''Beware! The Blob'' (also known as ''Beware the Blob'', ''Son of Blob'', ''The Blob II'' or ''The Blob Returns'') is a 1972 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

science fiction comedy Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science-fiction (SF) genre's conventions for comedic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirizes stand ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

directed by

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...

. It is a sequel to ''

The Blob ''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe ...

'' (1958). The screenplay was penned by Anthony Harris and Jack Woods III, based on a story by

Jack H. Harris Jack Henry Harris (November 28, 1918 – March 14, 2017) was an American film producer and distributor. He produced ''The Blob'' (1958), ''4D Man'' (1959), and ''Equinox (1970 film), Equinox'' (1970). Biography Harris was born to a Jewish famil ...

and Richard Clair. The film originally earned a PG rating from the

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distrib ...

, though it is now unrated. It is the second film in ''The Blob'' film series.

Plot

Picking up fifteen years after the events of the first movie, ''

'', an oil pipeline engineer named Chester (

Godfrey Cambridge Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by '' Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost cele ...

) returns to his suburban

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

home from the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...

, bringing with him a small sample of a mysterious frozen substance uncovered by a bulldozer on a job site, a story which he tells his wife. Not aware that the substance is a piece of the Blob from the original 1958 incident in Pennsylvania, Chester comes home to store the substance in his home freezer prior to taking in to the laboratory to be analyzed. However, he and his wife Marianne ( Marlene Clark) accidentally let it thaw, re-animating the Blob. It starts by eating a fly, then a kitten, then Marianne, and then, in an intentional

anachronism An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common ty ...

by the film makers, while Chester is watching a television broadcast of the film ''The Blob'', it eats him, too. Lisa (

Gwynne Gilford Gloria Gwynne Gilford is an American psychotherapist and former actress. She appeared in several television series in the 1970s and 1980s, including ''A New Kind of Family'', ''The Young Lawyers'' and '' The Waverly Wonders'', and had roles in th ...

), a friend, walks in to see Chester in the final stages of being consumed by the Blob. She 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 police officer (

Sid Haig Sidney Eddie Mosesian (July 14, 1939 – September 21, 2019), known professionally as Sid Haig, was an American actor, film producer, and musician. He was known for his roles in several of Jack Hill's blaxploitation films from the 1970s, as we ...

) and two hippies (

Cindy Williams Cynthia Jane Williams (born August 22, 1947) is an American actress and producer, known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982). Early life Williams was bo ...

and

Randy Stonehill Randall Evan Stonehill (born March 12, 1952) is an American singer and songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, bu ...

) in a storm drain, a barber (

Shelley Berman Sheldon Leonard Berman (February 3, 1925 – September 1, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, and lecturer. In his comedic career, he was awarded three gold records and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy reco ...

) and his client, transients (played by director Hagman,

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

and

Del Close Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was ...

), a

Scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

(

Dick Van Patten Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Brad ...

), a farm full of chickens and horses, and (off-camera), people in a gas station, a bar, as well as various townspeople who turn up "missing." At one point, Lisa and Bobby find themselves trapped in Bobby's truck with the creature attempting to find a way inside. While panicking, the truck's air conditioning is accidentally switched on and the Blob retreats because of its vulnerability to cold. The now-massive Blob consumes a hippie in a dune buggy, who inadvertently crashes in to it while it was crossing the road, followed by his girlfriend who tried to save him, and then invades a neighboring bowling alley during a championship tournament. After consuming dozens more people, the Blob moves on to an attached skating rink under renovation. It is finally stopped when Bobby activates the rink's ice mechanism, freezing it. While the frozen Blob is being filmed by a television crew, one of the crew's bright lights is positioned on the ground, melting a small portion of it, which oozes toward the sheriff and envelops his feet as he is speaking on camera to a nationwide television audience.

Cast

Production

previously directed episodes of ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...

'' and '' The Good Life'' and went on to do the same for several episodes of ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

'' and '' In the Heat of the Night'' (the only series for which he directed, but never acted). This would be his only feature film as a director. To cast the film, Hagman recruited friends from the motion picture industry, (some of whom were literally his neighbors in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...

