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This B-movie classic starring a totally young Steve McQueen gets a shining high-def release from Criterion....
Criterion / 83 Minutes / 1958 / Unrated / Street Date: March 12, 2013
A meteorite falls to Earth near a small town. An old man discovers the site where the meteorite landed and reaches down to examine the curious object. Suddenly something latches onto his hand, and he cannot pry it off. He runs for help, where he is found on the road by two "teenagers" (Steve McQueen and Aneta Corseaut). The teenagers take him to the town doctor, who is dumbfounded by the condition.
Later the teenagers are outside the doctor's home when the doctor appears at the window, apparently under attack by something indescribable. The kids go to the police, who are very dubious, and their incredulity is increased when they do not find the doctor after searching the torn apart house. But the teenagers know there is something terrible, something insidious out there, and they have to find it before it finds them.
Is The Blob really a cult classic? I do not know. I do know that I have never heard anyone utter the words "You've GOT to see The Blob!" However, The Blob is an amusing little film that probably will not make much of an impression, except perhaps for the striking color palette and Burt Bacharach's hokey (but catchy) theme song. The acting is poor at times, and it probably was not helped by the fact that they were doing as few takes as possible in order to stay within budget. Even Steve McQueen delivers an atypical performance that is best forgotten. McQueen was at his best when he was brooding and playing it cool in films, but he did little of that in his exuberant Blob performance.
McQueen's feigned exuberance is explained by the fact that his character is supposed to be a teenager, and McQueen was trying to act ten years younger than he actually was. His female costar Aneta Corseaut (best known for playing Helen Crump on The Andy Griffith Show) was allegedly 25, and actually looks older than her reported age. Their romantic dialogue is bland and boring. Fortunately these moments do not take up much of the 83 minute running time here.