MAD
MONSTER PARTY? (1967)Director: Jules Bass
Anchor Bay
MAD
MONSTER PARTY? (1967)Say the names Arthur Rankin, Jr.
and Jules Bass and most people will automatically respond with shouts of RUDOLPH
THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964), THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (1968), FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
(1969), and SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN (1970). Rankin and Bass have contributed
more to well-produced holiday television specials than any other animation team
in history. Their output not only covers the Yuletide season, but also has extended
to Easter and Thanksgiving. What always makes their productions so unique is
that for the most part, they use a form of animation that moves away from the
traditional two-dimensional process and instead utilizes a three-dimensional
puppetry animation known a
s
"Animagic." This is very similar to the stop motion animation technique
of Willis (KING KONG) O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen's "Dynamation" process.
This technique, combined with catchy music by Maury Laws and well-known stars
in featured voice roles, provided so many great holiday memories that are still
enjoyed to this day with repeated television airings. Now, for the first time
on DVD, comes a Rankin and Bass Halloween-themed theatrical release from 1967.
Yes, good readers, it is the classic MAD MONSTER PARTY? And believe me, it was
well worth the wait since our friends at Anchor Bay have truly produced one
of the BEST looking DVDs in their already impressive output.
The
plot of the film is simple and will appeal to adults and children of all ages.
It seems that Dr. Boris Von Frankenstein (voiced by Boris Karloff around the
same time he provided his voice for that other animation classic--HOW THE GRINCH
STOLE CHRISTMAS) has discovered a liquid formula that has the power to destroy
all objects which it is thrown at with all the destructive force of a nuclear
blast. Having made his ultimate discovery, he decides to retire from his presidency
of The World Organization of Monsters while he is still on top and further decides
that his logical successor should be Felix Flankin, his bumbling pharmacist
nephew. In order to introduce Felix and make the transition of power smooth
and orderly, Dr. Frankenstein decides to host a party in his castle on the isolated
"Isle of Evil" for all the organization's members. Who are these motley
members? Well... we have Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mumm
y,
The Wolfman, The Invisible Man, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Dr. Jekyll
and Mister Hyde, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Frankenstein's Monster's wife
(voiced by Phyllis Diller who manages to steal every scene in which her voice
is heard).
Naturally, these ghoulish members do not take kindly to Dr. Frankenstein's sultry, red-headed assistant Francesca (who also covets the presidency for her own greedy purpose), and a huge gorilla (named "it"--meant as KING KONG, but apparently RKO would not allow Rankin and Bass to use his name on this film without paying extra for the rights) and you have some of horror filmdom's most notorious ghouls all double crossing each other in a wild and wacky 95 minutes which builds to an exciting chase climax.
According
to the DVD's liner notes (which come in an impressive and informative 24-page
booklet) by Rankin and Bass expert, Rick Goldschmidt, MAD MONSTER PARTY? was
the third theatrical film of a three-picture deal with Embassy Films' president,
Joseph E. Levine. The other two films were THE DAYDREAMER (based on Hans Christian
Anderson stories and also featuring Karloff's voice) and THE WACKY WORLD OF
MOTHER GOOSE (BOTH of which will be coming to DVD from Anchor Bay in the future).
However, as he mistakenly did with the two earlier films, Mr. Levine did not
give MAD MONSTER PARTY? a decent release. Instead, he dumped it on the kiddie
matinee circuit without much publicity and fanfare. As a result, it did hardly
any business. However, like so many classic films that were not well received
at the time of their release, television gave MAD MONSTER PARTY? a new lease
on life with repeated showings during the 70s and early 80s. It began to charm
a whole new generation of fans, and as recently as 1999 and 2000, it popped
on the popular cable film network, American Movie Classics.
The script by Harvey Kurtzman and Len Korobkin is a witty satire of the old Universal horror films with jokes and routines that adult audiences will appreciate while the youngsters will get a kick out of the trick photography and unique designs of the main puppet characters. Some of the routines include a homage to the Abbott and Costello Meet "THE MONSTERS" films of the 40s and 50s in the scenes with the bumbling captain and first mate on the ship in which the monsters have booked passages. The first mate puppet does his best Lou Costello-like frightened look as he runs into the ghoulish passengers. The 1933 KING KONG is also parodied when "It" arrives on the island and abducts a tied-up Francesca and carries her off into the woods only to be confronted by a fleet of World War I-style airplanes. The credits on the back of the DVD cover give Famous Monsters of Filmland creator, Forrest J. Ackerman a writing credit, but according to the liner notes, his participation is not remembered by anyone and Ackerman is not given a screen credit on the film itself.
