Review of "The Blob," science fiction movie

 Review of

The Blob, science fiction movie

 Four out of five stars

 One of the better B-level SF movies

 There were many “B” grade horror movies made in the 1950’s, when we watched them on the local late show decades later we called them “horrorable.” They generally featured a poorly developed monster, humans initially hapless in response, clichéd dialog and several helpless, screaming females. While this movie has some of that, it has two things that are often lacking, a well-developed monster and the incorporation of the rebellious teenager plot that was also a part of many films in the 1950’s.

 Steve McQueen (then billed as Steven) stars as the young teen hero (Steve Andrews) in a small town. A meteorite strikes near an isolated house and the elderly man that lives there goes out and investigates. The meteorite opens and an amorphous creature emerges and latches on to his hand. After the man runs out across the street, Steve stops and takes him to the local doctor.

 The creature feeds on flesh and grows as it feeds. While Steve and his girlfriend Jane (Aneta Corseaut) try to convince a local officer about the danger, the other officers dismiss Steve as a practical jokester. The creature continues to feed and expand and it is up to Steve to warn the town with the help of his friends. When things seem most dire, they discover a way to subdue the creature.

 Now a classic of the s-f/monster movies of the 1950’s, this one has special effects that have stood the test of time and has a minimum of hysterical female participation. The respect that officer Dave demonstrates to Steve differs from the position taken in many other films of that time.