Super 7 "Official Universal Monsters Thread"

[Mike Scott]

It was around June 30th or July 1 of last year.

Yeah, I remember the event, now, if not the comment.

[geezer butler]

Damn, I never saw that (and I'm glad I did not). I think it's safe to say 99.9% of us on UMA do not condone or appreciate that kind of attitude and language.
 

[comixzombie]

Super pumped for S3.  Really hoping for S4.

I'm hoping they take this as far as they possibly can. Which raises the question, how far can they take it?

I was thinking what a series 4 would even be.

Just sticking strictly to "monsters", I came up with Dracula's Daughter, Son of Dracula, Dracula (John Carradine), Kharis, and the Phantom of the Opera (Claude Rains). I've still yet to see any of the Invisivle Man sequels, so I'm unsure if any of the Invisible Men look strikingly different from the original.

I'm not knocking the next few I'm about to list, but I'm not sure they'd be hot sellers.

Are Brute Man and Man Made Monster even remotely options? I mean, I would love them. But, how deep can they go?

Do we start getting Karloff and Lugosi from other stuff like The Raven and The Black Cat? Or do they start sprinkling more supporting characters ala Ygor? Renfield, Fritz, Pratorius, Henry Frakenstein?

They're clearly not afraid of double dipping and doing variations of the same characters, so I could ser a King of Fools Quasimodo or a Werewolf of London with a hat and trenchcoat.

[Mike Scott]

I've still yet to see any of the Invisivle Man sequels, so I'm unsure if any of the Invisible Men look strikingly different from the original.

VP, in the first sequel, has a similar bandaged look, but the others are just invisible.

[AndyFish]

All right- I'll play;

Karloff from The Black Cat
Dr Frankenstein
Pretorious
Lugosi from The Black Cat
Chaney Son of Dracula
Karloff from The Raven or The Old Dark House

Wild Card-- Lugosi as White Zombie's Murder Legendre-- they have the Lugosi license an WZ is public domain, so it seems like a natural choice.

[Monsters For Sale]

... I've still yet to see any of the Invisivle Man sequels, so I'm unsure if any of the Invisible Men look strikingly different from the original.... 

The ill-fated Son of the Invisible Man was shelved by the studio, all production materials were ordered destroyed and employees forbidden to ever speak of it again.  The gag order remains in effect to this day.

        https://youtu.be/h8IQ5-89ey8

The director never worked in Hollywood again and died in Obscurity.  *



*  The disgraced director expired in 1957 at the County Free Clinic in Obscurity, Arizona, just outside of Winslow, where he succumbed from injuries suffered when he took a running start and threw himself into the Barringer Crater.  Sadly, he had not figured on the gentle slope of the crater's walls, due to erosion, and scraped off 85% of his skin on the tumble to the bottom.  The Free Clinic Burn Ward staff said it was the worst case they had ever handled. 

He lingered for 17 days before succumbing to infections incurred due to lack of medical insurance.

A failure to the end, his death came just after local weekly newspaper, The Obscurity Observer, went to press.  His death was not  included in that week's obituaries.  When the following week's edition was devoted entirely to the passing of local legend Polka King Big Pappa Oom Pa Pa .  Disgusted, the Observer's last three readers cancelled their subscriptions and the Observer went bankrupt. 

The anonymous director's obituary was never published.


UMA members wishing to pay homage to the unknown director may find his unmarked grave in the northeast corner of Pauper's Rest Cemetery, just outside Winslow.  It's that little sunken spot behind the combination sundial/birdbath.  The spot is just a little square patch, due to the sundial having been recently installed and no other space being available. 

The intent had been to inter him standing up, but the wooden crate (donated by the fine folks at Ferguson's Feed & Fishing Tackle on Main Street, north of the shuttered slaughterhouse - "Ferguson's,  Fer ALL Yer Feed 'n Fishin' Needs") slipped off the wagon and went down head first.

Since the winch on Tommy Ferguson's truck was broken, they figured it was best not to disturb the deceased's eternal rest by hiring extra help to drag him back up again.

R.I.P., whoever you were.

[Mike Scott]

Love that "Son of . ." clip! Maybe my favorite from the movie. Loved your story on the director, too! 

"died in Obscurity. . . . Obscurity, Arizona"

[Count Zachula]

I'm hoping they take this as far as they possibly can. Which raises the question, how far can they take it?

I was thinking what a series 4 would even be.

Just sticking strictly to "monsters", I came up with Dracula's Daughter, Son of Dracula, Dracula (John Carradine), Kharis, and the Phantom of the Opera (Claude Rains). I've still yet to see any of the Invisivle Man sequels, so I'm unsure if any of the Invisible Men look strikingly different from the original.

I'm not knocking the next few I'm about to list, but I'm not sure they'd be hot sellers.

Are Brute Man and Man Made Monster even remotely options? I mean, I would love them. But, how deep can they go?

Do we start getting Karloff and Lugosi from other stuff like The Raven and The Black Cat? Or do they start sprinkling more supporting characters ala Ygor? Renfield, Fritz, Pratorius, Henry Frakenstein?

They're clearly not afraid of double dipping and doing variations of the same characters, so I could ser a King of Fools Quasimodo or a Werewolf of London with a hat and trenchcoat.

They did just make a Dr. Caligari figure...I'd consider that pretty obscure even though its a well known Silent Film.  Would be great to get some characters you don't normally see! I'm up for anything.

[Monsters For Sale]

Love that "Son of . ." clip! Maybe my favorite from the movie. Loved your story on the director, too! 

"died in Obscurity. . . . Obscurity, Arizona"

Obscurity, Arizona was a smallish mining community that became a ghost town when the fool's gold vein ran out.  It had a population of 5 to 7 (depending on when the Turnbull twins were driving their big rig trucks out of state).  It finally dried up when the Interstate highway cut it in half in the 70's.  You can still see the old turn off to Mainstreet, marked "Road Ends In 300 ft.".

It's since fallen on hard times.  Maggie Turnbull's Obscurity Souvenir Shoppe is lucky to sell 2 or 3 "I Saw Obscurity" pennants a month these days.

[Monsters For Sale]

My first thought was Billy Barty...


                                    Dr. Caligari - Figure - 3.75 in. - Super7 ReAction, 2020

Now I'm thinking, Close, but... NO.  What modern actor does he remind me of?

[aura of foreboding]

In my quest to try and figure out what happened to Shannon back in July (I was unsuccessful), I discovered a forgotten figure: the MEGO 14" Dracula!  What the heck ever happened to that?!  I'd like to see it come to light eventually, along with the fourth series of S7 Remco Monsters... 

Here's who I'd want:

Henry Frankenstein
Renfield
Professor Van Helsing
Dracula's Daughter
Son of Dracula
43 Phantom

[marsattacks666]

My first thought was Billy Barty...


                                    Dr. Caligari - Figure - 3.75 in. - Super7 ReAction, 2020

Now I'm thinking, Close, but... NO.  What modern actor does he remind me of?

Danny Devito, as the Penguin. Batman Returns-1992

[AndyFish]

Tim Burton said in an interview that his version of the Penguin was based on Caligari.

[marsattacks666]

Tim Burton said in an interview that his version of the Penguin was based on Caligari.

Interesting.

[fearliath]

Tim Burton said in an interview that his version of the Penguin was based on Caligari.

A somewhat interesting blog post I came across on the connections between Tim Burton films and German Expressionistic cinema:

http://popculturehowl.blogspot.com/2012/09/holy-expressionism-batman-thoughts-on_9739.html