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"Munster, Go Home," last Saturday's "Svengoolie" screening, may have been the most fun had by us all since this became our weekly highlight. For starters, look at this shot. Why in the world is Debbie Watson, hair styled and scarf, trying to be an overaged Heather Menzies from "The Sound Of Music," released a year before, only Debbie was well into her twenties, when she made this?
And, girls, you have to see the chase scene, where Yvonne De Carlo, as Lily, and Al Lewis, as Grandpa, are riding horses against rear projection--or are they?--and sputtering the most inane dialogue. And that is saying a lot for Yvonne, who, just a decade before, did "The Ten Commandments!!!!!!!!!" Thank God, she went on to do "FOLLIES," in 1971, becoming a Musical Theater Legend.
But they are troupers, all the way. This film was made during a period when travel comedy was at its height--"It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," in 1963, and, then in 1965, "The Great Race," and "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines." Universal did not have the budget on this film that the others did, and it shows. Nor did it help build up Debbie Watson's career; better to have left Pat Priest playing Marilyn, as she did through most of the series' run, and who came off as more sophisticated than Watson.
Check your brain and sophistication at the door, if you see this, girls!
And it has Terry Thomas and Hermione Gingold, as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All aboard the CAMP Cruise, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 comments:
Yvonne will Always be Carlotta to me!!!
Now I’m singing “I’m Still Here” !!!!!!
Victoria,
I agree, and have been singing it, too,
I feel as though I have lived it!
What a joy to see this in a fully restored print! Really brightened my weekend. One thing you have to credit Svengoolie for: he always seeks out the latest, most pristine copies of each film.
Unfortunately, Svengoolie giveth with one hand and taketh with the other: some of the movies are edited down with a ruthless cleaver to fit into the timeslot with commercials. "Munster Go Home" being one of the worst examples: no less than 18 minutes were cut for this airing! Now I need to track down an intact print somewhere to see what we missed: more Hermione perhaps? Or more Yvonne, in her divine coffin-lining cape?
Then again, I guess its all relative. The overwhelming majority of "Munster Go Home" airings were in after-school "4:30 movie" time slots on local stations during the 70s-80s, which knocked the 96 mins theatrical run time down to a meager 70 mins. So "Svengoolie" was actually an improvement at 78 mins.
My Dear,
I could not tell it was
edited down, so David and I
enjoyed what we saw. Yvonne
was so great, as were Terry
and Hermione, whom I thought
would have been the killer racer!
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