Frankenstein et les faux-monnayeurs

The Munsters read a will from their late English relative. Herman is named the new Lord of Munster Hall and inherits a vast estate. The family is off to England but their distant relatives have dire plans for them.

I've never seen the TV show but it's not that complicated. They're a lovely bunch. It's a little silly. It's light. It's nothing outrageously funny but it's cute enough. It's cute enough.

Only the laugh track is missing from this movie version of the classic TV series. The absence of the canned laughter makes some of the sight gags seem like they go on a little too long, but other than that, I give the writer and director credit for doing the series justice. It's too bad that writers and directors of more recent times can't learn a few things from their predecessors about making movies out of TV shows.

This movie was filmed around the time the series was still in production, using writers and a director from the original. No doubt, that is a major advantage when trying to capture the original flavor. Some might argue that the movie should have been done in black and white, but the color is not overdone and actually adds a nice touch. With the exception of Marilyn, the original cast is there. Marilyn's role changed hands in the series anyway. Debbie Watson does fine, so it's not a significant distraction.

This is good light fare for the family looking for some classic innocent fun. Fans of the series should like it as well. It is nothing more than it tries to be - a movie version of the series with a few extras (color, location, and length.) The movie delivers on that, and I give it high marks.

Fans of this movie should also try "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken." It has nothing to do with the Munsters (other than the house facade happens to be located next door to the Munster house on the Universal Studios back-lot), but it is more classic comedy with a spooky twist. It stars Don Knotts during his heyday.

I'm sure someone will correct this if it's wrong, but I think the title of this motion picture is a parody of the film title "Lassie Come Home," a picture also set in England, which introduced another, eventual, TV star to the world, that most intelligent of all collies, and one that was currently on television at that time.

Fred Gwynne, Yvonne de Carlo, Al Lewis and Butch Patrick are all on hand to reprise their roles from the black and white series, but here in full Paramount color. Plus we have Debbie Watson, perhaps best known for taking the movie series role of "Tammy" and bringing it to the small screen, here takes the role of niece Marilyn, played by Beverly Owen and Pat Priest on the show, to the big screen.

The plot is a stretch, even for this 1960s comedy - Herman inherits a piece of property in Great Britain and tows the family from Mockingbird Lane across the pond to claim it. Of course, the stiff upper lips that occupy said property are unamused and attempt to scare off the newcomers. But how does one scare a family of monsters?

To me, the most interesting thing about this film is seeing some long time actors and TV stars almost randomly turning up in this plot. Bernard Fox, Samantha's Warlock physician Dr. Bombay from "Bewitched" is here. Richard Dawson, who at the time was a star of "Hogan's Heroes" and eventually "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," long before his "Match Game" and "Family Feud" days is in the mix. And Robert Pine, who is best remembered as commanding officer to Ponch and Jon from "CHiPs" is a love interest for Marilyn!

The film really feels like two films are going on: our sitcom characters doing what they usually do (and there is a cross country auto race, with Herman driving the famed "Drag-u-la" vehicle - while the Munster Koach also makes a cameo), and then we have the locals just plotting how to rid themselves of these unwanted outsiders. Hermione Gingold, Terry-Thomas and a completely unrecognizable John Carradine as a manservant populate that group.

Tons of sight gags, typical sitcom dialog and all the slapstick you could want from what is basically an extended and full color episode of the series.

If you are a fan of the series this film is based on and most especially if you enjoyed that program more than the similarly themed series "The Addams Family," you should get a kick out of this film.

This film appeared at the height of the Swinging London movement of the mid-Sixties, when even Batman made a televised visit to Britain. A cross section of British funnymen came aboard to welcome America's improbably sweet family of ghouls to the old country. (And never mind that the name "Munster" is Irish and not English).

Fred Gwynne never looked back after making this final appearance as Frankenstein's monster, so bitter was he at the lingering pain performing the role caused him. It's a shame, because he was never better than in this lightweight role of goofy old Herman.

As he was in "Car 54", Al Lewis is Gwynne's sidekick, gleefully gnawing on the scenery as an over-the-top sendup of Dracula. Frankenstein vs. Dracula sounds like one of those high-concept films only the hard core will watch, but these two made it work.

I saw this film in the theater during its first run and continue to enjoy it on its occasional TV appearances. Often these are during the run-up to Halloween, when "Munster Go Home" acts as an antidote to the depressing run of horror films.

I remember seeing the movie when it came out on the silver screen over the Summer of 1966. We finally got to see the Munsters in living color. It was every fan's hope that the success of this movie would save the TV series from cancellation. Sad to say, the series was axed before the movie was released. And in spite of the crowds that paid to see the Munsters on the silver screen, the series remained in its canceled state. The Network execs had made up their minds and that decision was final! Debbie Watson was a cute and perky teenager. But casting her in a role that belonged to Pat Priest, was a big mistake that angered Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis. This choice also left many in the audience either puzzled or downright angry. I would imagine that this role also played a part in Debbie Watson's movie career, going the way it did (she retired from acting in 1972).

With all things considered, Debbie Watson played her role well.

The movie lived up to its claims. It was hilarious. It was everything that the TV series was, except that it was in living color (and there was no canned laughter). If you loved THE MUNSTERS, you'll love this movie!