Happy Birthday BEWARE! THE BLOB!
OK, it certainly isn’t as good as the original The Blob (And what really is?), but let’s give it up for Beware! The Blob! which oozed its way into theaters 50 years ago today.
BlobFest Double Features Announced!
The folks at the Colonial Theatre and BlobFest have announced the two films that will form the second part of the two double features with The Blob that will be screening during BlobFest on July 13 and 14th. The Saturday afternoon double feature co-bill will be the 1951 classic The Day The Earth Stood Still while the second film on Saturday night’s Double Creature Feature will be Caltiki The Immortal Monster. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a favorite and Caltiki makes a great compliment to The Blob. Either way, you can’t loose. In case you’re unfamiliar with either film, here are their trailers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uCLpwFDX78
FilmBuffRich on April 21st, 2012 | File Under Blob Facts | No Comments -THE BLOB – A Script Extract
Can’t make it to BlobFest this weekend to see a screening of the movie? Simply act out the film in your own home! To help you out, here is ascan of a page from the original script. Have fun!
Wes Shank
So, if you’ve taken the Blob Tour, by now you’re asking, “Who is this Wes Shank, anyway? And why do I care what he says?”
Well, quite simply, Wes Shank is the The Caretaker of The Blob.
We first met Wes at the BlobFest 2001 and, although he was quite busy, we had some time to talk with him and his wife. They were able to direct us to many of the locations used in the movie.
Wes brought his “foster child” (and other souvenirs from the movie) to the BlobFest, and we were able to take this picture.
During a quiet moment I asked Wes, and was actually allowed to touch The Blob. Most people (and I was one of them) believe the prop to be quite soft like Jello. Actually it was very firm. Wes explained that when they needed it to “perform” it was heated with lights to make it more pliable. It was placed on miniature sets with a camera set on one end. When The Blob needed to move towards, the camera, the set was tipped forward, when The Blob needed to move away from the camera, the set was tipped backwards. The Blob itself is made of silicone and was originally clear, just like The Blob in the movie before it ate the old man.
Tony’s Car
Where would a teen movie be without cars? Tony (Robert Fields), “Mooch” (James Bonnet), and Al (Anthony Franke) are seen several times cruising around town, helping Steve, and eventually helping retrieve the fire extinguishers from the school–always in Tony’s hot rod, a 1940 Ford coupe.
Part of BlobFest 2002 included a classic car show. The focal point of the show was Tony’s car.
Smile
Many locals were used in the making of The Blob. However, director Yeaworth was severely criticized for his lack of control over the extras. Case in point…
This classic scene shows the moviegoers running out of the theater after the Blob ate the projectionist and started oozing into the main theater area. If you look, you’ll see that most of the extras were really enjoying themselves, as indicated by the huge smiles on their faces.
Pay particular attention to the couple at the center of the picture. The woman in the pink dress and the man in the white shirt are running off to the left.
This next picture appears in the movie just a few seconds afterward.
The same couple is exiting the theater and now running off to the right. But they’re still obviously having a good time.
Many of the extras used in this scene were from St. Pius X in Pottstown and Phoenixville High School.
FilmBuffRich on June 25th, 2007 | File Under Blob Facts | No Comments -Trivia
Kate Phillips was paid $125.00 for receiving a co-writing credit for The Blob.
The monster is referred to as “the mass” in the shooting script.
The film was originally going to be called The Glob. It was changed when it was discovered that cartoonist Walt Kelly had already used that title.
The Blob was created with a modified weather balloon in the early shots, and in the later shots with colored silicone gel.
The last time Steve McQueen was billed as “Steven”.
Steve McQueen was offered $2,500 or 10% of the profits. He took the $2,500 because he wasn’t expecting the film to make much. It ended up grossing over 4 million dollars.
The producers originally signed Steve McQueen to a three-film deal with this being the first project. McQueen was so difficult to work with during filming that he was released from his contract for the other two films.
The barking for the little dog was provided by Sound Director, Gottfried Buss (information provided by Steven Buss, son of Gottfried Buss).
