"Strange Change" Model Kit Ad

The "Strange Change" model kit ads (originally posted on my first blog, Sweet Skulls.)
(Click on images to view full size.)

I've been having a blast going through my collection bookcases lately, mining them for material to post on my blogs, here on Monster Memories. Usually, the only time I would get into them very much was when I was packing them up for a move. That was a killer; if you look at them in this picture, you might never guess that they would fill up ten banana boxes each. That's 30 heavy boxes total. I hope I never have to move them again, but that's hoping for too much, I suppose. Otherwise, I only reached into them occasionally as I was looking for something to read on a bathroom visit that threatened to be of extended length. Under such circumstances, you grab what you can off the top of a stack and hoof it!

Now, though, I am seeing things I haven't seen in years, re-discovering items I had forgotten I had. In many cases it's like seeing a friend you haven't come across in years.

Anyway, these ads for the "Strange Change" model kits from the early 70's were something I had forgotten about completely. It must have been well over 30 years since I saw these ads and thought about them! Or course, I never owned one of the kits; if you've read this blog much you know I kept my collecting to things like books, magazines and comics that could fit flat in a drawer, for easy hiding and quick packing. But that didn't keep me from reading and wishing!

"Ah, excuse me, do you have any toilet paper over there? Hello?"

The Vampire was the one I wanted most; I mean, changing from a "living" vampire to a skeleton, and back, how incredibly cool was that? I thought it was the coolest idea in the whole line of hobby kits put out in the MPC line, including the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean kits. It was like a scene from a Hammer Dracula movie!

"Goodbye, I'm off to the age of dinosau....Aaaiieee!"

I always thought it was "strange" that the time machine had the monsters appear inside the craft, but I guess they were taking dramatic license, and assumed that we kids would figure it out that it wasn't merely a fatal design flaw by a careless inventor.

"Close it, close it! Gosh, this is my private time, Mom!"

The Mummy was kind of neat, but he only got a little distressed and dishevelled in his change, not that big a difference. I think the Wolfman would have been a better candidate for a dramatic change. But what would they have put him in? A dog kennel?

If they wanted a truly strange change, they could have made one where Frankenstein's monster changes into the Bride! But that would have been a little ahead of it's time.

Of course, the ultimate would have been to make one with Vampirella; where she changes between slightly dressed and completely undressed! Ah, one can dream...

Funeral Home VHS ad

Click to view full-size scan.

Another post featuring an 80's VHS release ad, this time an ad slick for "Funeral Home."

Monster Week on Ch 7

These ads were clipped from 1974 TV Guide for the week of January 5th through the 11th. New York's Channel 7 (ABC) was showing these fun films, and by all accounts this was the first Monster Week of many.

For much more info on these week-long film features on Ch. 7, visit this page: DVD Drive-In!

Extra: I've just discovered three new (to me) blogs by the incredibly prolific Jon K who seems to have the same love for genre blogging as I do! For a monstrous good time, check them all out at:

The Blog Of Frankenstein

Dracula's Crypt of Collectibles

Go-Go Godzilla!

I thought I was doing a lot with my own four blogs (soon to be five) but this guy puts me to shame with over a DOZEN! And most have new posts every day! How does he ever get anything else done? Please, Jon, share your secret with me... do you have a cloning machine like Keaton did in "Multiplicity?"

House Of Dark Shadows

Today's Monster Memories are of:

"House of Dark Shadows."
(Click on images to view full-sized.)

The newspaper ad that so enthralled me as a kid!

"Come See How The Vampires Do It," was the tagline for the 1970 movie. What "It" may have been is only inferred, but it must have been blood-sucking, because the sex level was no higher than the TV version, despite it being freed from the restrictions of the small screen. But the romantic aspect of the teen-idol Barnabas was played up so that the girls would flock to it. The appeal of Barnabas as the idol of teenybopper girls was lost on me, as I thought he was too old and not particularly appealing in a physical sense. But, I wasn't a teenage girl or a soap opera fan so I had no frame of reference. I just liked the show because it featured vampires and werewolves! It was a little like a Hammer movie in daily installments. So when the feature movie came out, I was anxious to see it; of course I couldn't. But I finally got the chance when it was shown on TV a few years later, while I was staying over at my Grandma's house, where I had freedom to watch what I wanted. Unfortunately, the TV versions edited out the more graphic gore scenes that the theatrical release allowed them to have.

