Timeless Terors

[Charlie]

General Terry wrote:

"What exists out there in the world of prop collecting from the classic Universal monster films? Oh, I know of the stuff that Forry and Bob Burns owns. But what of some other less notable props such as lamps and other furnishings from various movie sets.

Example - how about the keepsake box from Dracula? The one that Bela slams to the floor after Professor Van Helsing mentions not seeing a reflection? Stuff like that? I never here of stuff like this ever surfacing. These are the things that boggle the mind. Where did this stuff end up? Other than Robert Taylor's basement?"


Well, Universal did produce a few replicas under the 'Timeless Terror' banner.
They came out several years ago and I'd guess they were only sold at the parks (?) 'cause they fly under my radar. I only found them by accident on eBay. There were roughly 12 items produced and here are the four I own:





The infamous cigarette box.
I'm still looking for a good still of Lugosi recoiling to display with this.



This lamp is seen on Elizebeth's nightstand when the monster breaks into her bedroom near the end of "Frankenstein". The lampshade is a little different (the orig has stripes) but the sculpt is pretty close. I've also seen it used in a couple later UNI films.




Hmm... This is from "Dracula" but I haven't been able to spot it in the film.
It has a frosted glass insert that plays Brahms Lullaby when the insert is lifted.

 

The mantle clock from "The Invisible Man".  After the Drac cig box, this is probably my favorite.

All this stuff is 'normal' and fits with most decors. You only need look at the bottom to know it's 'Terrorfiying!'

Charlie

[Minion]

Those are great! I like that box.

I picked up a Dracula ring from QMx at the begining of the year. I had pre-ordered it in October of 2006 if I'm not mistaken.
It's a copy made off of the ring Forrest Ackerman owns. I don't remember what film this ring first showed up in, but I know it wasn't the original Dracula. Came with a cool coffin box to store and display it in.

[Phantasm]

That's a very cool ring prop.  Do you know if they are still available or am I Ebay bound?

Chuck

[poseablemonster]

I believe the next batch from the manufacturer is shipping now, so they should become more available in the coming weeks. 

[Toy Ranch]

That's a very cool ring prop.  Do you know if they are still available or am I Ebay bound?

Chuck

They were supposed to be made in an edition of 1941, but there were never that many created.  Rumors have floated around for a while about whether there would be any more of the edition made, and just yesterday I read someone say they are supposed to be on the way now, finally.  I've seen Forry's ring in person and I have the QmX ring.  It is a dead-on copy.  You might have a hard time telling the QmX from the original if they were side by side.  The wear areas, everything in perfect detail.  Several copies of that ring are floating around and most of them are pretty cool (including the one by Richard Sheffield, who gave the ring to Forry in the first place), but the QmX one is superlative.

Here's a picture of Forry's ring, on his hand.


I enlarged just the ring in this one


Compare those to Minion's pics and you can see what I mean.

[monsterphile]

Well, Universal did produce a few replicas under the 'Timeless Terror' banner.
They came out several years ago and I'd guess they were only sold at the parks (?) 'cause they fly under my radar. I only found them by accident on eBay. There were roughly 12 items produced and here are the four I own:

I believe that these were also sold in Spencers stores or it was possibly a sister store of Spencers called Daby (I think).  That's the same store where I got the cookie jars.

Rob

[fmofmpls]

Thanks Charlie for reminding me of the Timeless Terrors products. I had forgotten all about those, and I even own three or four of these pieces myself. I have always wondered though just how accurate these really are in comparison to their original counterparts? I guess you said the lamp was pretty close with the exception of the shade. But what of the Dracula cigarette box? How close is it I wonder? Strange collectibles I thought when they first came out. Don't get me wrong, I just about died when I first laid eyes on these, but how many "normal people" had any interest in this kind of thing? Not many I'm afraid since I ended up buying mine at the theme park for something like $5.00 each! Thank God I'm weird. I just saved myself a boatload of money because of it! 

[Charlie]

Disappointingly, none of them are 100% accurate. It's a shame that they went to the trouble of making them without a bit more research. I'm amazed, though, they were made at all! Here are a couple shots of the cig box in the film and the "Timeless Terror" box held at a similar angle.
You can see the differences.





But without a side-by-side photo comparison, I think most of US would recognize the box as being from the film. To everyone else, it's just an interesting knick-knack.
Despite they're shortcomings, I like this stuff. I have a little Universal Monster in every room even if I'm the only one that knows it!

Charlie

[fmofmpls]

Thanks for those pics Charlie! You've rekindled my interest in the Timeless Terrors. I'll have to go digging to see what it is that I own. Hopefully, it's the cigarette box. That's cool.

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy. 

