It's enormous. It's mean. It has no intelligence, so it can't be reasoned with. It devours everything in sight including the local diner. No, this isn't another story about Rosie O'Donnell, but something far more important to civilized society: a report on the annual "Blobfest", a celebration of the community in which the 1957 Steve McQueen shlock classic was filmed. Our intrepid writer Hank Reineke braved the wilds of rural Pennsylvania to report for Cinema Retro on this year's festival, which marked a half century since production began on the beloved sci-fi "epic". His report:
PHOENIXVILLE,
PA – JULY 13/14 -
Perhaps there is no more fitting a date than Friday the 13th to kick
off the Colonial Theatre’s 8th Annual “Blobfest.†The year 2007
marked the 50th anniversary of the actual filming of the revered science-fiction B-movie classic and the “Blobfest†committee planned to
commemorate this hallowed event accordingly. For starters, this year’s
“Blobfest†was subtitled “An Inconvenient Blob,†a not-so-subtle nod and a wink
to Al Gore’s alarm-bell documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.†The tie-in here
is, of course, Steve McQueen’s final line of dialogue in “The Blob†when he
earnestly notes that the world will remain safe from the monster – now frozen by
CO2 fire extinguishers and soon to be imprisoned in ice – “as long as the arctic
stays cold.†On this summer’s day, the sold-out crowd at the two o’clock
screening howled at the line.
In truth, the weather was
delightfully warm and welcoming for the Blob’s return. The street outside the
Colonial Theatre bustled, as is the “Blobfest†custom, with classic cars of the
1950s, street vendors selling everything from fast food to monster-movie related
items, live rockabilly music as provided by “The Rivers,†a fire extinguisher
parade (don’t ask) and a celebrated costume contest hosted by the scary folks of
WVVH-TV’s “Ghoul A-Go-Go.†This year “The Blob†shared the bill with another
two vintage sci-fi films that both fall into the “so bad they’re entertainingâ€
category: Ib Melchior’s “The Angry Red Planet†(1960) and the Japanese
eye-roller “Warning from Space†(1956). In short, Saturday at “Blobfest†was a
B-movie lover’s paradise.
Prior to the Saturday matinee
screening of “The Blob,†the festival committee presented an entertaining
hour-long panel discussion that featured affectionate remembrances from a roster
of filmmakers, actors and extras. Producer Jack Harris, returning to
the Colonial Theatre for the first time since the film’s production in the
summer of 1957, recalled the difficulty of casting the lead teen role of “Steve
Andrewsâ€. Harris had first seen Steve McQueen in the television drama “The
Defenders.†That episode featured Ralph Bellamy and William Shatner as the
lawyers to McQueen’s angst ridden defendant. Harris was really taken by
McQueen’s edgy performance and immediately telephoned director Irvin “Shortyâ€
Yeaworth with his casting suggestion. But Yeaworth would have none of it.
Harris reported that Yeaworth argued that McQueen was “a dirty guy†and a
“miscreant.†Yeaworth warned Harris that McQueen had been “busted†and –
perhaps more unforgivably – was the type of guy that “drove his neighbors
crazy.†Harris also admitted that when “The Blob†was first released in the fall
of 1958 the film had many detractors, one out-rightly dismissing his sci-fi opus
as “a piece of crap†movie. Harris defiantly answered “this piece of crap movie
will outlast you,†and he was, of course, absolutely right. Harris also
confirmed that there are plans in the works for a 50th anniversary
re-make “The Blob†in 2008. This announcement was met with a smattering of
polite rather than ecstatic applause as many of the old school horror movie fans
on hand would probably choose not to tamper with the time-honored classic.
Kate Phillips (nee Kay Linaker),
the screenwriter of “The Blob,†admitted she never allowed herself to imagine
that the popularity of the film “would last this long.†Phillips, now a
relatively sprightly ninety-four years of age, felt the appeal of the film was
in part due to the fact the movie placed common, everyday folk in what she
describes – somewhat incredulously - as “real situations.†Phillips also felt
that “The Blob†anticipated the zeitgeist of the nascent youth movement of the
1960s. Here we had, in Phillips’ estimation and without the slightest trace of
irony, a bunch of “good kids running around to save the world from something
terrible.â€
Howie Fishlove, who clapped the
slate board for most of the production (and appears, briefly, as an extra in the
film) shared many of his memories. Fishlove, a serious sort, admitted that he
didn’t care much for McQueen at first, annoyed that the young star was reckless
with his motorcycling and unhappy with McQueen’s mischievous habit of tossing
firecrackers at the crew during shooting. Fishlove was also unsure of the
actual title of the film he had been assisting on: early “working titles,â€
according to Fishlove, included “The Molten Monster†and “The Molten Meteor.â€
Fishlove returned to college after shooting wrapped up in August of 1957 but
asked to be informed – via postcard - of the film’s final title upon release.
One day in October of 1958 he finally received a postcard reading, simply,
“Blob!†Fishlove also reminisced that he was angry when he sat in the cinema
and saw the final cut, upset that a good portion of the army of teenagers
fleeing the Blob’s attack on the Colonial Theatre were laughing – rather than
screaming - as they poured onto Bridge Street in Phoenixville.
Shorty Yeaworth’s son, Kris, was
also on hand. Kris had grown up in nearby Chester Springs where most of the
actual filming of “The Blob†had taken place. His memories of McQueen were more
fond than his father’s and he recalled the actor telling him early on that
“We’re gonna have a really great summer.†Kris remembered that McQueen would
often send him off to a local market to buy cigarettes, which only further
infuriated his father and made him more insistent that he should “stay away from
him.â€
Don Taylor was fifteen years old
when the crew came out to start filming. Don’s contribution to the film was the
loan of his beloved dog to the project. The dog, of course, escaped the attacks
by the Blob on any number of occasions in the final film and barked his way into
the hearts of monster movie fans everywhere. Taylor brought along a framed eight by ten
photograph of his old best friend and everyone in the theatre sighed wistfully.
Last up was Wes Shank who was not
actually involved in the making of “The Blob†but who - with his wife Judy - has been the principal
caretaker of the monster since November of 1965. It was back in ‘65 when the
young movie memorabilia collector arranged to buy the monster from Yeaworth for
a nominal sum. According to Shank, the Blob itself was made of silicon and
produced by Union Carbide at its factory in West Virginia. Shank recalled his
conversations with a score of chemists over the years. What would be the
eventual fate, he asked, of his beloved Blob? The chemists assured him that the
mass of silicon he treasured was near indestructible. After hearing this enough
and satisfied with the expert consensus, Shank admitted “What I find truly scary
about the Blob is that it will outlive me.â€
Shank can console himself as the
“The Blob,†in all probability, will outlive the rest of us as well.- Hank Reineke
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