Late Night Blogging: The Munsters

The Munsters: "My Fair Munster" (October 1, 1964)

In “My Fair Munster,” another boyfriend drops Marilyn (Beverly Owen, and Grandpa (Al Lewis) decides to do something about it. He concocts in his basement laboratory a love potion that will make her irresistible to all who set eyes on her. 

Grandpa puts the potion in Marilyn’s oatmeal, but Marilyn skips breakfast, and Herman (Fred Gwynne) and Lily (Yvonne De Carlo) end up eating the love potion.

Before long, the mailman, Mr. Bloom (John Fiedler) is madly in love with Lily, and the nosy neighbor, Yolanda Cribbins (Claire Carleton) is in love with Herman…

Funnily enough, “My Fair Munster,” the second episode of The Munsters (1964 – 1966) is something of a bedroom farce.

This format, a forerunner to the Theatre of the Absurd, is known for its strange sexual pairings, and the running through and slamming of various household doors.  The form features a mixture of high and low humor, and focuses, often, on outrageous dialogue.

That brief definition perfectly describes the last section of “My Fair Munster,” as Lily and Herman attempt to avoid and escape their suitors, sometimes in apparent fast-motion. 

They do so by running through secret doors, hiding in wardrobes, and going in and out of various rooms in their Gothic mansion. 

So the episode -- in somewhat inspired fashion -- couples 1940s Universal Monsters and Gothic settings with French-inspired bedroom farce situations.

And here I thought American sitcoms of the 1960s were stupid…

But seriously, this is another Marilyn-centric early episode of The Munsters, in which her doting parents worry for her because they see her as being out of the norm.  and therefore disadvantaged.  Lily notes that Marilyn is “not as fortunate as the rest of us,” and so, by inference, the others should be patient with her.  

Exasperated, Herman notes “No one of my side of the family looks like that.”

And, of course, Marilyn is conventionally beautiful, whereas Herman is, conventionally-speaking, hideous.  Once more, it’s all part of The Munsters' ongoing conceit about fitting in, and beauty being in the eye of the beholder. The Munsters don’t see themselves as being outside the norm. They see themselves as perfect, normal, Americans.

It’s everyone else who is weird.

Once again, “My Fair Lady” hits the same gag, over and over.  Herman, tending to his back yard, observes “I'll be out back, watering the weeds.”  And later, he is told “You know, they just don’t make men like you, anymore.”  This is literally true, since he is cobbled together from several dead men.

Again and again, these jokes point out clichés of American life and then twist them to some monstrous (and therefore funny) standard.  

The Munsters hits this target again and again, repetitively, over its run, a one joke show.  But, again, that one joke is really pretty funny.  

You either get tired of the joke, or get on board, and admire the target practice.  

I go with the latter option, especially since The Munsters seems so concerned with a pro-social outcome: helping us understand that "normal" is in the eye of the beholder.

The Munsters Drag Race Game

The Munsters Casting Set (Emenee)

Trading Cards of the Week: The Munsters (Leaf)

The Munsters GAF Viewmaster

The Munsters Halloween Costume (Ben Cooper)

Model Kit of the Week: The Munster Koach (AMT)

Lunchbox of the Week: The Munsters

Board Game of the Week: The Munsters Picnic Game

Theme Song of the Week: The Munsters (1964 - 1966)

Advert Artwork: The Munsters Edition

The Munsters: "Munster Masquerade" (September 24, 1964)

Marilyn’s (Beverley Owen) new boyfriend, Tom Daley (Linden Chiles) invites the Munsters to a masquerade party on Halloween night.

Marilyn, who is serious about Tom -- and knows that the Munsters “are very old-fashioned” -- insists this would be the perfect opportunity for the families to meet.

Accordingly, Lily (Yvonne De Carlo), Grandpa (Al Lewis) and Herman (Fred Gwynne) dress up in costume and attend the fancy party, while little Eddie (Butch Patrick) stays home with a new babysitter, Mrs. Morton (Lurene Tuttle).