[Meek]

     I hate to be a spoil sport, but that heraldry depicted on the Dracula ring is bogus beyond reason; who ever, or whom ever, designed it had next to no knowledge of the very basics of heraldry--which could've easily been found in a book----and those two "bar sinisters" are very appropriate in this design's case---a bastard twice over. Actually a "bar sinister" only means that it is a line starting on an angle from the left side of the shield to the right; in heraldry the left side of a sheild is the "sinister" while the right side is the "dexter". A simple search would've found that a dragon passant impaled with a cross would've been correct since this was the symbol of the "Order of the Dragon" that the actual Dracula belonged to.

     Here endth my quibble.

     "Meek"(I speak heraldese)

Those are great! I like that box.

I picked up a Dracula ring from QMx at the begining of the year. I had pre-ordered it in October of 2006 if I'm not mistaken.
It's a copy made off of the ring Forrest Ackerman owns. I don't remember what film this ring first showed up in, but I know it wasn't the original Dracula. Came with a cool coffin box to store and display it in.








[/quote]

[Charlie]

Minion wrote:
"I picked up a Dracula ring from QMx at the begining of the year. I had pre-ordered it in October of 2006 if I'm not mistaken."

Meek wrote:
"I hate to be a spoil sport, but that heraldry depicted on the Dracula ring is bogus beyond reason; who ever, or whom ever, designed it had next to no knowledge of the very basics of heraldry--which could've easily been found in a book----and those two "bar sinisters" are very appropriate in this design's case---a bastard twice over. Actually a "bar sinister" only means that it is a line starting on an angle from the left side of the shield to the right; in heraldry the left side of a sheild is the "sinister" while the right side is the "dexter". A simple search would've found that a dragon passant impaled with a cross would've been correct since this was the symbol of the "Order of the Dragon" that the actual Dracula belonged to."

Minion,
That ring is definately cool! Yeah, it is cast from the original.

Linda (Meek),
I've long admired you from afar (Massachusetts). I admire your intelligence and wit.
But holy cr*p! I had to read your post 3 times before I understood what you were saying!
And I still don't get it all. What's "a dragon passant impaled with a cross "?

Anyway, although it has nothing to do with 'Timeless Terrors', here's a couple shots of my Dracula Ring from Demensional Designs. It came out several years before the QMX and was the only replica available at the time. Like the 'Timeless Terrors', it's close but not perfect. Compare these pics to Minion's.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/Chas_K/DracRing2.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/Chas_K/DracRing.jpg

Charlie

[Monster Bob]

They are both nice rings. I was always sorry I never bought the earlier version, but when the QMX came out, I was OK.

When I received mine, I was astonished at how much it looked like the real mmcoy; they even put 'wear' on it, making it difficult to tell from the original!

Now if the dern thing only fit me.

[ProfGriffin]

By the by...

The music box perfume decanter is from the scene in Dracula when Mina and Lucy are discussing the 'new guy on the block'.
"Dracula...Transylvania...castles...."

(Meanwhile the new guy is prowling the foggy streets below their window)

Lucy is holding the perfume and places the bottle in the holder at the scene's beginning.

[Meek]

      Shall I translate into a more modern form of English? Well, you know what a Dragon is---a "Dragon passant" means that he's just standing there minding his own business and "impaled with a cross" is just that---said Dragon has been run through by the bottom part of a crucifix.  An animal standing on it's hind legs is called "rampant"; an animal looking back over it's shoulder is "regardant", etc.  Ironic really, if you think about it---Vlad was into impaling and since "Dracula" is supposed to mean "Son of the Dragon" or "Son of the Devil" the Dragon symbol impaled would've been correct. Heraldry has terminology that is a mix of Latin, German, French and archaic English and it wasn't until 1483 that there was an official College of Arms in England, founded by Richard III, where set rules were made in the designing  and granting of arms---it seems that these rules apply through out world. The College of Arms still exists today in London.

    "Meek"(Nolo me tangeri)

But holy cr*p! I had to read your post 3 times before I understood what you were saying!
And I still don't get it all. What's "a dragon passant impaled with a cross "?

Anyway, although it has nothing to do with 'Timeless Terrors', here's a couple shots of my Dracula Ring from Demensional Designs. It came out several years before the QMX and was the only replica available at the time. Like the 'Timeless Terrors', it's close but not perfect. Compare these pics to Minion's.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/Chas_K/DracRing2.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/Chas_K/DracRing.jpg

Charlie
[/quote]

[fmofmpls]

Heraldry has terminology that is a mix of Latin, German, French and archaic English and it wasn't until 1483 that there was an official College of Arms in England, founded by Richard III, where set rules were made in the designing  and granting of arms---it seems that these rules apply through out world. The College of Arms still exists today in London.

Good lord, someone pass me a copy of Mad magazine quick! All this educational information is going to make my head burst!