, including

and

Carol Lynley Carol Lynley (born Carole Ann Jones; February 13, 1942 – September 3, 2019) was an American actress known for her roles in the films ''Blue Denim'' (1959) and '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972). Lynley was born in Manhattan to an Irish ...

) who were asked if they would like to be "blobbed".

was cast as the lead via the traditional auditioning process, while Robert Walker Jr. was an early hire by Jack H. Harris. Budgeted at slightly more than the 1958 version at $150,000, filming began in the spring of 1971, primarily on the property of a horse stable and ranch home in

Diamond Bar, California Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2010 census it had a population of 55,544, and in 2019 the population was estimated to be 55,720. It is named after the "diamond over a bar" branding iron re ...

, as well as in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyt ...

, both 30 miles east of

. The climactic finale at the

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

and ice skating rink was filmed at two separate locations. The former Grand Central Bowl in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

, stood in for the bowling alley (the building still stands as part of the Disney Imagineering complex, and was also filmed as Jack Rabbit Slims in ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

''), while the ice skating rink scenes were filmed at the former Rollerdrome in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

(immediately prior to the building being torn down in August, 1971 to make way for Tellefson Park). The party scene was filmed in a loft in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

. In an interview in ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released ...

'' magazine, screenwriter and first time producer Anthony Harris stated that a good portion of the filmed material was improvised on the set, and that his script was ignored. While in production, Harris was also in the process of preparing a second sequel, ''Curse of the Blob,'' but these plans were never implemented. Contrary to the original 1958 film, in which the Blob was largely portrayed by gallons of silicone dyed red, which needed to be repeatedly stirred to maintain the consistent red color, the Blob in ''Beware! the Blob'' was mostly created from a red-dyed powder blended with water to form the desired consistency. The Blob was alternately created from other materials as well, including a large red plastic balloon, semi-transparent red plastic sheeting illuminated with a backlight, and a large rotating red drum of hard red silicone placed in front of the camera lens. Renowned cinematographer

Dean Cundey Dean Raymond Cundey, A.S.C. (born March 12, 1946) is an American cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborations with John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, as well as his extensive work in the horror genre, ...

, who would later go on to be a cinematographer on such films as ''

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

'', '' The Thing'', the ''Back to the Future'' series and ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'', worked on ''Beware! The Blob'' alongside two other special effects technicians responsible for creating the Blob effects, supervisor Tim Baar and Conrad Rothmann. Cundey was also the camera operator on second unit shots of the Blob eating the fly, the kitten, etc. ''Beware! The Blob'' was intended as a December 1971 release, but was held back until June 1972 to capitalize on the lucrative summer movie and

drive-in theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movi ...

audience. An exceptional film marketer, Harris later paired the movie with other films he to which held the rights (notably ''

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

''), and renamed the film ''Son of Blob'' in some markets as a test title. The film premiered on television in 1974.

Home media

As ''Son of Blob'' together with ''

'', the film was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in September 2011. The DVD is compatible with all region codes."Son of Blob"
Umbrella Entertainment. Retrieved: May 28, 2013. ''Beware! The Blob'' was transferred to HD in its correct 1.85 ratio and released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber on September 20, 2016."Beware! The Blob"
Kino Lorber. Retrieved: October 19, 2016.

Reception

Film historians Kim R. Holston and Tom Winchester considered the film was "... Now viewed as a relic of mid- to late-hippiedom ... overall, there's some tension, and some nods to the predecessor."Holston and Winchester 1997, p. 63.

References

Bibliography * Holston, Kim R. and Tom Winchester. ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes: An Illustrated Filmography''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1997. .

External links

* * * * {{The Blob The Blob (film series) 1972 films 1972 horror films 1970s comedy horror films 1970s science fiction horror films American comedy horror films American science fiction comedy films American monster movies American science fiction horror films American sequel films 1970s English-language films Fictional amorphous creatures Films directed by Larry Hagman Films set in Los Angeles 1970s monster movies Parodies of horror 1972 directorial debut films 1972 comedy films 1970s American films