Pamela Bickel (now Mrs. Gottfried Buss) watched Steve McQueen’s dog while he was on the set. She also turned down the opportunity to take a motorcycle ride with him (information provided by Steven Buss).
Royersford resident, Rosemary Neal, was asked to stand in for Aneta Corsaut for a scene in Steve McQueen’s car. Corsaut was ill that evening, and Rosemary Neal had the same hairdo. She was paid $25.00 for her participation (information provided by her son, Richard Neal [via message board], and Barry Miller).
The old man who discovers and becomes the first victim of the Blob was played by veteran character actor Olin Howland. This would be his final film in a career than spanned almost 200 films going back to the silent era.
When Steve and Jane go to the police station to report the death of Dr. Hallen, the calendar on the wall reveals that it is July 1957.
Barry Miller, a former Royersford resident, wrote in about the Jerry’s Market scene. Barry, along with some friends, were extras in the scene. The scene was shot about 7:00 p.m., shortly after his Little League baseball game ended at Lewis Road and Washington Streets. If you look closely in the Jerry’s Market parking lot scene (which was supposed to take place in the early morning hours), you’ll see a few kids in their Little League uniforms. Extras in the scene were “paid” a hoagie for their participation.
The newspaper being sold outside of Jerry’s Market is the Inter-Borough Press (information provided by Barry Miller).
The fire stations participating in the Jerry’s Market scene were the Humane Fire Company and the Friendship Fire Company in Royersford. The fire station in the Downingtown Diner scene was the Downingtown Fire Department. Yet these two scenes were supposed to take place in the same town (information provided in part by Barry Miller).
The Colonial Theatre sequence shows a poster for a film titled “The Vampire and the Robot”. Although this was one of the proposed U.S. titles for Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952), the movie is a phoney. It is a doctored poster for Forbidden Planet (1956)
The movie being shown at the Colonial Theatre was Daughter of Horror, originally released as Dementia (1955). According to Jack Harris’ attorney, Jack purchased Daughter of Horror from the estate of the filmmaker. The movie was silent, so Jack added a narrator, Ed McMahon. He inserted McMahon, wearing a stocking over his head and walking through a cemetery as he spoke. Jack told Johnny Carson about it one day when they were getting a haircut together at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Carson surprised McMahon on The Tonight Show with the clip that Harris provided (information provided by Michael Ravnitzky).
Although producer Jack H. Harris always claimed that this film cost $240,000 to produce, years later director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. said that the actual cost was only $120,000.
In some of the promo material, the character played by Aneta Corsaut is referred to as “Judy”. Her character in the film is named “Jane”.
Dick Powell, who was the head of Four Star Productions, asked to see a rough cut of this film. This led to the casting of Steve McQueen in the television series Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958).
This independent production was originally picked up by Paramount for use on the bottom half of a double bill with their in-house production of I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958). Early marketing tests and initial bookings indicated that a larger share of the ticket buyers were coming for this film rather than I Married a Monster, so it became the main feature and more money was spent on its promotion.
In 1986, Ray Keim (a former Phoenixville resident) and his fiancé (now wife) entered a gingerbread house competition at Exton Mall (in Pennsylvania). They chose the doctor’s house to recreate in gingerbread, and won first prize. The gingerbread house was pretty huge (The base was 4 square feet). After the competition they had this 20 lb gingerbread house, and didn’t know what to do with it. It became a minor celebrity in town, making temporary homes at the Phoenixvilleville YMCA and the Phoenixvilleville Public Library. Finally, the current owner of the house, bought it from them. He placed it under glass in one of the front rooms. In 2003, Ray and his wife took their kids trick or treating around the old neighborhoods. They ended up at the house. The owner was having a little Halloween party in the living room. They unmasked themselves, and re-introduced themselves as the “gingerbread people.” The room lit up, and the owner asked us if they wanted to SEE it! He took them into the front room, and there is was! A beautifully preserved, 17 year old gingerbread house!