In
1981, Mattel acquired the license to the epic Ray Harryhausen fantasy film, Clash
of the Titans, and produced a nice line of 3-inchaction figures and
toys based on the stop-motion spectacle.
Today,
many of these toys -- particularly the
Greek mythology-inspired “monsters” or “beasts” -- are worth a pretty penny
and considered collectors’ items.
In
terms of the action figures, Mattel produced Perseus -- Harry Hamlin’s
character -- described on his card as “The
Hero Son of Zeus,” and the film’s secondary villain, the deformed,
devil-like Calibos (“Lord of the Marsh.”)
It
also produced Thallo (“Captain of the Guard”), and Charon (“The Devil’s Boat
Keeper.”) I had all of these figures,
except for Charon. I still have them in
my home office, sharing a shelf with figures from Captain Power, Mork and Mindy,
The Black Hole, and Dune.
Mattel
also manufactured a Clash of the Titans set featuring Perseus and Pegasus (“The
Winged Horse), and best of all…the monstrous destroyer of cities, the
Kraken. I remember being in fifth grade
and wanting that Kraken toy more than anything, but I never managed to get my
hands on one.
I don’t know that these Clash of the Titans figures were all
that successful commercially, but they came with nice accouterments (like gold
shields and swords), and I always hoped for a second release featuring action figures
like Medusa, Bubo, Andromeda, Zeus, Poseidon, and so on.
Wish I still had mine. I was one of those kids who played with his toys till they broke and lost all their accessories.
ReplyDeleteAs a boy in '81, I never purchased these Mattel Clash Of The Titan toys, however, I can see why all the other kids did. These action figures are great. I was still into the Star Trek The Motion Picture, Filmation Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers In The 25th Century action figures in '81.
ReplyDeleteSGB
If they would've made a Medusa action figure, my allowance couldn't have disappeared fast enough.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I wanted these toys sooooo badly when I was a kid. This was one of my favorite flicks for the longest time. Pegasus looked so darn cool. I always thought there was a Medusa figure... but that must have been wishful thinking. I actually saw a Calibos figure in a toy bin at the doctor's office about seven or eight years ago. A little boy was having him beat up on a little push bear. I think I did a triple take just to make sure I was seeing the figure. It was pretty beat up, but still in one piece and still identifiable as Calibos.
ReplyDelete