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Creepy Classics Spotlight Movie Last Weekend - MAD MONSTER PARTY? (1967) Every week, readers here are selecting a movie to view...then we all try to watch it together utilizing our DVD/video library. This past Saturday night, many of us watched MAD MONSTER PARTY? (1967). Suggested by Suggested by Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA. Details about movie nights to come are HERE. Please include your name and location after your comments, so we can see how we're all joining together from diffeent locals around the globe! Let's all Synch-Up Saturday nights at 7:30PM, or catch this week's movie sometime over the weekend!
MAD MONSTER PARTY? flickered across the black and white TV at my friend Chris Kelly's house back in 1971 (or thereabouts) as it was broadcast on Halloween weekend's Saturday night at 8:30PM. Chris, me and the neighborhood kids sat indian style around the darkened room and were thrilled by MAD MONSTER PARTY. Even in black and white it was so cool to see the same puppetmation magic from the Rankin-Bass company that brought us RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER and SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN. The only thing I would change aboutthis flick, is to shorten the songs. The instrumental music is great, but the actual songs are a little cloying at times. Though what's not to like about "It's the Mummy!" Great stuff. -Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA
What is there to say about the 1967 Rankin Bass classic "Mad Monster Party"? More than a simple, short review can say, that much is a fact! Being a bit younger (A 27 year old Monster Kid of the 80's and 90's), I didn't discover this long-thought-lost gem until it was revived by the Misfits in 1997 (using clips of the movie in the video for their version of Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s Halloween classic “Monster Mash”, as well as stills on the single’s front and a modified still on its back). Shortly after that was when Misfits mainman Jerry Only and producer John Cafiero teamed with Deluxo to find a solid 16mm print of the film to be used in bringing the film back into the limelight and into the digital age. They released a limited edition VHS from a new 16mm print, and I picked up a copy immediately!
In any case, I popped this one in at around 10 o’clock on Saturday night and, as usual, by the time the beginning credits hit the screen accompanied by the films jazzy/bluesy theme song, I was instantly glued to the screen! Sure, the animation may not be as smooth as on other, more well known Rankin Bass pojects, but that just adds to the charm! By the time Felix is on the boat to Dr. Frankenstein’s island and we really get a chance to meet Drac, Wolfie, Jekyll/Hyde, Hunchie, and the Invisible Man, the movie’s firing on all cylinders. After the Mummy’s rousing tune and accompanying dance party, the film has basically built itself up so high that it can’t possibly be less than stellar.
As a side note about the movie : Tonight’s viewing was the 2nd time I’ve watched it this week. See, my wife and I, like all self-respecting Monster Kids, go all out for Halloween. That said, regardless of whatever else we’re doing on Halloween night, the one thing we absolutely ALWAYS make time for is a viewing of “Mad Monster Party.” It’s generally the last thing we do every Halloween, and, by the time the ending joke is on the screen, the wife’s usually asleep, but that’s all a part of the tradition. We watch this one every year to help remind us that, at the heart of it all, Life should be fun. Sure, I enjoy gory slasher fliks, over-the-top Italian zombie movies, and violent grindhouse endurance tests as much as the next guy, but, above all else, the sense of “Fun” can’t be lost or it’s completely worthless. On yet another (and I promise the last) side note : I’m a tattooer that’s currently trying to narrow down ideas for my left sleeve. One of the ideas I keep coming back to is using the character designs from “Mad Monster Party” to do a full, fun, colorful monster-y sleeve. If I ever do it, I’ll make sure to shoot a few photos your way. In the mean time, I’m attaching a photo of my wife’s upper arm (done by me, unfinished, still in progress with a bit to go). I think it’ll be up your alley. – Freddie Munster
I had a blast seeing the Mad Monster Party for the first time, believe it or not. All our favorite monsters, cheesy show tunes, corny jokes, stop motion animation, who could ask for anything more? Fantastic fun, and Francesca is kinda cute, for a puppet.
It doesn't get much better than this. Happy Horrordays!!!
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I still remember the first time I watched it : I was in awe! Everything from charcater designs by EC mainstay Jack Davis to the quirky, “of-the-time” humor, to the fun and catchy songs were amazing! My only gripe (which is still my only gripe) is that I found Phyllis Diller’s “Monster’s Mate” to be pretty hard to handle. I get that it’s just Diller doing what she does, but, to me, it just feels slightly out-of-place and is slightly grating and distracting.
Sure, the story’s a little hokey, but if people can’t see the fun in a cat fight that comes complete with house-cat sound effects, or get joy out of seeing Dr. Frankenstein and a crew of zombies fly single-person planes against an obvious King Kong stand-in, than that person is simply not a person I’d like to know or waste time on. The key word for the movie is “Fun”. Sadly, that’s a word that Hollywood’s current system seems to have forgotten. 
