Capital Celluloid - Day 112: Saturday April 23

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Siegel, 1956) & The Blob (Yeaworth Jr, 1958)
SPILL Festival at Barbican Cinema 9pm

This pair of 50s sci-fi classics, being screened as part of this year’s SPILL Festival, an international programme of experimental theatre, live art and performance, are introduced by Festival curator Robert Pacitti.

Chicago Reader movie critic Don Druker says of the Siegel movie:

"This genuine SF classic (1956) says a good deal more about the McCarthyist hysteria of the early 50s than about the danger of invasion from outer space by soul-stealing “pods.” Don Siegel's superb little effort, with its matter-of-fact isolation of hero Kevin McCarthy (ironic, no?) from the smarmy complacency of a small town gone to hell—and way beyond—points the way to his gripping action films of the 60s and 70s (Madigan, Coogan's Bluff, Dirty Harry)."

This is the better movie of the pair by far though The Blob has its place in movie history as the film that gave Steve McQueen his first major role.

Here is the trailer for Siegel's great film.

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