This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(June 2015) |
Munster, Go Home! | |
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Directed by | Earl Bellamy |
Written by | Joe Connelly Bob Mosher George Tibbles Earl Bellamy |
Produced by | Joe Connelly Bob Mosher |
Starring | Fred Gwynne Yvonne De Carlo Al Lewis Butch Patrick |
Cinematography | Benjamin H. Kline |
Edited by | Bud S. Isaacs |
Music by | Jack Marshall |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $600,000 |
Munster, Go Home! is a 1966 American comedy film based on the 1960s family sitcom The Munsters . It was directed by Earl Bellamy, who also directed a number of episodes in the series. The film was produced immediately after the television series completed filming its original run; it included the original cast with the exception of Marilyn. Marilyn was played by Debbie Watson, replacing Pat Priest from the series.
Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne) and his wife, Lily (Yvonne De Carlo), learn from Cavanaugh Munster's will that they have inherited an English manor known as Munster Hall in Shroudshire, England, and that Herman has inherited the designation Lord of the Manor as "Lord Munster". The family boards the famous American transatlantic passenger ocean liner SS United States to England. Herman gets seasick, Marilyn (Debbie Watson) encounters a new love and suitor Roger Moresby (Robert Pine). Grandpa (Al Lewis) gets turned into a grey wolf upon accidentally consuming a wolf pill and has to be sneaked through British immigration and customs.
Cousins Grace (Jeanne Arnold) and Freddie (Terry-Thomas) are furious that the American Munsters are getting the manor, and that Herman will be Lord Munster instead of Freddie. Grace and Freddie, with the help of their mother, Lady Effigie (Hermione Gingold), try to get rid of the Munsters, so the estate can be theirs. The American Munster couple feels right at home when Herman's English relatives try to scare them. Freddie disguises himself as a ghost, but screams and runs away when he encounters Herman. Grandpa sneaks out of bed to find out the secret of Munster Hall: a counterfeiting operation is at work in the basement operated by a mastermind known as the Gryphon.
Later, Herman enters a race, driving Grandpa's custom dragster, the "DRAG-U-LA". Grace and Freddie plot to kill Herman to stop him from winning the race; thanks to the Gryphon posing as Roger, but with Lily's help, he wins. The British Munsters and their butler, Cruikshank (John Carradine) including his daughter, Millie the barmaid revealed to be the Gryphon who sought to become Lady Munster, are all exposed and apprehended by the police authorities. Herman captures Freddie and Grace by tossing tires on them. Lady Effigie is sent to Shroudshire's police station with her butler by Lily and Eddie (Butch Patrick). Herman and his family donate the land and Munster Hall to the city for historic preservation. Roger and Marilyn get together and hope to see each other again. Herman and his family head for their American home.
This film offered audiences an opportunity to see the Munsters in Technicolor rather than the black-and-white format of the television series, but was not a commercial success upon its original theatrical release. It was produced and released at least partly in order to introduce the characters and concept to foreign audiences, as it came in advance of international syndication for the film's source material (the television series' 70 episodes).
For the Transatlantic crossing, stock footage of the American passenger ocean liner, the SS United States , near the end of its active career, was utilized. Although most of the film is set in fictional "Shroudshire, England" the automobile racing scenes were shot at the Paramount Ranch Racetrack in Agoura, California. They featured the "DRAG-U-LA" custom dragster designed by famous auto customizer George Barris. [1]
In 1997, GoodTimes Entertainment released Munster, Go Home! on VHS alongside the 1981 made-for-TV reunion movie The Munsters' Revenge . The VHS version of Munster, Go Home! is presented in an open matte 1:33:1 aspect ratio. In 2001, GoodTimes Entertainment released a DVD version of the film using the same transfer. In 2006, Universal Home Entertainment released a two-feature DVD featuring Munster, Go Home! and The Munsters' Revenge . The Universal transfer is sourced from an original print and presented in its original theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio. [1]
It was made available in Region 4 on DVD in September 2016. [2]
It was released on blu-ray through Shout Factory on March 31, 2020.
