The Munsters - The Complete First Season
by Charles Barton, David Alexander, Earl Bellamy, Ezra Stone, Jerry Paris
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, Fred Gwynne, Pat Priest, Yvonne De CarloDirector: Charles Barton, David Alexander, Earl Bellamy, Ezra Stone, Jerry Paris
Brand: Universal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Color, Dolby, Full Screen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 966 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of The Munsters - The Complete First Season
Movie Review: "Leave It To Beaver" meets the macabre
Summary: 5 Stars
I am glad this is available in this format. "The Munsters" was a genuinely funny, endearing, enduring show.
In Season One, the show was still finding its way, but quickly became an American icon. Fred Gwynne, as Frankenstein's monster, still acted lifeless, as did Boris Karloff in the original 1931(?) movie; deadpan, towering, intimidating, but very kind-hearted and upstanding. The extreme silliness would come later. Yvonne DeCarlo, as Lily, stands out as one of the most striking presences in TV history, the image of her standing at the bottom of the stairs when the opening credits roll, is absolutely enthralling. But for some reason, the prominent white streaks in her hair gradually went away, as did what sounded like a New England accent. Al Lewis, as Grampa, aka Dracula had his nose change in size and shape, but is everyone's favorite curmudgeon. It's too bad Beverly Owen didn't want to stay in California, she was so good in the Marilyn character, but Pat Priest filled her shoes nicely. Butch Patrick was about all that didn't change by the time the show found its stride. He was just Eddie.
The humor is often subtle, and very sophisticated, and the show made a point about Middle-Class White America. The Neighbors didn't want "those people" in their neighborhood, even though "those people" were of a better calibre than the people who surrounded them. I would have loved to have been their neighbors. But I guess I am weird that way.
This package gives one several hours of quality entertainment, and a nostalgic view of classic TV. Thank you for it.
Summary of The Munsters - The Complete First Season
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/22/2006It has its own stormy weather and fire-breathing housepet named Spot, but the mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Heights is otherwise like any other American sitcom home. This is the address of the Munsters, the family that for two seasons, 1964-66, found a permanent place in pop culture--if not "monster" success. Developed by Leave It to Beaver team Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, the series was a standard sitcom (complete with the same awful canned laughter), except that the Ward Cleaver character was a reanimated corpse.
Dad Herman (Fred Gwynne) was a Frankenstein's monster, mom Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo) and Grandpa (Al Lewis) were vampires, and son Eddie (Butch Patrick) a little wolf-boy. Munster niece Marilyn was inexplicably normal, which prompted much worry from the other members of the family (she was played in early episodes by Beverly Owen, who left to get married, and then by Pat Priest). The plots revolve around typically tortured sitcom situations: Herman must lose weight to fit into his old Army uniform, Herman has insomnia, Herman takes dance lessons from a crooked instructor. (As that list would suggest, 6'5" Fred Gwynne's wonderfully agile slapstick and Borscht Belt comedy made him the center of the show.)
What distinguished The Munsters from Father Knows Best was the Universal horror-movie lineage and the ghoulish one-liners (the latter growing a bit tedious after a while). The three-disc DVD has all 38 first-season episodes in excellent transfers, a 15-minute pilot with different actors as Lily and Eddie, and no extras or commentaries. High points include "Hot Rod Herman," which features the tricked-out Munster Koach and Drag-u-la (boss wagons both), and "Eddie's Nickname," the one where Grandpa gives Eddie a potion that causes the boy's beard to grow (a weirdly memorable image, if you're a kid). The show was either pure kiddie farce or a radical comment on the absurdly unreal world of sitcoms. Either way, if you grew up with them as an alternate TV family, you can't help but have warm feelings for the Munsters, as clammy as they are. --Robert Horton
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