Beware! The Blob
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| Beware! The Blob | |
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| Directed by | Larry Hagman |
| Produced by | Anthony Harris |
| Written by | Story: Richard Clair Jack H. Harris Screenplay: Anthony Harris Jack Woods |
| Starring | Robert Walker, Jr. Gwynne Gilford Richard Stahl Richard Webb Marlene Clark Gerrit Graham J.J. Johnston Danny Goldman Godfrey Cambridge |
| Music by | Mort Garson |
| Cinematography | Al Hamm |
| Editing by | Tony de Zarraga |
| Distributed by | Jack H. Harris Enterprises Inc. |
| Release date(s) | June 21, 1972 (USA) |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | The Blob |
Beware! The Blob (alternately titled as Beware the Blob, Son of Blob and Son of the Blob) is a 1972 sequel to horror science-fiction film The Blob. The film was directed by Larry Hagman. The screenplay was penned by Anthony Harris and Jack Woods III, based on a story by Jack H. Harris and Richard Clair. Originally unrated; rated PG.
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[edit] Plot
The film begins when an oil pipeline layer named Chester (Godfrey Cambridge) returns to his suburban Los Angeles home from the North Pole, bringing with him a small sample of a mysterious frozen substance uncovered by a bulldozer on a job site. On the way to a lab to be analyzed, he places the storage container with the substance in his freezer, but he and his wife accidentally let it thaw on the kitchen countertop - which releases "the Blob" (the same "Blob" in the original 1958 film). It starts by eating a fly, then a kitten, Chester's wife, and then Chester himself, while he is watching a television broadcast of the film The Blob. Lisa (Gwynne Gilford) walks in on Chester in the process of being devoured by the Blob, and escapes, but cannot get anyone to believe her, not even her boyfriend Bobby (Robert Walker, Jr.). Meanwhile the rapidly-growing creature quietly preys upon the town: some of its victims include a cop and two hippies (Cindy Williams and Randy Stonehill) in a storm drain, a barber (Shelley Berman) and his client (in an unnerving scene), transients (played by director Hagman, Burgess Meredith and Del Close), a Scout Master (Dick Van Patten), a farm-full of chickens, and a bar full of people (off camera). The now-massive blob invades a bowling alley and a skating rink (consuming dozens more people in the process), and is finally stopped when Bobby activates the rink's ice mechanism, freezing it.
At the very end of the movie, while being filmed by a television crew, a lamp is knocked over, melting a small portion, implying the possibility of a continuation. However, the next "Blob" movie (released in 1988) was a loose remake of the original which did not follow on from this film.
[edit] Production
Filming was carried out in and around Diamond Bar, California and Pomona, California, both 30 miles east of Los Angeles. In an interview in Fangoria magazine, screenwriter Anthony Harris stated that a good portion of the filmed material was improvised on the set and that the script was ignored.
As in the original 1958 film, the Blob was largely portrayed by gallons of dyed red silicone. However, in this film, the Blob was also created from alternate materials ranging from a large red plastic balloon to semi-transparent red plastic sheeting to a large rotating red "drum" of hard silicone placed in front of the camera lens (referred to among fans as the "Blob-Cam" shot).
To date this is the only feature film to have been directed by Hagman; his other directorial credits include several television shows. Many of those who worked on the film stated that Hagman was constantly high on marijuana during production.
Dean Cundey, who would later go on to be a cinematographer on such films as Halloween, The Thing, and Jurassic Park, worked on Beware! The Blob as one of the three special effects technicians (alongside supervisor Tim Baar and Conrad Rothmann) responsible for providing "the blob" and all of its antics. Cundey was also the camera operator on second unit shots of the blob eating the fly and the kitten, etc.
Co-star Del Close would also appear in the remake of The Blob in 1988.
[edit] Release
In 1982 the film was re-issued with the tagline "The film that J.R. shot!" in an attempt to capitalize on the success of Hagman's television series Dallas.
[edit] Cast
- Robert Walker as Bobby Hartford
- Gwynne Gilford as Lisa Clark
- Richard Stahl as Edward Fazio
- Richard Webb as Sheriff Jones
- Marlene Clark as Mariane Hargis
- Gerrit Graham as Joe, Ape-Suited Party Guest
- J.J. Johnston as Sheriff's Deputy Kelly
- Dick Van Patten as Scoutmaster
- Tiger Joe Marsh as Soviet Dong
- Fred Smoot as Pinsetter Repairman
- Randy Stonehill as Guitar player, singer
- Cindy Williams as Hippie
- Preston Hagman as Preston, a Boy Scout
- Larry Norman as Party guest, coffee shop customer
- Bill Coontz as William B. Foster
- Shelley Berman as Hair Stylist
- Godfrey Cambridge as Chester Hargis
- Larry Hagman as Hobo
- Carol Lynley as Leslie
- Burgess Meredith as Hobo (uncredited)
- Conrad Rothmann as Fireman (uncredited)
- Danny Goldman as Party Guest, coffee shop customer (uncredited - Goldman is often confused for similar-looking actor Bud Cort, who does not appear in the film)
- Rockne Tarkington Sheriff's Deputy
- Tim Baar
- Del Close as Hobo (uncredited)
- John Houser
- Robert N. Goodman
- Patrick McAllister
- Byron Keith
- Margie Adleman
[edit] External links
- watch Beware! The Blob on YouTube
- Beware! The Blob at the Internet Movie Database
- Beware! The Blob at Allmovie
- Beware! The Blob at Rotten Tomatoes
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