Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man 1943 Promotional Mannequins

[raycastile]

I can't imagine this is a small town theater.  Big city theaters are going to charge more than the national average.

[Monsters For Sale]

I can't imagine this is a small town theater.  Big city theaters are going to charge more than the national average.

Especially on what looks to be a very heavily promoted special "Premiere" run for that city.

[Toy Ranch]

What I can't believe is that this discussion has sidetracked into substantiating the date of the photos.  Everything about them screams 1940's.  The hairstyles, the fashion, the fact that FMTWM was released in March, and everyone is wearing a coat, the posters, the size of the crowd, the level of the ballyhoo being justifiable ONLY for the original release, etc. etc. etc.  And the fact that the gloves on the Wolf Man mannequin resemble mole hands, and Universal later released a movie about Mole People is the ONLY reason it's being questioned...  the thinking here is totally flawed.  It's a ridiculous assertion. 

[Scatter]

 

[Monsters For Sale]

What I can't believe is that this discussion has sidetracked into substantiating the date of the photos.  Everything about them screams 1940's.  The hairstyles, the fashion, the fact that FMTWM was released in March, and everyone is wearing a coat, the posters, the size of the crowd, the level of the ballyhoo being justifiable ONLY for the original release, etc. etc. etc.  And the fact that the gloves on the Wolf Man mannequin resemble mole hands, and Universal later released a movie about Mole People is the ONLY reason it's being questioned...  the thinking here is totally flawed.  It's a ridiculous assertion.

Of course, it's ridiculous on its face.

If FMTWM were being being re-released 13 years later, not only would it not receive such fanfare, it definitely would NOT be re-issued with an obscure 1943 movie about a prison break - it would be paired with another Universal monster picture.

Duh!

-------------------------------------------------------------

The 1950's were the golden age of Universal-International Sci-Fi movies.  The Mole People came out in 1956. 

The classic 30's/40's Universal monsters had been relegated to childrens' Saturday morning matinees.  In October of 1957, they were sold to TV.

The pictures SCREAM 1943!

[Scatter]

Yup, the stake through the heart of the '50s theory is the identification of the second billed movie.  I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that some of these pieces survived. It's thrilling!!

[Minion]

What I can't believe is that this discussion has sidetracked into substantiating the date of the photos.  Everything about them screams 1940's.  The hairstyles, the fashion, the fact that FMTWM was released in March, and everyone is wearing a coat, the posters, the size of the crowd, the level of the ballyhoo being justifiable ONLY for the original release, etc. etc. etc.  And the fact that the gloves on the Wolf Man mannequin resemble mole hands, and Universal later released a movie about Mole People is the ONLY reason it's being questioned...  the thinking here is totally flawed.  It's a ridiculous assertion. 

Yes, god forbid that a discussion on this board should ever progress past anything other than "Great score Bobby". How CRAZY I am to think that a movie theater would actually keep and - gulp! - re-use promotional materials for a film they are possibly re-showing! My imagination must be just running WILD to think that this theater may have created some sort of Mole Man display for a showing of THAT film and then re-used the gloves on a Wolfman display for a a re-showing of a movie that played in theaters until 1957! I can't believe I have the GALL to point out that 50 (or 55 with tax) cents for a movie fits into 50s average movie ticket prices! To think that a huge crowd of people, with questionable 40s or 50s attire, would gather at a theater to see a film if it's not newly released is just INSANE!  How DARE I not just accept what is presented to me without questioning it. HOW DARE I?! Yes Bobby, HOW COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS I AM!!!

Just remove my comments and any others referring to them and this thread can go back to being just about the busts and how cool you are for spending money on them.

[zombiehorror]

how cool you are for spending money on them.

I dunno about being cool for spending money on them but he's certainly cool for sharing the photos/stories about them!  These are the kinds of items that most of us will never see let alone ever own.....Lastly I think his point was, "Who cares when the photos are from?", I understand that you were just curious and stating your opinion but I think others have made valid/conclusive points about the time period of the photos.

[Toy Ranch]

No Aaron, we don't remove comments like that at the UMA.

