''Halloween with the New Addams Family'' is a 1977 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

comedy horror film Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...

based on the 1964–1966 sitcom ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...

''. In contrast to the "new" in the title, most of the original series regulars reprised their roles, including

John Astin John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles. He is best known for starring in ''The Addams Family'' (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising th ...

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...

(billed as a "special guest star"),

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic ''The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the ...

Ted Cassidy Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor noted for his tall stature at and deep voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of ...

Lisa Loring Lisa Loring (born Lisa Ann DeCinces; February 16, 1958 – January 28, 2023) was an American actress. She is best known for her work as a child actress playing Wednesday Addams at six years old on the 1964–1966 sitcom ''The Addams Family''. L ...

Ken Weatherwax Kenneth Patrick Weatherwax (September 29, 1955 – December 7, 2014) was an American child actor best known for having played Pugsley Addams on ''The Addams Family''. Biography Weatherwax was born in Los Angeles, California, into a show-business ...

and

Felix Silla Felix Anthony Silla (January 11, 1937 – April 16, 2021), also credited as Felix Cilla, was an Italian actor and stuntman, known for his career in Hollywood in TV and film. Silla starting his career in the circus, but is best known especial ...

. Eleven years after the cancellation of the 1960s TV series, it was the only presentation that brought together most of the original cast in a color production, shot on videotape.

Plot

Gomez's brother Pancho is staying with the Family while Gomez goes to a lodge convention in

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew si ...

. Gomez is jealous of his brother, who once courted Morticia. Halloween is nigh and Pancho tells the legend of Cousin Shy, who distributes gifts and carves pumpkins. Actually, Gomez has been lured off by crooks who have bugged the house in order to steal the Family fortune. The lead crook "Bones" Lafferty sends Mikey to investigate. Wednesday (Senior) is home from music academy, where she studied the

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

(she breaks glass with it). Pugsley (Senior) is home from

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

medical school, where he's training to be a witch doctor. Mikey panics and flees after treading on Kitty Kat's tail. The crooks have a fake Gomez and Morticia to help in their plans, along with two strong-arm goons, Hercules and Atlas. Gomez returns home for the Halloween party and trimming of the

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley ...

. Lafferty poses as Quincy Addams (from Boston) to get in. He has his men tie up Gomez and Morticia and his doubles take their places, confusing Pancho, who's still infatuated with Morticia. Lurch scares off the thugs and terrifies the assistant crook Louie the Lard (who was dressed as Little Bo Peep). Fester, trying to be nice, puts Lafferty on the rack. Lafferty tries to escape through the secret passage and steps on Kitty Kat's tail. When the police arrive upon responding to a noise complaint, Lafferty and his gang surrender. The Addams Family are then free to celebrate Halloween happily, ending the night by singing together in welcome for Cousin Shy.

Cast

Production

Blossom Rock Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), also known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. He ...

, who had originally portrayed Grandmama, was ill at the time of the production (she died in January 1978, nearly three months after this special aired), causing her role to be given to actress

Jane Rose Jane Prim Rose (February 7, 1913 – June 29, 1979) was an American character actress, perhaps best remembered as Audrey Dexter, the gently befuddled mother-in-law of Phyllis Lindstrom on the CBS sitcom ''Phyllis'' (1975–1977). Early life Jane ...

. Margaret Hamilton, who had portrayed Mother Frump, declined to appear in the film; her role was played by actress

Elvia Allman Elvia Beatrice Allman (September 19, 1904 – March 6, 1992) was an American actress in Hollywood films and television programs for over 50 years. She is best remembered for her semi-regular roles on ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' and ''Petticoat J ...

. Character actors

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

and

Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...

, who both had recurring roles in the original series, also appeared in the movie, but as different characters than they had portrayed originally.

Home media

In 1989,

GoodTimes Home Video GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and ...

released ''Halloween with the New Addams Family'' on VHS.

External links

* {{Halloween 1977 horror films 1977 television films 1977 films 1970s comedy horror films American comedy horror films NBC network original films Television films as pilots Television series reunion films Films based on television series Television films based on television series Halloween television specials The Addams Family films American films about Halloween Films scored by Vic Mizzy Films with screenplays by George Tibbles American drama television films 1970s American films