''Here Come the Munsters'' is a

television film 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 ...

that aired on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

October 31, 1995. It stars

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

Christine Taylor Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', '' The Wedding Singer'', '' ...

and

Veronica Hamel Veronica Hamel (born November 20, 1943) is an American actress and model. She was nominated five times for an Emmy Award for her role as attorney Joyce Davenport in the TV police drama ''Hill Street Blues''. Biography The daughter of a Philade ...

. The film tells the story of the Munster family's arrival in the US from

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. This is an adaptation/update to the main characters of the US TV series from the 1960s, ''

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 ...

''.

Plot

The Munster family is tired of being persecuted back in

, and on finding part of a letter from cousin Marilyn in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, decides to head to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. On arrival they find that Marilyn's father, Norman Hyde, is missing, and her mother (Herman's sister) Elsa Hyde is in a coma. Marilyn details this in the letter but Spot burned the mail (and the letter carrier) so this comes as a surprise to the Munsters. The family must find out what has happened to Marilyn's father, and find a way to revive Elsa. They also have to try to live in new surroundings as they try to "fit in" in America. It turns out that Norman was trying to find a way to make his "peaches and cream" daughter, Marilyn, look a little more like the rest of the clan, but somehow the experiment backfired and Norman Hyde became Brent Jekyll. (This is a take on ''

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

.) Brent Jekyll is running for Congress. A plank of his campaign platform is trying to get foreigners out of America (this includes the Munsters). In a more sinister part of the story, it seems that Hyde was sabotaged and transformed into Jekyll purposely, to bring forward a politician without a past to whom people would listen. As the story unfolds, the family tries to save the day. With Herman arrested and placed in jail, Grandpa creates a replica of him from spare parts and uses it to help him escape. They flee from the scene in the

Munster Koach The Munster Koach is the family car that was used in the television series, ''The Munsters''. The show's producers contracted George Barris to provide the Koach. Barris paid show car designer Tom Daniel $200 to design the car, and had it built at ...

Cast

Main cast

Herman Munster Herman Munster is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom '' The Munsters'', originally played by Fred Gwynne. The patriarch of the Munster household, Herman is one of Frankenstein’s monsters, created in a lab in Germany in the nineteenth ...

Lily Munster Lily Munster (née Dracula) is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom, ''The Munsters'', originally played by Yvonne De Carlo. The matriarch of the Munster household, Lily is a vampire. The role was later played by Lee Meriwether in ''The Munste ...

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production, for which he won a Tony Award, and its 1967 film adaptati ...

as Grandpa *

as Marilyn Hyde *Mathew Botuchis as

Eddie Munster Eddie Munster is a fictional character on the CBS sitcom ''The Munsters''. He was portrayed by Butch Patrick in all episodes of the original series except for the pilot, where he was portrayed by Happy Derman. The only child of Herman and Lily ...

Guest cast

* Troy Evans as Detective Warshowski *

Joel Brooks Joel Brooks (born December 17, 1949) is an American actor, known for his roles in '' Stir Crazy'', ''My Sister Sam'', '' Six Feet Under'', '' The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green'' and '' Phil of the Future''. Brooks also had a recurr ...

as Larry Walker * Sean O'Bryan as Detective Cartwell *

Mary Woronov Mary Woronov (born December 8, 1943) is an American actress, published author and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a " cult star" because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared ...

as Mrs. Edna Dimwitty *

Jeff Trachta Jeff Trachta (born October 6, 1960 in Staten Island, New York) is an American actor and singer, best known for portraying Thorne Forrester on the soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' from 1989 to 1996. He was the second of four actors to play ...

as Brent Jekyll *

Max Grodénchik Max Grodénchik (born November 12, 1952), also known as Michael Grodénchik, is an American stage, film, and television actor, best known for his role as Rom (Star Trek), Rom, a recurring character on the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Spac ...

as Norman Hyde *

Judy Gold Judy Gold (born November 15, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, television writer, author and producer. She won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''. Life and care ...

as Elsa Munster Hyde *

Amanda Bearse Amanda Bearse (born August 9, 1958) is an American actress, comedian and director. She starred in the 1985 supernatural horror film ''Fright Night'', and later starred as Marcy Rhoades D'Arcy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987- ...

as Mrs. Pearl *

Irwin Keyes Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County, ...

as One-eyed man * Jim Fisher as Villager * Scotch Ellis Loring as Flight Attendant *

Brian George Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019 ...

as Immigration Official * Robertson Dean as Angry Dog Owner * Jim Staahl as Quaranteen Official *

Keone Young Keone Joseph Young is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Dr. Michael Kwan in '' Kay O'Brien'' (1986), Mr. Wu in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and as the dual roles of Judge Robert Chong and Mr. Wan in ''The Young and t ...

as Ralph, the limo driver * Kellen Hathaway as Trick-or-Treater * Bill Prady as Paramedic * T.J. McInturff as Stanley * Francesca Smith as Monique *

Jane Carr Ellen Jane Carr (born 13 August 1950) is an English actress. She is well known for her first film role as Mary McGregor in drama '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969) and the voice role of " Pud'n" on the animated ''The Grim Adventures of ...

as Cassie O'Leary * James Keane as Maitre d' * James Basile as Waiter *

Lynne Marie Stewart Lynne Marie Stewart (born December 14, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her performance as Miss Yvonne, the Most Beautiful Woman in Puppet Land. She originated the role in the 1981 stage show ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'', continuing it ...

as Mrs. Waffer * Judy Kain as Mrs. Hersby * Tommy Bertelsen as Ted Walker * Ralph P. Martin as Sergeant * Jim Jackman as Front Desk Officer * Christina Venuti as Woman at Fundraiser * Aaron Paris as Transformed Band Leader *

Dee Wallace Deanna Wallace (née Bowers; born December 14, 1948), also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mary Taylor, the mother in the 1982 blockbuster film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She is ...

as Mrs. Walker (uncredited)

Cameos

The four original ''

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 Anothe ...

'' surviving cast members -

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 ...

, Al Lewis,

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 comed ...

and Pat Priest - appeared in a short cameo scene in an Italian restaurant as a bickering family, with Herman (

) acting as their waiter. The original Herman from the TV series,

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'' ...

, had died two years before.

Production

Writing

While the movie draws on many elements of the original series, it departs from the established "Munsters"

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

. In this version Marilyn's last name is given as Hyde and she is the daughter of Herman's sister, not Lily's (as she is in the original series and in "The Munsters Today"). Also, in this film Marilyn is the same age as she is in the series, however Marilyn has said in the original series that Herman and Lily have raised her since she was a baby. In terms of the Munster's house, the ownership was changed. In the original series and "The Munsters Today", the Munsters owned the house but in this version they are just house-sitting for Herman's sister. Grandpa's lab is shown to be under the stairs (where "Spot" lived) instead of under a trap door in the living room as in the original series and in "The Munsters Today". Finally, in this version, Grandpa uses a spell to create The Munster Koach by transforming a hearse. This is in contradiction to the original series and "The Munsters Today" where Lily buys it as a gift for Herman.

References

External links

* {{Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde The Munsters films American television films 1995 television films 1995 films Fox network original films Films produced by John Landis 1990s English-language films