Super 7 "Official Universal Monsters Thread"

[Count Zachula]

LOVE that VP! Is the crow the same one they used for Hitchcock?

[aura of foreboding]

LOVE that VP! Is the crow the same one they used for Hitchcock?

Hitch's was hard to tell, but I assumed it was a crow too.  This one is definitely a raven, so a totally new sculpt.   

[Mike Scott]

This one is definitely a raven

Symbolic of all the Poe movies.

[Subatomic_Matt]

Can't wait to get Vincent Price! I think it would be a real good idea if everybody interested posted something on the VP Super7 posts about 1)how great this is and 2) when is William Castle coming? 

[Mike Scott]

Was somebody looking for one of these S7 yellow Creature masks? EDIT: He bought one.

https://super7.com/collections/toys-from-the-crypt/products/universal-monsters-mask-creature-from-the-black-lagoon-yellow

[MonsterBaker666]

Can't wait to get Vincent Price! I think it would be a real good idea if everybody interested posted something on the VP Super7 posts about 1)how great this is and 2) when is William Castle coming? 

Yeah, complete with inflatable skeleton and tingler

[MrDark1]

On the Monsters Estates vs Uni Studios the short of it;

Lugosi was 1st estate to sue Uni in the 60's over the Don Post mask.
Karloff ent sued In the 90s, asked all other families to join her.
Chaney stayed with Uni for awhile longer, then claimed to be cheated by the studio on profits owed etc.
Lugosi estate fought long with the studio, won, then signed briefly with them, that did not last, and now offers the Broadway license.

Have not heard that Chaney Ent won their lawsuit yet, perhaps, but have not read that ,sure hope so.
Karloff did sale the image to Uni as part of her winning lawsuit, seen some Karloff items since, but they still gum up this property with the generic cartoon images for some reason ($$$$.$$) too.

[MonsterBaker666]

I want a Tom Tyler Kharis figure.  And a Gil Perkins Frankenstein figure.  And an Eddie Parker Wolf Man figure.

And the CHFB better watch out if there are any members of the Rondo Hatten family still around. 

[YoungestMonsterKid]

https://super7.com/products/vincent-price-reaction-wave-1-vincent-price-ascot

There honestly need to be more Vincent Price figures that are JUST Vincent Price.

[MonsterBaker666]

I think if this Vincent Price figure sells well enough more will come.  This one is being called the "Ascot " version, suggesting more to come.

As to the families of Karloff,  Lugosi and Chaney...pretty soon the Glenn Strange family will join their ranks and we might see Strange Frankeinstein figures.  And Mad Monster ones.

Could be a good thing or a bad thing.  What if the families of the producer of the Dracula play jumps in and sues the Lugosi family...making money off of figures from a play they produced?? And are there any survivors of Jack Pierce out there suing over the makeup designs?  Intellectual property rights, ya know.

[John Pertwee]

Jack was an employee of Universal so it would depend on if he signed that away.

As for the stage Dracula, Lugosi played Dracula in many different productions so they would have to prove it was their property that was infringed upon.

[YoungestMonsterKid]

Jack was an employee of Universal so it would depend on if he signed that away.

As for the stage Dracula, Lugosi played Dracula in many different productions so they would have to prove it was their property that was infringed upon.

Yeah, and I would be surprised if none of those plays, not even one, is public domain. Honestly, I'd bet they're all PD by now.

[aura of foreboding]

I don't even think Lugosi is really even using the play anymore as the main part of their licensing.  They're just using "Bela Lugosi IS Dracula," no mention of the play, so whatever happened with the Chaneys obviously impacted how Lugosi was doing business too.  Sure, they still use play photographs and materials for providing images for packaging for manufacturers, but we have Lugosi as Ygor and all sorts of other characters without mention of Universal.

[MonsterBaker666]

Perhaps with all the family members claiming rights to their dead relatives in the roles (Karliff, Lugosi, Chaney, Strange, Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Kharis Mummy, the Mummy, The Wolf Man, Ygor, Son Of Dracula...did I miss any?) Does that mean it's the end of the "Universal Monsters"??

[aura of foreboding]

Perhaps with all the family members claiming rights to their dead relatives in the roles (Karliff, Lugosi, Chaney, Strange, Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Kharis Mummy, the Mummy, The Wolf Man, Ygor, Son Of Dracula...did I miss any?) Does that mean it's the end of the "Universal Monsters"??

We'll always have Universal Monsters, because they own Karloff's rights and the rights to the Creature. 

Had they bartered a deal with Lugosi and Chaney, they could have had everything.  I am waiting with baited breath to see what happens in 2026 with Lugosi's likeness.  That could determine the viability of the licensed Universal Monsters going forward.  But, I mean we'll always have the generics.  And we've had those since 1991, and, while the Monsters haven't necessarily flourished in the past 30 years, they haven't disappeared either. 

The new merchandising isn't going to hurt the Universal Monsters as a line, although Chaney has the potential to given they can now license out the Big 4 (Mummy swapped with Creature here).  But it depends who they license to.  Lugosi has mostly licensed to boutique manufacturers (Infinite Statues, Royal Bobbles, Retro A Go Go), not major toy companies.  And when Lugosi does license with big players like TOT, NECA, or MEGO, those folks usually follow up with Universal licenses afterward or alongside Lugosi.  In many ways, I think Lugosi's licensing has benefited Universal.  Because the companies usually follow up with a Universal license after they have gotten a Lugosi one.  Chaney has pretty much done the same as Lugosi up to this point.  I believe the TOT Phantom mask wasn't Universal either.  The first MEGO Wolf Man figure was done through Chaney, but not called the Wolf Man.  (That would be different if done today, I guess.)  Lugosi can't do any damage to Universal through their licensing, even if they partnered with Mattel, because you'd only get main monsters Dracula and Frankenstein.  If Chaney really wanted to rock the boat, they could partner with a major manufacturer and license out Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Phantom of the Opera.  Once Lugosi's rights expire, companies could just insert Lugosi Draculas into their lines in lieu of Alucard.  Heck, if Lugosi were really on top of it, they'd barter a deal with Chaney to get Lugosi represented as Dracula in anything Chaney licenses out, securing revenue for decades to come as part of the Chaney-Lugosi Classic Monsters, basically forcing the hand of companies to pay a Lugosi license even though they wouldn't have to once 2026 rolls around.  Is something like this going to happen?  I don't know.  Universal can license out Chaney, Sr.'s likeness and they don't.  Maybe it's because of the makeup issue.  Maybe it's because of something else.  We don't know all the sordid details of these settlements and agreements.  But more monsters being out there will be good for us.  The players just have to put the right cards on the table at the right time to ensure the viability of these monsters.  Universal is always going to have an upperhand, because they are the known quantity.  When a company wants to license the classic monsters, they'll always think Universal first.  But if Chaney-Lugosi Classic Monsters became a thing...  that might get Universal to kick it into high gear and figure out how to fix its problems.