''Munster, Go Home!'' is a 1966 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

based on the 1960s family

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...

''. It was directed by

Earl Bellamy Earl Arthur Bellamy (March 11, 1917 – November 30, 2003) was an American television and film director. Biography Bellamy was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was also known as Earl J. Bellamy, or Earl J. Bellamy, Jr. "Earl Bellamy." Contem ...

, who also directed a number of episodes in the series. The film was produced immediately after the television series completed filming its original run; it included the original cast with the exception of Marilyn, who was played by Debbie Watson replacing Pat Priest from the series.

Plot

Herman Munster (

Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...

) and his wife, Lily (

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and late ...

), learn from Cavanaugh Munster's

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

that they have inherited an English manor known as Munster Hall in Shroudshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and that Herman has inherited the designation

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

as "Lord Munster". The family boards the famous American transatlantic passenger ocean liner SS ''United States'' to

. Herman gets seasick, Marilyn ( Debbie Watson, encounters a new love and suitor Roger Moresby (

Robert Pine Robert Pine (born Granville Whitelaw Pine, July 10, 1941) is an American actor who is best known as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on the television series ''CHiPs'' (1977–1983). Including ''CHiPs'', Pine has appeared in over 400 episodes of television. ...

). Grandpa ( Al Lewis) gets turned into a

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

upon accidentally consuming a wolf pill and has to be sneaked through British immigration and customs. Cousins Grace (Jeanne Arnold) and Freddie (

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of th ...

) are furious that the American Munsters are getting the manor, and that Herman will be Lord Munster instead of Freddie. Grace and Freddie, with the help of their mother, Lady Effigie (

Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and e ...

), try to get rid of the Munsters, so the estate can be theirs. The American Munster couple feels right at home when Herman's English relatives try to scare them. Freddie disguises himself as a ghost, but screams and runs away when he encounters Herman. Grandpa sneaks out of bed to find out the secret of Munster Hall: a counterfeiting operation is at work in the basement operated by a mastermind known as the Gryphon. Later, Herman enters a race, driving Grandpa's custom dragster, the "DRAG-U-LA". Grace and Freddie plot to kill Herman to stop him from winning the race; thanks to the Gryphon posing as Roger, but with Lily's help, he wins. The British Munsters and their butler, Cruikshank (

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later Jo ...

) including his daughter, Millie the barmaid revealed to be the Gryphon, are all exposed and apprehended by the police authorities. Herman captures Freddie and Grace by tossing tires on them. Lady Effigie is sent to Shroudshire's police station with her butler by Lily and Eddie (

Butch Patrick Butch Patrick (born Patrick Alan Lilley; August 2, 1953) is an American actor and musician. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of seven, Patrick is perhaps best known for his role as child werewolf Eddie Munster on the CBS comedy ...

). Herman and his family donate the land and Munster Hall to the city for historic preservation. Roger and Marilyn get together and hope to see each other again. Herman and his family head for their American home.

Cast

as Herman Munster *

as Lily Munster * Al Lewis as Grandpa *

as Eddie Munster * Debbie Watson as Marilyn Munster *

as Freddie Munster *

as Lady Effigie Munster *

as Roger Moresby *

as Cruikshank * Bernard Fox as Squire Lester Moresby *

Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Hero ...

as Joey * Jeanne Arnold as Grace Munster * Maria Lennard as Millie *

Cliff Norton Clifford Charles Norton (March 21, 1918 – January 25, 2003) was an American character actor and radio announcer who appeared in various movies and television series over a career spanning four decades. Early years Norton was born in Ch ...

as Herbert * Diana Chesney as Mrs. Moresby * Arthur Malet as Alfie * Ben Wright as Hennesy

Production

Development

This film offered audiences an opportunity to see the Munsters in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

rather than the

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

format of the television series, but was not a commercial success upon its original theatrical release. It was produced and released at least partly in order to introduce the characters and concept to foreign audiences, as it came in advance of international syndication for the film's source material (the television series' 70 episodes). For the

Transatlantic crossing Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries ...

, stock footage of the American passenger ocean liner, the ''

SS United States SS ''United States'' is a retired ocean liner built between 1950 and 1951 for the United States Lines at a cost of (equivalent to $ million in ). The ship is the largest ocean liner constructed entirely in the United States and the fast ...

'', near the end of its active career, was utilized. Although most of the film is set in fictional "Shroudshire, England" the automobile racing scenes were shot at the

Paramount Ranch Racetrack Paramount Ranch Racetrack (sometimes called Paramount Ranch Raceway) was a motorsports racetrack located at Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains in Agoura Hills, California. A total of seven events were held at Paramount Ranch from 1956 ...

Agoura, California Agoura () is an unincorporated community of Los Angeles County, which is located southeast of the city of Agoura Hills, California, adjacent to the city of Calabasas in Los Angeles County. Agoura was the historical name of the area, before much ...

. They featured the "

DRAG-U-LA DRAG-U-LA, along with the Munster Koach, was one of two cars on the television show ''The Munsters'' designed by prolific show car designer Tom Daniel while working for George Barris and Barris Kustom Industries. The car The fiberglass body o ...

" custom dragster designed by famous auto customizer George Barris.

Home media

In 1997, ''

GoodTimes Entertainment 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 ''Munster, Go Home!'' on VHS alongside the 1981 made-for-TV reunion movie ''

The Munsters' Revenge ''The Munsters' Revenge'' is a 1981 American made-for-television science fiction comedy film based on the 1964–1966 sitcom ''The Munsters'' which reunited original cast members Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo and Al Lewis. It was the last film ...

''. The VHS version of ''Munster, Go Home!'' is presented in an

open matte Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector (known as a ''soft matte'') for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte (at Academy rat ...

1:33:1 aspect ratio. In 2001, ''

'' released a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

version of the film using the same transfer. In 2006, Universal Home Entertainment released a two-feature DVD featuring ''Munster, Go Home!'' and ''

''. The Universal transfer is sourced from an original print and presented in its original theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It was made available in Region 4 on DVD in September 2016. It was released on

blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

through

Shout Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

on March 31, 2020.

References

External links

* * * * {{The Munsters 1966 films 1966 comedy films 1960s English-language films American comedy films Films based on television series Films directed by Earl Bellamy Films scored by Jack Marshall Films set in country houses Films set in England Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Films with screenplays by George Tibbles The Munsters films Universal Pictures films 1960s American films