MONSTER OLD MAID Card Game (Milton Bradley, 1964)

 

Here is a vintage monster item that I actually found in a shop somewhere, complete even, for 1/3 of what it's worth! This game is nothing if not a snapshot of the classic monster era, from the golden years of model kits and local TV horror hosts.

Let's face it: you had Old Maid as a kid, and I did too (we looked at the 70's Marvel Comics version here, years ago), although mine was the crappy version with an actual Old Maid.  60's kids were much better off.  

Before we dive in, I need to point out that there are some very unusual choices for the card art in this game...starting out, you can easily see the "Universal Picture" copyright on the front, so you know we are in good hands--but still, some strange decisions were still made in the monster selections for this game.  

As you know, here at The Sphinx, we go the extra mile:  I thought it would be fun if we tried to identify exactly what these unusual cards depicted, and even find their source images...so here we go:

Here is the instructions ("Directions") card, which is one-sided.  The backs of all cards in this game looks like this:

As you probably know, all numbered cards in Old Maid come in pairs (except for the Old Maid), so we will look at the better-condition card for each number in the set, starting with #1:

Card 1 is the Creature From The Black Lagoon, old Gill Man himself (first name Gill, last name Man). He was the youngest Universal monster at the time of this game's release.

Card #2 is Frankenstein's Monster, and you would expect them to use Boris Karloff, but nope, instead here is Glenn Strange, who played the monster in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, HOUSE OF DRACULA, and ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.  Below is the exact promotional photo that this image was taken from:

Card #3 is The Mummy, and once again, it's not Karloff either, but instead Tom Tyler from one of the sequels: THE MUMMY'S HAND:

Card #4 takes a weird turn.  It alludes to I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957), which wasn't a Universal movie at all, but American-International...a film which was only 4 years old at the time, and was a big hit.  It actually depicts Henry Hull from WEREWOLF OF LONDON:

Card #5 is Dracula, so you know it's Bela Lugosi.  For fun, here is the promotional photo they used:

Interestingly, you can see that they touched up his left eye, which was covered in a shadow in the original photo...back in the days where you had to use an airbrush!

Here we go again, with Card #6.  This isn't even a "Wolf Man" per se, it's a werewolf, specifically Oliver Reed in Hammer's CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF! As it turns out, Universal distributed the film in the U.S. Here is a promotional photo using this image:

Card #7 continues the Hammer theme with their PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. I would've used Claude Rains, but I am sure that the Herbert Lom one was more common in the FAMOUS MONSTERS magazines of the day:

Again, Universal distributed the film in the U.S.

Card #8 is the reverse of #6: "The Werewolf," but actually "The Wolf Man!" (I guess we are splitting hairs, which...there's a werewolf joke there somewhere.)  This is Lon Chaney, Jr. from ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE WOLFMAN (the best A&C movie):

Card #9 shows that the makers of this game were not afraid to go waaaaaay back in time, because this is Lon Chaney senior from the silent HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923). Strangely though, although there are lots of promotional stills they could've used, this is some sort of painting, and I was unable to find where it came from.

Card #10. If you are reading this post...then I don't have to tell you.

Card #11 is Gill again. Now the repeats really kick in.

Card #12 is Glenn Strange's Frankenstein's Monster, again:

At least, for #13, they gave us a different Mummy actor, which in this case is Lon Chaney, Jr., from THE MUMMY'S GHOST:

Card #14 is Henry Hull, again, making you think he's Michael Landon...again? This card looks very much like an old postage stamp-type design to me.

#15 is a Dracula repeat, but hey, it's Bela, so what are you gonna do. They had to work on this image some, from the original:

Card #16 is a repeat--see Card #6!

Card #17: Okay, they took my advice for a repeat card, and used a different actor, but I have to admit to you guys, I am completely stumped as to where this came from.  It's not Lon Chaney, Claude Rains, or Herbert Lom, for sure.  I hypothesized that it was perhaps from a Universal-related TV show, but wasn't able to come up with anything.  If anyone knows, please leave a comment! I got nothing.

Moving on, we finally get Lon Chaney, Jr., as THE WOLF MAN--oh, wait, "The Werewolf."  Whatever, I give up.

Card #19: I wouldn't have repeated the Hunchback, but now we can see that the previous card was just a reversed image of the head only, from this painting (or painted-over photo), from this scene:

And now, the Old Maid--Dracula's Daughter! Hey, that's pretty fun--hold it, Gloria Holden was Dracula's Daughter:

This instead is Andree Melly from Hammer's BRIDES OF DRACULA:

Which, you guessed it, was distributed by Universal.

And there you have it--I have to admit, I would've been tempted to broaden the scope, and include some giant 1950's Universal monsters, and throw in a Tarantula, a Deadly Mantis...I don't know, even a Monolith Monsters card, just to help break it up.  But, I can see, from a purist perspective, why they did what they did.  It's very much of its time...and it's certainly not every day that you run into a vintage monster collectible from back then!