The
vocal performances in the film are outstanding. The late, great Boris Karloff
performs his role of Dr. Frankenstein with great enthusiasm (especially his
little ditty, "You Gotta Stay One Step Ahead"). According to music
composer, Maury Laws, Mr. Karloff recorded his dialogue and music in England
and his recordings were mixed with the music and other performers in a sound
studio in Hollywood some time later. As for the other male characters (Dracula,
Felix, The Invisible Man, Yeetch (a Peter Lorre sounding zombie) and Felix's
exasperated drug store boss, Mr. Cronkite), they were ALL performed by an incredibly
talented actor by the name of Alan Swift. When you hear Mr. Swift play Felix,
Mr. Cronkite and the mailman all in the same scene, you will truly think that
you are hearing different actors, but NO. They all come from the gifted voice
actor. Mr. Swift's Felix Flankin (in a Jimmy Stewart-type voice) and his Count
Dracula interpretation (in a Bela Lugosi accent with a little Grandpa Munster
humor thrown in) are his stand out vocal performances. 
Francesca was voiced by 60s folk singer, Gayle Garnett, whose biggest record was 1964's "We'll Sing in the Sunshine." She does a fine job with the songs that Maury Laws wrote for her in the film (especially the catchy, "It's Our Time To Shine" in which Dracula does a soft-shoe solo). She also gives Francesca a throaty and sensual voice which fits the sexy design of the puppet. However, the greatest scene (or voice) stealer in MAD MONSTER PARTY? is most definitely Phyllis Diller as "Mrs. Frankenstein." Since the puppet was designed to look like Miss Diller (with her 60s mini-skirts, mod boots, wildly teased hair, booming voice and that trademark laugh) it truly comes magically to life. Miss Diller has often spoken highly of her participation in this film and how much her owned kids enjoyed her in it. Sara Karloff (Boris' daughter) has also showered a great deal of praise on the film. She admits that she did not see it in 1967, but saw it in later years and was very proud of her father's participation and can easily understand why Mr. Karloff's fans treasure the film.
The
fine people at Anchor Bay have really outdone themselves in preparing this DVD.
The picture is absolutely stunning, sharp and clear. The colors are breathtakingly
vivid (especially Francesca's red hair and green eyes and Quasimodo's pink hair).
Apparently, Anchor Bay had a pristine 35mm negative in order to produce an image
as great as this. There are not tears, scratches, or grain of any kind in this
full frame presentation (1.33:1). The audio is in English only and is in Dolby
Digital 2.0 and sounds absolutely fantastic--crisp and sharp throughout the
entire presentation. There are no subtitles present. The main menu screen features
the theme song (sung by jazz singer Ethel Ennis) and it sounds like it was taken
from the CD soundtrack (that's how GOOD it sounds). The extras menu features
the instrumental music from the opening scene in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory.
It sounds as though it was taken from the CD soundtrack as well. The extras
include the already mentioned 24-page booklet by Rick Goldschmidt, a theatrical
trailer, a production gallery, and a poster and stills gallery.
MAD MONSTER PARTY? is an absolutely charming and fun-filled 95 minutes for the entire family and Anchor Bay has given the fans a DEFINITIVE collector's edition of the film. If this is any indication of what Anchor Bay will do with their forthcoming DVD releases of Rankin and Bass' THE DAYDREAMER and THE WACKY WORLD OF MOTHER GOOSE (the trailers for both titles appear as an "Easter Egg" on this disc!), then we fans will truly have something to which we can look forward. Now, if only Rankin and Bass, Universal and Toho can sit down and negotiate terms to FINALLY release to DVD the 1967 Rankin and Bass/Toho Company Ltd. co-production of KING KONG ESCAPES in letterboxed form and with the 1966 Rankin and Bass KING KONG cartoon as an extra. Well... one can always hope and dream!!!! (Joe Cascio)