MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 586 this week

The Blob (1958)

6.3
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.3/10 from 11,087 users  
Reviews: 125 user | 105 critic

An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.

Writers:

(screenplay), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1019 titles created 9 months ago
 
a list of 63 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 77 titles created 3 months ago
 
a list of 20 titles created 07 Sep 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Blob (1958)

The Blob (1958) on IMDb 6.3/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Blob.
1 nomination. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

The Blob (1988)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A strange lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.

Director: Chuck Russell
Stars: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.

Director: Christian Nyby
Stars: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

A small group of military officers and scientists dwell in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies.

Director: George A. Romero
Stars: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato
Tarantula (1955)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

A spider escapes from an isolated desert laboratory experimenting in giantism and grows to tremendous size as it wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.

Director: Jack Arnold
Stars: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein (goaded by an even madder scientist) builds his monster a mate.

Director: James Whale
Stars: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.

Director: William Cameron Menzies
Stars: Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt
The Tingler (1959)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

Dr. Warren Chapin is a pathologist who regularly conducts autopsies on executed prisoners at the State prison. He has a theory that fear is the result of a creature that inhabits all of us.... See full summary »

Director: William Castle
Stars: Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman
Them! (1954)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.

Director: Gordon Douglas
Stars: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon
The Brood (1979)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, while a series of brutal attacks committed by a brood of mutant children coincides with the husband's investigation.

Director: David Cronenberg
Stars: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle
Sci-Fi | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

An ancient Martian spaceship is unearthed in London, and proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around.

Director: Roy Ward Baker
Stars: James Donald, Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A missile, launched by the team led by Prof. Quatermass, lands in the English countryside. Of the three members of the crew, two have mysteriously disappeared. The third one, barely alive, ... See full summary »

Director: Val Guest
Stars: Brian Donlevy, Jack Warner, Margia Dean
Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

Larry Talbot chips Frankenstein's monster out of a block of ice. When Talbot changes to the Wolf Man, the two creatures do battle.

Director: Roy William Neill
Stars: Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Steve Andrews (as Steven McQueen)
...
Jane Martin (as Aneta Corseaut)
Earl Rowe ...
Olin Howland ...
Old Man (as Olin Howlin)
Stephen Chase ...
Dr. T. Hallen (as Steven Chase)
John Benson ...
George Karas ...
Officer Ritchie
Lee Payton ...
Kate the Nurse
Elbert Smith ...
Henry Martin
Hugh Graham ...
Mr. Andrews
Vincent Barbi ...
George - Cafe Owner (as Vince Barbi)
Audrey Metcalf ...
Elizabeth Martin
Jasper Deeter ...
Civil Defense Volunteer
Tom Ogden
Elinor Hammer ...
Mrs. Porter
Edit

Storyline

A mysterious creature from another planet, resembling a giant blob of jelly, lands on earth. The people of a nearby small town refuse to listen to some teenagers who have witnessed the blob's destructive power. In the meantime, the blob just keeps on getting bigger. Written by Rob Hartill

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

blob | doctor | alien | meteorite | policeman | See more »

Taglines:

Indescribable... Indestructible! Nothing Can Stop It! See more »

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

12 September 1958 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

The Glob  »

Box Office

Budget:

$240,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

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. See more »

Goofs

When a shot from outside the diner shows the blob climbing onto it, the diner is clearly only a photograph, as you can see the blob make a clear shadow on the diner, the sky, and the street. See more »

Quotes

Steve Andrews: How do you get people to protect themselves from something they don't believe in?
See more »

Crazy Credits

SPOILER: When the movie ends it shows the blob being dropped into the Arctic."THE END "appears and changes into a question mark. See more »

Connections

Featured in Beware! The Blob (1972) See more »

Soundtracks

"THE BLOB"
Written by Burt Bacharach & Mack David
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Smarter than the average horror film
23 January 2001 | by (Boulder, Colorado) – See all my reviews

I have read many of the user comments and I think that the film is generally not getting credit for being a smart thriller. Why does the monster have to be on-screen to make it good? Hitchcock said that suspense plays better than action and although this film missed many opportunities to be more suspenseful, it's is at least not stupid.

In how many horror films today does the hero know the monster and its nature when he should? Steve knows what he's dealing with almost from the beginning and his frustration is not being able to convince the authorities.

Yet the authorities act in a totally credible way as well, even the annoying sergeant. Who would believe such a story from a bunch of "kids" (we know Steve wasn't a kid, but his character is).

One key example of the movie's intelligence: Steve is yelling to Dave to get CO2 fire extinguishers long after Dave has already gotten the message and dispatched people to get them. How many movies made in the 90s would be smart about this subtle detail?

I'm really tired of watching movies and having people behave in ways different than they really would in real life (the most irritating recent example is Tom Hanks falling asleep with the flashlight on in Cast Away). Horror films in particular do this in spades (which is why the Scream films have been so popular), but The Blob, to me, stayed pretty true to its characters, and in so doing made a smarter and better film.

Yes there are many flaws, perhaps biggest is Steve McQueen's very uneven performance, but I think they missed key opportunities for suspense that could have turned this above average, kinda scary, kinda funny movie that's a cult favourite into a true classic.


19 of 22 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Steve McQueens age dregj@yahoo.co.uk
Which celebrity would you like see eaten by the blob. Cathyclean
Is there an alternate ending? ameliabenson
2011 remake? Axholio
Didn't Dr. Hallan Look an Awful Lot Like... revenskater
the unidentified sound dboyle-6
Discuss The Blob (1958) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?