"The Munsters" (1964) TV series 1964-1966

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | unknown

Release Date:

24 September 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Horror

Plot:

A family of friendly monsters have misadventures never quite realising why people react to them so strangely.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Frankenstein | Werewolf | Vampire | Mad Scientist

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Fred Gwynne	...	Herman Munster / ... (72 episodes, 1964-1966)
Al Lewis	...	Grandpa (72 episodes, 1964-1966)
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Lily Munster (71 episodes, 1964-1966)
Butch Patrick	...	Eddie Wolfgang Munster / ... (71 episodes, 1964-1966)
Pat Priest	...	Marilyn Munster (57 episodes, 1964-1966)

Also Known As:

"Meet the Munsters" (USA) (working title)
"I mostri" (Italy) [it]
"La familia Monster" (Spain) [es]
"Les monstres" (France) [fr]
"Los Munsters" (Argentina) [es]
"Me Hirviöt" (Finland) [fi]
"Vi monster" (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]

Runtime:

30 min (70 episodes) | Argentina:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:PG (DVD rating) | USA:Not Rated (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Kayro-Vue Productions

Trivia:

Beverley Owen played Marilyn for the first 13 episodes and Pat Priest replaced her for the remainder of the series.

Goofs:

Plot holes: It's made clear that Marilyn is from Lily's side of the family, yet her last name is 'Munster'. Marilyn is Lily's sister's daughter, so Marilyn should have had Lily's sister's last name, which would not have been 'Dracula' if Marilyn's mother was married and had a married name. Lily's sister may have married a Munster too, but then that doesn't explain why Herman often says that Marilyn's looks have nothing to do with his side of the family. Apparently, Marilyn has simply taken the Munster family name.

Quotes:

Lily Munster: Oh, Marilyn... the circles under your eyes. How lovely you look today.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Red Dwarf: Legion (#6.2)" (1993)

The Perfect Family

Oh, I wish they made shows like The Munsters today. I have many happy memories of watching it. It was so innocent and so amusing. Somebody should release it onto DVD as soon as possible.

The Munsters were the perfect family. They may have been ugly, they may have been weird and they may have been totally eccentric but they loved each other and cared so much about each other.

The Munsters emphasized traits such as loyalty to your family and love (qualities not found in many shows today). But once you get past all that you had many highly amusing stories. One that springs to mind for me is when Herman and Grandpa Munster get locked in a bank vault one night just as a pair of robbers are about to steal the loot.

The one thing I enjoyed about The Munsters was it's total innocence. No bad language, no sex, no violence, just pure entertainment. Oh, it was brilliant. I cannot praise it enough.