The Munsters is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monster Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as his vampire wife Lily, Al Lewis as Grandpa the aged vampire Count Dracula, Beverley Owen as their niece Marilyn, and Butch Patrick as their werewolf-like son Eddie. The family pet, named "Spot", was a fire-breathing dragon.
Frederick Hubbard Gwynne was an American actor, artist and author, who is widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later film roles in The Cotton Club, Pet Sematary, and My Cousin Vinny.
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Herman Munster is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Fred Gwynne. The patriarch of the Munster household, Herman is one of Frankenstein’s monsters, created in a lab in Germany in the nineteenth century.
Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Patricia Ann Priest is an American actress known for being the second person to portray Marilyn Munster on the television show The Munsters (1964–1966) after the original actress, Beverley Owen, left after 13 episodes.
The Munsters Today is an American sitcom and a revival of the original 1964–66 sitcom The Munsters that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988, to May 25, 1991.
Lily Munster is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom, The Munsters, originally played by Yvonne De Carlo. The matriarch of the Munster household, Lily is a vampire. The role was later played by Lee Meriwether in The Munsters Today and by Portia de Rossi in the unsold 2012 pilot Mockingbird Lane.
Marilyn Munster is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Beverley Owen and later by Pat Priest. In the original series, she is the daughter of Lily Munster's sister, and is therefore the granddaughter of Grandpa Munster and the cousin of Eddie Munster. She was played by Hilary Van Dyke in the 1988 series The Munsters Today.
"Dragula" is a debut solo single co-written and recorded by American rock musician Rob Zombie. It was released in August 1998 as the lead single from his solo debut Hellbilly Deluxe. Since its release it has become Zombie's most recognizable song as a solo artist. It is also his best-selling song, and had sold over 717,000 copies in the U.S. by 2010. The song is based on the drag racer "DRAG-U-LA" from the sitcom The Munsters.
The Munsters' Revenge is a 1981 American made-for-television science fiction comedy film based on the 1964–1966 sitcom The Munsters which reunited original cast members Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo and Al Lewis. It was the last film made with most of the original actors from the 1960s TV series. Marilyn Munster was portrayed by Jo McDonnell and Eddie Munster by Canadian child actor K. C. Martel. The film was directed by Don Weis and originally aired on NBC on February 27, 1981.
The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas is a 1996 American made-for-television science fiction comedy film featuring characters from the 1960s sitcom The Munsters. It featured a different cast from the original series, the 1980s revival series The Munsters Today and the previous 1995 television film Here Come the Munsters. The movie is set around Christmas time and included character actor Sandy Baron as 'Grandpa'. Baron had played Grandpa's older brother Yorga a few years previously in The Munsters Today.
The Unearthly is a 1957 independently made American black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced and directed by Boris Petroff. It stars John Carradine, Myron Healey, Allison Hayes, Marilyn Buferd, Arthur Batanides, Sally Todd, and Tor Johnson. The film was written by Jane Mann and John D.F. Black.
Count Sam Dracula, commonly known as Grandpa, is a fictional character from the American sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Al Lewis. He is an undead vampire and the doting, irritable, and sarcastic father of Lily Munster. The role was later played by Howard Morton in the 1980s television series The Munsters Today.
An effigy is a representation of a person.
Antoinette Georgina Cookson was a British film, stage and television actress. She died in Sydney, aged 92, on 1 October 2011.
Several movies based on The Munsters have been released, three featuring original cast members.
Mockingbird Lane is a 2012 American horror comedy television special that served as a re-imagining of the 1964–66 television series The Munsters. It was developed for NBC by Bryan Fuller. The pilot episode aired on October 26, 2012, as a Halloween special, and lead into a Halloween-themed episode of the television series Grimm, with the option for a series order. The special was viewed by 5.47 million American viewers and gained a 1.5/5 ratings share for adults aged 18–49, and the concept was not picked up by NBC as a series.
The Munsters is a 2022 American horror comedy film produced, written, and directed by Rob Zombie and starring Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Daniel Roebuck, Richard Brake, Jorge Garcia, Sylvester McCoy, Catherine Schell, and Cassandra Peterson. Based on the 1960s family sitcom of the same title, the story takes place prior to the events of the series, serving as an origin story for the characters.