Munster, Go Home!The parental advantage to being a Frankenstein-esque father is your torso can be at work and your head can be at your kid's soccer game.However, in this comedy, the patchwork patriarch's entire body is overseas.Willed an English manor by his relative, Herman (Fred Gwynne) moves his vampiric wife (Yvonne De Carlo), his feral son (Butch Patrick), his blood-sucking father-in-law (Al Lewis) and his normal-looking niece (Debbie Watson) to Munster Hall.Herman's cousins (Jeanne Arnold, Terry-Thomas) however are infuriated that he inherited their estate. To rid the home of their relations, the pair plan to sabotage a drag race Herman is entered in.As campy as the TV show it's based on, this creature feature-film boasts most of the principal cast members as well as Grampa Munster's legendary Drag-u-la dragster.Besides, Brits having a problem with weird-looking people with pointy teeth is like the kettle calling the pot black.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

I must confess that I have never seen an episode of the television series "The Munsters" - that's what happens when you grow up in Canada where Canadian content is forced on its citizens, which leaves less chance for American series to air. Anyway, I knew a little about the show before watching this movie, and there's one problem this movie has right from the start - it is filmed in color, and the make-up on the various Munster characters looks very phony when it was probably not on the black and white TV show. But that's a minor quibble compared to the big problem of the movie, and that is that it's not funny at all. Instead of aiming at a wide audience, the mentality of the script is aimed at young children. While young children might laugh at some of the childish antics here, this adult sat through the movie stone faced. The basic idea of the movie - the Munsters encountering Brits - had a lot of promise, but the execution is sorely lacking. And it doesn't encourage me to look online for episodes of the television show.

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!

Herman Munster (the delightful Fred Gwynne) inherits an estate in England. Herman along with his sweet wife Lily (lovely Yvonne De Carlo), rascally Grandpa (the always great Al Lewis), brash son Eddie (the engaging Butch Patrick), and cute adopted daughter Marilyn (the adorable Debbie Watson subbing for Pat Priest) all go to Great Britian. The Munsters' no-count British relatives try to scare them off to no avail, so they resort to more drastic measures in order to get rid of the merry oddball clan. Director Earl Bellamy keeps the film moving along at a sprightly tempo, stages the expected blithely inane slapstick gags with considerable aplomb, and maintains an infectiously bouncy tone throughout. This picture further benefits from a top-drawer cast of veteran British thespians: Terry-Thomas as the infantile, temperamental Freddie Munster, Hermoine Gingold as stern matriarch Lady Effigie Munster, Jeanne Arnold as the wicked Grace Munster, Robert Pine as the smoothly charming Roger, and Bernard Fox as the hearty Squire Moresby. Special kudos are in order for John Carradine, who gives a deliciously sour performance as gloomy and sinister butler Cruikshank. Benjamin H. Kline's sharp cinematography makes inspired use of vibrant color. Jack Marshall supplies an appropriately spirited silly-spooky score. A hugely enjoyable romp.