The Blob decided to change its quintessential title, which might have helped the horror/sci-fi hybrid grow into one of the biggest movies of the 1950s.

The horror genre is full of terrifying people that represent the darkest corners of humanity, but sometimes there’s nothing quite like a genuine monster that becomes a supernatural threat against mankind. Many movies effectively explore this type of story, but few are as groundbreaking and memorable as Irvin Yeaworth’s The Blob from 1958, which pits Steve McQueen in his debut film role against an all-consuming gelatinous creature from outer space.

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Special effects have evolved in unbelievable ways since the 1950s, but it’s impressive to see how The Blob creates a monster that feels unstoppable and on a scale that hasn’t been seen before. It’s a fantastic mix of both a monster movie as well as a disaster epic. There’s such a strong foundation to The Blob that it’s gone on to become the source material for 1988’s The Blob, which has been called one of the best horror remakes of all time. The Blob continues to be a relevant property that filmmakers want to re-contextualize through a modern lens, but the original movie’s reception could have been different if it stuck with its original title, which was The Glob. 

It’s hard to think of any other title being appropriate for this pivotal 1950s monster movie, but it experienced a myriad of name changes during production that even included titles like The Molten Meteor. The gelatinous creature is referred to as “the mass” in the movie’s shooting script that was used, but it’s The Glob that was ultimately decided on as the definitive title. Curiously, the film’s production learned that popular cartoonist, Walt Kelly, had actually titled one of his beloved children’s books The Glob. This led the movie’s team to believe that there would be inevitable legal issues over them using the same title for their property and that The Glob was no longer on the table. This, in fact, wasn’t true, but it’s what pushed production to reach the slightly different—and now iconic—title, The Blob.

What likely also contributed to the changing of The Blob‘s title from The Glob is that Irvin Yeaworth and the people behind the movie wanted their monster to be frightening. It wouldn’t have been in their best interests to keep the original title if the public already had associations with children’s literature tied to The Glob. The slight change may seem largely innocuous. Some might feel that the state of science fiction and horror cinema wouldn’t be very different if the original title was maintained, but the preconceived notions associated with The Glob may have sealed the film’s fate and led to the 1950s version of The Blob being buried into obscurity rather than becoming a genre touchstone that’s repeatedly turned to for reinterpretation.

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Daniel Kurland
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Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer, comedian, and critic, who lives in the cultural mosaic that is Brooklyn, New York. Daniel’s work can be read on ScreenRant, Splitsider, Bloody Disgusting, Den of Geek, and across the Internet. He recently completed work on a noir anthology graphic novel titled, “Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Noir: A Rag of Bizarre Noir and Hard Boiled Tales” and he’s currently toiling away on his first novel.

Daniel knows that “Psycho II” is better than the original, that the finale of “How I Met Your Mother” doesn’t deserve the hate that it receives, and that Garth Ennis’ run of “Animal Man” may be the best superhero story of all time. He’s a fan of white grape juice and appreciates a good Fuji apple.

The owls are not what they seem.

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