I know this guy who has always been a little odd, but most people I know are a little odd.  One day, a few years ago, he went to a storage auction and  bought a locker.  The guy who had owned it was a former member of the military, and he was working with NASA.  In the locker were photos of the moon, taken from one of the Apollo missions.  He had the photos scanned at a very high resolution, and they had been printed from negatives that were dusty, so there were dust spots on the surface of the moon, and in space as well.  There were string fibers, dust, etc. on them.  He decided that this wasn't dust, rather it was a life form that lived in space and on the moon.  He concocted an elaborate story about their habits and nature.  After a time, it had been shown to him that this "life form" he saw, was actually dust on the negatives.  He accepted that it was dust, and then started seeing vegetation on the dark side of the moon, and other things in the photos. 

His original premise wasn't ridiculous, it was flimsy and misinformed, but not ridiculous.  When it was shown to him that his life form was actually dust on the negatives, and he started finding other things in the photos, that was when it went to ridiculous.

[fmofmpls]

Wow, sorry I'm late to the party. First off, I want to say how happy I am for Bobby and his willingness to share these remarkable figures with the masses. These are without question, some of the coolest monster collectibles I've seen in the past decade or so. Unique, historical, and freaking cool in every possible way. The pictures seal the deal for me every time I look at them. And while some here may choose to dissect and debate the exact era and timeframe of these figure's existence, I'll just simply say they're timeless. Regardless of ticket prices, wardrobe attire, or even Mole People vs Wolf Man claws, these are the real deal no matter how you wanna (or don't wanna) look at it. A very high salute to Bobby!

[Vandor Zorkov]

Man, that chick Frankie is carrying was HOT.

[Sean]

Hey, ho.... FELLAS...  Let's all be pals here.  I'm sure we can work out a deal that is acceptable to all.

Bobby, just say that all of Aaron's suspicions about the items are correct.
Aaron, just tell Bobby his stuff is cool anyway.
Scatter, just send me 20 grand in unmarked bills.

See?  Everybody is happy.

I have to admit that I think the photos and items are REALLY cool------but that was without paying attention to Bobby's mention that he now OWNED them!  WOW.  I just thought you found them pictured somewhere.  Or found the guy who owned them and took some shots of your own.  Forgive my attention deficit.  My brain melts a little when I have to read too much in 1 shot. 

Incredibly cool.

[Radioactive Rod Whitenack]

I'm staying out of the argument over the decade, but I agree with everyone that these are both the coolest and probably the most historically significant find in our hobby in the last 20 years (every bit as cool as Dave Conovers' "War Eagles" material)! Is there any possibility that the UMA could arrange to display these at Wonderfest in May in association with the annual display? I'm drooling over the possibility of going to Dave Hodge, Dave Conover and Donnie Waddell with the idea displaying these and maybe looking into showing "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" during the show. It would completely depend on Toy Ranch's comfort with it first, and then I'd have to get big wig approval, but I think Conover and Waddell would flip over it. Any interest at all?

[Sean]

Not to mention that this is a very convincing monster---who looks better than Bela did in the film!

[Toy Ranch]

I'm staying out of the argument over the decade, but I agree with everyone that these are both the coolest and probably the most historically significant find in our hobby in the last 20 years (every bit as cool as Dave Conovers' "War Eagles" material)! Is there any possibility that the UMA could arrange to display these at Wonderfest in May in association with the annual display? I'm drooling over the possibility of going to Dave Hodge, Dave Conover and Donnie Waddell with the idea displaying these and maybe looking into showing "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" during the show. It would completely depend on Toy Ranch's comfort with it first, and then I'd have to get big wig approval, but I think Conover and Waddell would flip over it. Any interest at all?

I don't know, Rod.  Monster Bob says they're fairly common.  I hadn't seen them before, but he runs in different circles.  If there are that many others out there, and sculpted Wolf Man hands, and undamaged Frankensteins, and more...  making such a fuss over them would be silly.  We haven't finalized our display plans for 2012.  I don't think we are going to be at Wonderfest this year, but won't rule anything out.