Below are some of the ads slicks made available to the theaters.

Unfortunately, this movie has not yet been released on DVD, so when I chanced upon a scheduled showing on Turner South last year, I managed to catch it and record it onto DVD as it played. That explains the Turner South logo in the bottom right corner of each screen capture. Sorry for that, but I hope you enjoy viewing them!

The house used for Collinswood was different in the movie from the TV series. Filming took place at Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York with additional footage at nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. At the bottom of this post you will see some photos of the location used for it!

Rather than a new story based on the series, it was decided to do a remake that told a condensed version of how Barnabas came to Collinswood, and take the story to it's originally intended conclusion as far as Barnabas was concerned. Not a part of the show's continuity, it was a stand-alone movie that featured the same characters, even killing some of them off. Perhaps a disappointment to the fans of the show, but a good choice for those not so familiar with it.

"Man, this place could use a 'Stick-Up!'"

After the credits, the "dead" Barnabas fades into the mist and a bat flies up out of the frame. He lives... to bite again! But he doesn't show up in the sequel, sadly.

You can see the locations used for "House" if you go to the long-haunted countryside of Sleepy Hollow, NY. Of course, this is where the ghost of the Headless Horseman rides, the very same that tormented poor Ichabod Crane.

You can view pics of all the movie and TV locations here. It's a great DS fan resource.

1969 Reader's Digest Night of the Living Dead article

Don't gaze at the cover too long, it might give you nightmares...
after it puts you to sleep.

When I recently posted scans of a 1971 Newsweek article on "Night of the Living Dead," some readers shared their memories of a Reader's Digest article from back in the late 60's that described the movie's horror so vividly that it alone gave them nightmares.

My curiosity was piqued, so I looked up the article online and found a copy of the June 1969 issue of Reader's Digest on eBay. Now I have it in my sweaty hands, and am sharing it with you. If you remember it, this will bring all the details back in crystal clarity. If you have never read it, it will not only amuse you, but educate you to some history; both about the movie, and the reviewer, a then little-known critic by the name of Roger Ebert.

Apparently, the article, entitled "Just Another Horror Movie - Or Is It?" did both the movie and critic a world of good; the movie became more of a legend that simply had to be seen; and the critic won notice by reviewing it and went on to more fame. It's an interesting read; as one has to wonder what happened to the "poor traumatized tykes," and also to read Roger's take on the film. Referring to Ben only as "the Negro," he was a bit racially insensitive, even considering the times. He watched the movie; couldn't he have remembered that his name was Ben? Even a simple line at the beginning that said "a young Negro, named Ben..." and then referred to him by name; but as it is he reduces the character to a racial type, and in the process, demeans him.

Ebert was also insensitive to the idea of "spoilers," since he reveals the whole plot and even the shocking ending. At least, it would have been shocking to the readers that saw it later if he hadn't told them about it in advance. Thanks, Roger... when you reviewed "Planet of the Apes" did you tell everyone "and they were on ***** the whole time"?

The whole article is less of a review than it is a righteous rant on parental and film-maker carelessness in protecting children from stuff too strong for them. He's right, as far as the responsibility of the parents. If I had seen it at that age, it would have terrified me beyond my ability to deal with it also. The same warning should go to parents today who let their young children view "R" rated horror films too soon.

Anyway, here it is as promised, along with some extra tasty treats from the digest in the form of nostalgic ads. Eat it up!

"See this sandwich? It's actually made from my old pal 'Trigger.' M-m-m-m!"

"Fried chicken! Mom, can I invite my friend "the Negro" over to eat with us?"

Update: Thanks to reader Mike V. who supplied the link to the entire article as it is found on Roger Ebert's site. Much more gruesome in it's description, this is probably the one that people remember most. Also, Ebert explains a little more about his position on the film and the reason the review focuses more on the audience than the film.