not believe that a monster exists; so who step forth to save them?

THE BLOB is a superior 1950’s monster film, because it efficiently delivers the small-town thrills, with some quality acting not usually associated with the genre films of this period. Irvin Yeaworth and Jack Harris provide ample story progression and tense pacing (with the exception of a few scenes at the police station). One of the keys to the film’s power is the chronological narrative flow. That is, it takes place in real time (during the period of a single night), which contributes to the urgency of the film. THE BLOB begins with lovebirds Steve and Jane stargazing, which leads them to discover the old man, whom they take to Dr. Hallen’s house. The rest of the film chronicles the Blob’s progress, and the teenagers’ plight to be taken seriously before it’s too late for the townspeople. Later that evening, the Blob is defeated and the teens are declared heroes. The notion that all this is unfolding in the span of a single night, makes THE BLOB seem more authentic.

The adolescent characters in THE BLOB are not your token teenagers. There are no troublemaking delinquents or arrogant jocks. They all have an important role in the film, and pretty much alert the whole town to the menace. The teenagers then help to put the Blob on ice (literally). If you can overlook the fact that the actors and actresses playing the teenagers (like McQueen, Corseault, and Fields) are pushing 30, then you can enjoy their spunky performances. It was important that the filmmakers include the subtext about the teenagers vs. the adults—this plot thread creates additional tension to parallel the ongoing mutation and murder spree of the Blob.

One of the key scenes in THE BLOB shows the title creature attacking a movie theater that is showing the 1955 film, DAUGHTER OF HORROR. The Blob kills the projectionist and oozes out into the theater to the amazement of the patrons. This was the first time the movie-within-a-movie scenario was successfully executed, and William Castle was so impressed that he used the idea the following year for his next picture, THE TINGLER. Another lesser (though no less important) moment of catharsis in the film, is when Jane’s father, a Principal, stoops to vandalism and breaks into his own school! Other suspenseful bits involve the Blob trapping Steve, Jane, and her little brother inside a diner, and completely enveloping the structure with it’s mass. Bart Sloan’s special effects range from poor to very good. Some scenes depict an intimidating, stalking predator; other scenes look like a quivering bowl of jelly. In one sequence that shows the Blob oozing by the movie theater, the background is clearly an upright cardboard cutout. This scene aside, the animation and composition effects look fairly convincing.

There is not an overabundance of extras here, but what we get is very well done and completely satisfying. First, there is the classic trailer (FF, Mono, 1:45). Then you can explore the Photo Gallery feature (one of the better I’ve seen) which provides glimpses of production art, behind-the-scenes stills, and cast photos. These pictures are accompanied by facts about the film, the stars, the monsters, and the production. The highlight of the Special Features section is without a doubt, the dual audio commentaries. Both commentaries were recorded during summer 2000 exclusively for this DVD. The first is with producer Jack Harris and film historian Bruce Eder. The other commentary is with Irvin Yeaworth and THE BLOB actor Robert Field (who plays Tony). You can use your Audio key to alternate between commentary tracks (way cool!). There is also an index available for each audio commentary. Want to know how they did the special effects? Just highlight the topic and the commentary jumps to that specific portion. I have to admit, usually the director’s comments are the most interesting part of an audio commentary; and the producer comments are usually fluff. This time Jack Harris carries the load, with his smooth vocals coming through perfectly. ‘Film historian’ Bruce Eder fills in the gaps in Harris’s commentary, but he comes off as a know-it-all fanboy. After Harris has his say, Eder goes off on an extended tangent educating us on the fine art of 1950’s juvenile delinquency films. The second commentary track is not as fact filled as Harris’s, but entertaining nonetheless. Yeaworth and Fields recall their individual experiences on the film, and their comments are not ruined by a fanboy co-commentator. The DVD also includes some impressive menu navigation complete the film’s opening theme song, Beware the Blob. Criterion also through in a poster of the cover artwork, folded up inside the keepcase.

- Darren Collette