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Beware of the Blob!

It creeps and leaps and glides across the floor. It crawls... It creeps... IBlob postert eats you alive! Don't you just love it? It doesn't get any better than this! In 1958, this independently made science fiction/horror film depicted a giant amoeba alien that terrorizes the small town of Downington, Pennsylvania.

Today this film is a cult classic. The film was Steve McQueen's third feature film, but his first starring role. Because of him, this film became a hit in the drive-in theaters. Aneta Corsaut played his girlfriend and Olin Howland was the elderly old man.

In the film, the Blob comes from outer space and lands on earth inside a meteor. The two teenagers, McQueen and Corsaut drive the car to find out where it landed. Meanwhile, the elderly man heard the crash too, finds it and pokes it with a stick. The rock breaks open and voila! There's the blob which crawls up the stick and attaches itself to his hand. nurse with blobIt's all over from there.

By the time the teenagers get the old guy to the doctor's office, it engulfs him and eats the doctor and nurse too. The film ends with the words, "The End", which then morphs into a question mark. Will the Blob return?Only time will tell.

The blob was filmed in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and several scenes were filmed in Downington. If you arearound that area on July 10Th, don't miss the Blob Fest and Ball in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

During this movie, Steve McQueen was offered $2,500 or 10% of the profits. He took the $2,500 for food and rent,not thinking this film would be a hit. Little did he know, this film ended up grossing $4 million.

What was the Blob made of, you ask? It was originally created with a modified weather balloon for the sky shots and later made from silicone gel. Wes Hark, a horror movie fan and collector, actually owns the Blob. It was love at first fright!

Joyce Welling believes that once a hippie, always a hippie. She continues to be on a magical mystery tour and writes the blog I Am A Boomer, where she frequently dips into the pool of our collective nostalgia.

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