Unfortunately, the Munsters and the Daleys prove very different in terms of family traditions and manners…

“Munster Masquerade,” the first episode of CBS’s The Munsters (1964 – 1966), takes the Munster family to high society, and in Halloween costumes, to boot. 

This comic set-up provides the episode’s amusing pay-off: Herman Munster -- a Frankenstein Monster -- is presumed to be in costume under his costume, though is actually wearing his real (stitched-together) face.

Significantly, “Munster Masquerade” is dominated by dialogue that stresses the importance of family in regard to these American “Monsters” who live at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Marilyn calls her adopted parents “old fashioned,” for example, and Herman says that “we Munsters are a very old family.”  

So, even though this family is different from the American suburban norm, we can see from this inaugural episode that it prides itself on its traditions and beliefs, as well as its modern life in 1960s America. The Munsters have a history, and our proud of that history. So they are more like the rest of us than would seem apparent based solely on appearances.

The episode also explores the old idea that when your child marries, you are also marrying another family.  

In this case, Marilyn’s interest in Tom necessitates that the Munsters get to know the Daleys, a family of snobbish elitists.  The Daleys think the Munsters are beneath them, and this, finally, is what ruins the day (and Marilyn's relationship).  

Importantly, the deal-breaker isn’t the fact that the Munsters are monsters; it’s that to the Daleys, Marilyn’s family is below their station, or class.

In a weird way, The Munsters really is a one joke kind of show. The Munsters think they are completely normal and average; while the rest of the world thinks they are hideous and terrifying.  

The Munsters, in good faith, attempt to cross this gulf of understanding, but find themselves rejected or rebuffed by society at large. However, the Munsters always have each other, and the strong bonds of family, and so each episode is about that bond being strengthened, even in the face of what might be termed prejudice or discrimination. 

Uniquely, the Munsters never blame society for their problems in assimilation. They just assume they've run into another cuckoo bird, and try again the next time.  In this, there is something inherently optimistic about them.

But the series' central gag -- which repeats (and which can be genuinely funny) -- involves the Munsters citing bromides about family or modes of behavior, but putting a “monster” spin on them.  

For instance, Eddie -- the werewolf -- is told by Lily to “wash behind” his "points;" meaning his pointed ears. That's a variation, of course, on every mom's ubiquitous advice to wash behind the ears.

And Herman notes that he is “every inch a gentleman…in fact, several gentleman,” making note of his origin as a cobbled-together corpse in a laboratory.

In some way, The Munsters is a reiteration -- in every single episode -- of this idea, of the Munsters interpreting life through their unusual lens. But they do so in a fashion that viewers can nonetheless recognize or understand. 

The series thus takes cliches involving family and then spins them in a new and humorous way involving vampires, werewolves, or other monsters.  

To some, the repeating of this same joke may be tiresome, but just one episode in, the joke is good for a laugh, or more correctly, several laughs.

I also admired here the extreme detail that goes into the set decor of the Munster mansion.  The house is filled with cob-webs, dusty books have tilted from their shelves, and every dark, dank corner is filled with some creepy, messy touch. This is the hearth of the Munsters, and it looks great in stark black-and-white.

Outré Intro: The Munsters (1964 - 1966)

In the mid-1960s, two sitcom monster families -- The Addams Family (1964 - 1966) and The Munsters (1964 - 1966)--  duked it out on the airwaves. 

The Addams Family always had the higher ratings, but CBS's The Munsters was my favorite.  

Growing up, I loved The Munsters as an homage -- at least in terms of design -- to the classic Universal Monsters.

But more than that, I loved the series' thematic content, which expresses the idea, basically, that "normal" is in the eye of the beholder. 

And, even more than that, The Munsters suggests that people who are outside so-called societal norms can still possess loving families and loving homes.  We needn't pass judgment because they aren't exactly the same as we are.

The Munster family -- a Frankenstein Monster, a werewolf, two vampires and a pet dragon -- are thus stand-ins or surrogates for any outsider attempting to assimilate into America, and achieve the American dream of happiness and economic freedom. 

