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The Blob, Steve McQueen and the Rising Teen

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

Release Date: 03/15/2025

On the Beach: Atomic Apocalypse in 1959 show art On the Beach: Atomic Apocalypse in 1959

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As always there are spoilers ahead! Trigger warning for a lot of discussion of suicide with analysis of the plot along with a side of dark humour. If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at  You can follow the podcast on ,  and . If you want to watch the film before you listen you can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region. On the Beach is available online to buy and rent from Apple and other sources in many places. I can’t believe I am almost done and dusted with this...

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The World, the Flesh and the Devil: Harry Belafonte, Race and Apocalypse show art The World, the Flesh and the Devil: Harry Belafonte, Race and Apocalypse

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

 

You can follow the podcast on social media: Instagram, Threads and BlueSky.


You can support the podcast and get ad-free episodes on info_outline The Fabulous World of Jules Verne: Czechoslovakia, Steampunk and Zeman in 1958 show art The Fabulous World of Jules Verne: Czechoslovakia, Steampunk and Zeman in 1958

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and <

info_outline The Mysterians: 1957 Sci-Fi Space Invaders in Postwar Japan show art The Mysterians: 1957 Sci-Fi Space Invaders in Postwar Japan

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

You can find the podcast on ThreadsInstagram and Bluesky


In 1992 Ishiro Honda sat down for his info_outline I Married a Monster from Outer Space: Gender expectations in 1958 show art I Married a Monster from Outer Space: Gender expectations in 1958

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky

I Married a Monster from Outer Space was released as part of a double bill (with The Blob) in 1958. The story focuses on newlywed couple Marge and Bill Farrell but unbeknownst to his new bride and the whole town Bill has been replaced by an alien on the eve of th

info_outline The Blob, Steve McQueen and the Rising Teen show art The Blob, Steve McQueen and the Rising Teen

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

Somewhere in the late 1950s society began to come to terms with the idea of the teenager. Teens were heading to the cinema leaving younger siblings and parents at home. The Blob (1958) isn‘t a tale of rebellion or film warning about teenage delinquency but a thoroughly enjoyable time with a catchy theme tune. 

I have two wonderful guests to help us unravel this classic 1950s sci-fi. 

The Experts 

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Bi

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McCarthyism vs Ed Murrow: History Daily show art McCarthyism vs Ed Murrow: History Daily

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

For this bonus episode I’ve teamed up with the excellent History Daily podcast. 

Very exciting! 

History Daily tells fascinating stories of what happened “on this day” in history with a new episode every weekday.

The early 1950s in the USA stand out as not just a time of economic prosperity but also one of paranoia. The country faced the fear of the atomic bomb, the Red Scare and a moral panic around juvenile delinquency. (Teenagers were new and unpredictable!)

During this

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Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space: The Worst Movie Ever? show art Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space: The Worst Movie Ever?

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky

The Worst Film of All Time by The Worst Director of All Time. So claimed the 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards by Michael and Harry Medved regarding the film Plan 9 from Outer Space and director Edward Wood Jr AKA Ed Wood. 

But this very title is one of the

info_outline The Incredible Shrinking Man: 1950s Masculinity in Crisis show art The Incredible Shrinking Man: 1950s Masculinity in Crisis

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 


I would love to know what you make of the ending of this film if you watched it. Best place to do that is on social media. Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.&nb

info_outline How Forbidden Planet Shaped Sci-Fi Cinema show art How Forbidden Planet Shaped Sci-Fi Cinema

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 


Forbidden Planet (1956) is a somewhat overlooked 50s classic. Although it often fails to make lists of the greatest sci-fi films of all time it has come across often in my written research and when

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More Episodes

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

Somewhere in the late 1950s society began to come to terms with the idea of the teenager. Teens were heading to the cinema leaving younger siblings and parents at home. The Blob (1958) isn‘t a tale of rebellion or film warning about teenage delinquency but a thoroughly enjoyable time with a catchy theme tune. 

I have two wonderful guests to help us unravel this classic 1950s sci-fi. 

The Experts 

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous  of articles and books on cultural history and film. 

Matthew Rule Jones is a senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

03:22 The origins of the film 

06:05 Moral panic, the teenager and the AIP film formula

11:36 Red scare as red herring: Jello and suburbia  

16:25 The intention vs the interpretation of films 

17:32 The Blob  

20:00 The theme song vs the earnest tone 

24:15 The cinema scene and self-reflection 

28:32 The double bill offering 

29:56 Steve McQueen: The adult teen 

39:10 What are we gonna do? 

39:40 Legacy: Sequels and the education system 

48:55 Recommendations for the listener


The Next Episode! 

The next episode we will focus on the film I Married a Monster from Outer Space. You can buy or rent the film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region

 


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