The Hilarious House of Frightenstein

How to best describe this unique Canadian children's show... hmmm....

Well, it's kind of a children's educational haunted house, horror movie satire show chock full 'o great adult gags. It's all about bein' "groovy", hangin' with the "Pet Vet" and learning about animals, dancing to the Wolfman's groovy wax, laughing at Paul the gorilla's slapstick humor, reciting poems with Vincent, and all that year-'round Hallowe'enie goodness! I imagine mostly Canadians will remember this Saturday morning classic, whether when it originally aired in the 70's or in its ongoing reruns.

This was one of my fave staple Saturday morning shows in the early 70's that I watched right after the really bad animated "Spiderman" cartoon that came on at 9:30 AM! I loved the many characters that the incredibly (and unfortunately largely unrecognized) talented Billy Van created. It was off-beat, bizarre as all heck, and a great parody of horror films.

Well, I hadn't thought of this groovy lil' show in ages, so when I did (near Hallowe'en, naturally) I ventured into a google search, and I found a tribute site dedicated to the show! The site has images, wav files with all the characters being kooky, video and more! This weird and wacky show always began with Vincent Price's on screen intro monologue with the castle in the background and super-low-tech lightning superimposed over the image, then jumped into the castle with the Count, Igor, Paul the Gorilla, the Wolfman (a DJ), Super Hippie, the Oracle, the Librarian (one of my faves!, the Wolfman Jack inspired DJ the Wolfman who played psychedelic music as Igor & the Grammar Slammer dancer before a swirling psychotropic backdrop, and more freaky characters.

Most of the characters were played by Canadian actor Billy Van (also seen on "The Sonny and Cher Show", "The Bobby Vinton Show", "Bizarre" , "The Party Game", "The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show" and more!). The show was shot in Hamilton, Ontario at CHCH TV back in 1971. It has since gained cult status as it's been translated into many languages and re-broadcast in different parts of the world.

I truly hope that the series comes to DVD, as I'll be first in line for the release! ~ T.Paul

After not appearing on a T.V. channel for at least 9 years (Showcase Canada last aired the reruns) Frightenstein has returned on Drive-In Classics. Whether I've seen this show in the 70's, 80's, 90's, or today the show still is tremendously fun to watch. Even today, this CHCH-TV produced show is still great fun and looks much better compared with today's children fare. None of the preachiness, phony BS, or attempts to insult their young audience exist in this castle.

Half the skits involve the adventures of The Count and his lovable oaf Igor. The Count lives in Castle Frightenstein and wishes to leave so he can return to Transylvania. However, he can't leave unless Brucie, his "Frankenstein Monster" comes back to life and his futile attempts to revive his monster are always fun to watch. Other skits has him reading his mail, answering phones, or abusing Igor. Every episode starts with Igor singing the Transylvania anthem with The Count getting the last song vocal.

Also, the show was superb at teaching kids about the world. Noted physics professor Julius Sumner Miller teaches science and physics, The Oracle teaches Astrology and Mythology, Bwanna Clyde Batty teaches us about wild animals while Pet-Vet deals with domestic animals and the occasional wild pet. Add in Grizelda's hilarious cooking segment, The Librarian's attempt to scare you with his stories, and the classic 60's songs The Wolfman would play and dance to (and seeing his and Igor's silhouettes in psychedelia) and you've got more than enough here.

Still, the show goes even further with Horror King Vincent Price narrating a poem before a segment with one of the featured characters in the castle. Price's poems add even more to the show. Later in the run, they added new characters like the Grammar Slammer, who would threaten to beat up Igor unless he learned better grammar and proper sentence structure and Gronk, who would fluster The Count's attempts to read books by interjecting with hilarious comments. The Count would be close to tears after multiple ownings.

Add in the little blackouts with The Gorilla, the Maharashi, the Hippie Superman, the Mosquito, and various movie boards and you've got a show that stands the test of time for 35 years and will for another 35. Billy Van was a freaking genius and I give Drive-In Classics mucho kudos for bringing back the fun Frightenstein provides.

Somebody (from Los Angeles) mentioned hearing a laugh-track (of kids) when they saw this show but there most certainly was none added during production or broadcast both back in 1971 and in reruns in 2007 here in Canada (where the show was made).

So either he's mistaken, or the Americans actually added a laugh-track for that market. This might make sense, since so many American shows do have a fake laugh-track (thankfully, their version of The Office does not).

The only laughing that makes sense in a TV show is when there really is a live audience present, and you hear genuine laughter. I saw a live taping of Kids In The Hall around 1991 and the laugher heard during broadcast really is the genuine laughter of the real audience.

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein doesn't have a lot of stuff that would incite robust laughter anyway. It's more weird than funny. A lot of it is obviously ad-lib, and in modern times many of the scenes would require a "take 2" (or 3 or 4 or 5) to perfect it. But on this show, part of the charm is the inclusion of semi-flubbed stuff.

I remember once where a guy who looks like a stage-hand kind of peaks around the corner while Igor is doing a scene and he looks like he knows he screwed up. It was kept in for final broadcast and the result is this micro-surreal moment.

Julius Sumner Miller (The Professor) is shown actually forgetting where he put a prop for an experiment he is about to show, and he ad-libs something and moves on to another topic.

At one point The Oracle has is hand stuck in the crystal ball, and the "POP" sound effect happens way before he pulls his hand out and there's an ad-lib "well, you can't win 'em all" and it's almost like Billy Van steps out of character for a moment.

In another universe or era, this would have lots more editing or retakes. And it would be very boring. I wonder how much my 9-year old brain in 1971 loved this show in part because of all the screw-ups.

To a modern audience "Frightenstein" is probably laughable but I was a religious viewer of it during the 70's. A quirky cast of characters and if you really payed attention you might even have learned something. Of course there was always Vincent Price's foreboding closing! Original, non-commercial, creative, funny, and for that matter fun. I still remember the show and still hear the music playing in my head. I still feel some shame in never realizing that one man (Billy Van) played most of the roles! A classic kid's show that never insulted our intelligence.

Honestly this was one of the best shows from when I was a kid. I remember watching it in the early morning before school. I really wish I could find it on DVD or video, because it was awesome! My daughter saw Vincent Price on "Edward Scissorhands" and I started to tell her about this really cool show that I used to watch as a child. She thought it sounded weird but was still interested, so I had my sister do a search but it's hard to find any info on this show. Makes me a little sad because it was so funny. Dr. Pet Vet, Igor, the Mosquito and the Wolfman. Priceless. Hee hee. Bring back the laughs!! And if anyone finds out how to get copies of the show, please post!