The Munsters serve as a reminder that our country is a melting pot, and that it incorporates traditions from all over the world. Even Monsters -- if they  obey the laws and are good citizens -- can fit in and become part or our national tapestry.

Scratch the surface some, and there's a message in The Munsters too about prejudice. 

To mainstream, middle-class eyes, the Munsters are different, weird, and more than a little scary.  

But as viewers of the program, we start to see the substance of the characters, episode-to-episode. 

And what do we register?

That they are just like us, despite their visual appearance as different or unusual. 

Lily is the doting mom. Herman the good-hearted but clumsy Dad.  Grandpa is the possibly-senile old man who makes life difficult, but family is family, right? And little Eddie is the cute-as-button school kid, always complaining about his bedtime or chores, or homework.

And then, finally, we have clear evidence of the Munsters' ability to accept the other in their midst: Marilyn.  

She is the daughter of Lily's niece, and a straight-up human with no monstrous qualities at all.  The Munsters don't exactly consider her normal (or attractive), but they love her in spite of these differences, and treat her as a beloved member of the family. They accept her, even if they don't always understand her.

Again, the idea behind The Munsters is almost radical for a mid-1960s sensibility.  

Those of us who look or act different, the series states, are still family, and still loved...and lovable.  

One can thus view the Munsters themselves as a symbol of any ethnicity or orientation that is not considered mainstream. We may judge these individuals as different or even frightening on first blush, but once we get to know them, we see the qualities that we have in common with them, instead of the things that divide us.

The introductory montage to the series is quite similar season-to-season, but I've selected the first season specifically for this piece.  As one might expect, the idea underlying the series is the conjunction of normalcy with strangeness.  

We see monsters, literally, acting as loving family members.

First, we begin with Mom Lily. It is the beginning of any day, and she waits at the bottom of the staircase to greet her loved ones.

First up is Grandpa, Lily's Dad. He isn't quite right, and tries to feed on Lily's hand. His vampire instincts are not controlled well, apparently.  Lily withdraws her hand and shows her displeasure.  In this case, vampirism substitutes, perhaps, for senility, or just the generation gap.  

Grandpa is still loved, even though he makes problems for the family on a regular basis.

Next, we meet Marilyn, who is heading off to high school. She is the character we consider most like us, but -- being raised with the Munsters -- she doesn't see anything unusual about her family. 

She pecks Lily on the cheek and heads to school, not even aware that society views her adopted parents as "monsters." I love the character of Marilyn because she reminds us of the innocence of youth.  She loves her family, and has not bought into societal concepts like prejudice or discrimination. She only sees these "monsters" as people she loves; her family.

Next, Lily greets Eddie, the youngest Munster, and shows him too much attention. He wants to be grown-up, not doted on by his Mom.

Finally, here comes Big Daddy: Herman Munster. 

He sleepwalks down the stairs (and haven't we all felt like we start our work days sleep walking?) and gets handed his lunch-box by Lily before he heads off to the job.  

They kiss, and he clearly likes the attention, thinking himself a lucky man, no doubt.

The staircase featured in the introduction remains in the center of the frame throughout, signifying the importance of hearth and home. Similarly, Lily's central position near the frame suggests her importance to the family members, one and all.  The idea is a of a normal family starting its day.

But this just happens to be a family of (loving) monsters. 

And really, who are we to stand in judgment of this family and its customs, just because, visually, they don't resemble us?

If more Americans today remembered the lessons of The Munsters, we'd all get along much better. Don't judge my family, and I won't judge yours. 

Now apply that lesson to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, gays, straights, conservatives, liberals, southerners, northerners, blacks, whites, Latinos, Asians, Democrats and Republicans...and so much of the fear and hate we see in our national discourse would surely dissipate.

If we can look at Herman and see a regular Dad, and not a monster, certainly we can do the same for our real-life neighbors, right?

Below, introductions to The Munsters, and The Munsters Today (1988 - 1991).