The Munsters (film series)

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Several movies based on The Munsters have been released, three featuring original cast members.

Contents

Munster, Go Home! (1966)

The Munsters go to England to claim Munster Hall after the death of an old relative. The film starred the original black & white series's cast, with the exception of Pat Priest who was replaced by Universal Pictures by its teenage contract player Debbie Watson. Priest commented in the A&E Biography documentary produced on The Munsters by the A&E (Arts and Entertainment) cable TV network, that she was devastated at the producers' decision not to include the then-29-year-old actress. The film gave fans a chance to see the Munsters in color during their original 1960s era run for the first and only time. The film also featured the famous "DRAG-U-LA" souped up dragster/hot rod Munsters car. As of 2020, this film has been released on DVD and Blu-ray and streaming services.

The Mini-Munsters (1973)

A one-hour animated TV-movie that was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie ran on the Saturday Morning circuit. Al Lewis provided the voice of Grandpa. As of 2020, this film has yet to be released on official home media but is available on streaming services.

The Munsters' Revenge (1981)

A made-for-TV movie. The owner of a wax museum creates robots of Herman and Grandpa and uses them as part of a plot to rob a traveling Egyptian antiquities exhibit. Gwynne, De Carlo, and Lewis recreated their roles, but Eddie and Marilyn were played by K.C. Martel and Jo McDonnell respectively. As of 2020, this film has been released on DVD and Blu-ray and streaming services.

Here Come the Munsters (1995)

Another made-for-TV movie. The family searches for Herman's brother-in-law Norman Hyde, only to find out that he has unknowingly turned himself into Brent Jekyll, who is running for Congress. An all-new cast now plays the main characters (see chart below), although the film features a cameo scene of De Carlo, Lewis, Priest, and Patrick (Gwynne died in 1993) as a bickering family in a restaurant who were served by (the new) Herman Munster who was a waiter. Herman Munster is played by actor Edward Herrmann. It has been released on VHS but is out of print and hard to find. This film was released on DVD, but only for region 2, [1] and on streaming services.

The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas (1996)

Grandpa has accidentally captured Santa Claus and two of his elves, while Lily is trying to win the local neighborhood Christmas home decorating competition. Meanwhile, Marilyn has invited family and friends from the "old country" to stay for Christmas. Despite being released only a year after Here Come the Munsters, the film features an entirely different cast. This film has been released on DVD and streaming services.

The Munsters (2022)

In 2021, Rob Zombie was hired to write and direct a Munsters movie. In October 2021, Zombie released a photo confirming some of the cast being that of Jeff Daniel Phillips (Herman Munster), Sheri Moon Zombie (Lily Munster) and Dan Roebuck (The Count). [2] The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital formats on September 27, 2022, and also available to stream on Netflix.

Cast

FilmYearCharacter
Herman Munster Lily Munster Grandpa / The Count Eddie Munster Marilyn Munster
Munster, Go Home!1966 Fred Gwynne Yvonne De Carlo Al Lewis Butch Patrick Debbie Watson
The Mini-Munsters
(animated, voices only)
1973 Richard Long Cynthia Adler Bobby Diamond  
The Munsters' Revenge1981 Fred Gwynne Yvonne De Carlo K. C. Martel Jo McDonnell
Here Come the Munsters1995 Edward Herrmann Veronica Hamel Robert Morse Mathew Botuchis Christine Taylor
The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas1996 Sam McMurray Ann Magnuson Sandy Baron Bug Hall Elaine Hendrix
The Munsters2022 Jeff Daniel Phillips Sheri Moon Zombie Dan Roebuck   

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<i>The Munsters</i> American television series (1964–1966)

The Munsters is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monster and head-of-the-household Herman Munster; Yvonne De Carlo as his vampire wife Lily; Al Lewis as Lily's father, Grandpa, the somewhat over-the-hill vampire Count Dracula who longs for the "good old days" in Transylvania; Beverley Owen as their college-age niece Marilyn, who was attractive by conventional standards but the "ugly duckling" of the family; and Butch Patrick as their werewolfish son Eddie.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman Munster</span> Fictional character in The Munsters

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Patrick</span> American actor and musician

Butch Patrick is an American actor and musician. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of seven, Patrick is perhaps best known for his role as child werewolf Eddie Munster on the CBS comedy television series The Munsters from 1964 to 1966 and in the 1966 feature film Munster, Go Home!, and as Mark on the ABC Saturday morning series Lidsville from 1971 to 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Roebuck</span> American actor, director, writer and producer

Daniel James Roebuck is an American actor and writer. His best known roles include Deputy Marshal Robert Biggs in The Fugitive and its spinoff film U.S. Marshals, Jay Leno in The Late Shift, and Dr. Leslie Arzt in Lost, as well as numerous Rob Zombie and Don Coscarelli films. He is also known for his role as Cliff Lewis, Ben Matlock's private investigator, on Matlock from 1992 until 1995.

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<i>The Munsters Today</i> American sitcom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lily Munster</span> Fictional character

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Munster</span> Fictional character in The Munsters

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, with Herman alluding to her "plain" looks coming from Lily's side of the family. She was played by Hilary Van Dyke in the 1988 series The Munsters Today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragula (song)</span> 1998 single by Rob Zombie

"Dragula" is a song and debut 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.

<i>Munster, Go Home!</i> 1966 American comedy film directed by Earl Bellamy

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, who was played by Debbie Watson replacing Pat Priest from the series.

<i>Here Come the Munsters</i> 1995 American film

Here Come the Munsters is a television film that aired on Fox October 31, 1995. It stars Edward Herrmann, Christine Taylor and Veronica Hamel. The film tells the story of the Munster family's arrival in the US from Transylvania. This is an adaptation/update to the main characters of the US TV series from the 1960s, 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.

Grandpa (<i>The Munsters</i>) Fictional character

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.

<i>Mockingbird Lane</i> 2012 television series directed by Bryan Singer

Mockingbird Lane is a 2012 American television special developed as a dark re-imagining of the 1960s CBS sitcom 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 similarly toned dark supernatural drama 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, but the concept was not picked up by NBC as a series.

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Vinegar Syndrome is an American home video distribution company which specializes in "protecting and preserving genre films". The company was founded in 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson, who created it to restore and distribute lost and otherwise unavailable films. Their catalog has since expanded to include other types of cult and exploitation films, including horror films and action films.

<i>The Munsters</i> (2022 film) 2022 comedy film by Rob Zombie

The Munsters is a 2022 American horror comedy film produced, written, and directed by Rob Zombie. 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. The film stars Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie, and Daniel Roebuck as the title family, with Sylvester McCoy as Igor and Richard Brake as Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang.

References

  1. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Munsters-Video-Edward-Herrmann-Veronica/dp/B007OTHC6A/ [ dead link ]
  2. Tangcay, Jazz (October 18, 2021). "'The Munsters' First Look: Rob Zombie Shares the Cast in Costume in Front of the Iconic Mansion". Variety . Retrieved October 18, 2021.