Movie Monsters Figures (Palmer, c.1964)

 

Let's start October off right, by taking a look at some classic, vintage monster toys! These awesome figures were made by Palmer Plastics around 1964 (some sources say the date is unknown, while some state 1964 as the year they were made--there are no markings or years on any of them), and they stand about 3 inches tall.  These are what some people call "dimestore" toys, but they were also sold in packs of 10, which we will see in a moment.  They were available in red, yellow, green, and even a rare blue color, which is the hardest to find.  Somehow, all of mine are the red and yellow varieties (red on yellow, kill a fellow), but I'm planning to acquire some examples of the other colors next.

 

Here is a look at each figure; there are some surprising choices in this set!

Dracula - This one works pretty well, and you know right away who it is. He kind of has a Count Chocula stance!

Cyclops - This one is a curve ball--this is actually Ray Harryhausen's Cyclops from 1958's THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD! I didn't see that coming.  Of course, there is rather a scale problem here, but the coolness makes up for it.

Frankenstein('s Monster) - This one works very well, and is a lot of fun.  Imagine a world where the first Universal movie was titled FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER, and maybe everyone would be referring to the creature by the correct name, all these years later.

King Kong - Here is one of my very favorites.  This is such a well-done figure.  Lots of people don't know this, but this figure actually came with a tiny Fay Wray, who was attached by a sprue when you purchased Kong. You can actually put her in his hand! But, as you would imagine, she was very easily lost....and as a result, a complete figure can be several hundred dollars.  Still, though, I gotta get me one of those someday:

Werewolf - To me, this is one of the least-effectively-executed sculpts in this line, because it's not super easy to tell what's going on.  At first glance it looks like an old-fashioned zombie.  It also reminds me of Bela's Ygor with the broken neck in GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN! However, the name given on the multi-pack is "Werewolf," so that is the final answer.  

It! The Terror From Beyond Space - On the header card for the 10-pack of figures, this figure is called "It Came From Outer Space," which is the wrong movie (which was 3-D and from 1953).  This is actually the alien from IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (which I believe is a Martian?), from 1958, which lots of people cite as the blueprint for ALIEN, etc.  Another unusual choice for this line!

Gorgo - YES! Freaking GORGO! Well, let's be fair, this could also be an Ogra figure (his mama)....but the package says Gorgo.  Somehow, the title monster from this 1961 British attempt at a kaiju film was included in this great line.  This is my favorite figure in this set.  I am a gargantuan GORGO fan and even own the original one-sheet poster.  (I will also be the first to admit to you that, in the interest of fairness, the movie has too much reliance on military stock footage, which does bog it down...but otherwise it is a damn fine movie, and I will cut a man who says otherwise.) Sorry, I got a little carried away, there...come to think of it, I need to get this figure in green.

Creature From The Black Lagoon - This is another one that is hard to see, at a glance...it almost looks skeletal, but when you zoom in, it dawns on you what's going on (this one would also work better in green).  

This is a spectacular set of figures, with loads of personality and charm...and oddly enough, NO Mummy to be seen anywhere!  I do wish there could have been a second series.  That would've been fun.

Lastly, here is the photo of an unopened 10-pack that goes around (I think it came from Pinterest, but I do not know the origin of this photo, or I would give the appropriate credit--it's not mine):

One thing to point out is that technically, the proper name of these figures should probably be "Unbreakable Movie Monsters"...? 

Also, check out the artwork on the header card, showing a groovy Frankenstein's monster leading Gorgo around on a chain! 

One last thing that jumps out at me.....is that you could buy 10 of these for 98 cents! What a deal!

Video Game Board Games [part 5]: DONKEY KONG (Tomy, 1984)

 Let's return to this series I started last year:

In my opinion, the next-biggest vintage arcade game that changed the world, after Pac-Man, was Donkey Kong.  It also launched a franchise that you could argue became even bigger, via the character of Mario (originally, Jumpman), who is here described as "a carpenter."

Pauline, strangely, is only referred to as "Fair Maiden," capitalized.  Mario is referred to by name in the actual instructions.  Here is what the board looks like, all set up:

And now, the playing pieces:

Two things quickly become apparent--first, these old stickers always have to be re-glued (use acid free PVA glue, folks), and second, Donkey Kong looks a little obscene.

Above are Mario and his clones--the green one instantly makes us think of Luigi, of course.  This game had the cool gimmick of using Donkey Kong as a barrel dispenser, powered by a rubber band.  I loved it when board games did something like that, back in the day.

Here is the uncluttered game board:

Basically, the game play involves getting to the top of the girders--just like the video game.  You roll two dice each turn, and one of them (the red one) moves the barrels and fireballs.  The barrels move from the top to bottom, and the fireballs (which barrels turn into once they arrive at the oil can) move in the opposite direction.  Your only hope of dealing with them are through cards that are drawn:

You get three cards at the beginning, but after that, you can only draw them when you land on spaces with a red dot.  These allow you to jump over or--in the case of the hammer--destroy both the barrel and fireball! Strangely, when you are on a ladder and between floors, you are actually protected from barrels (but not fireballs)...unlike the game. Also, fireballs destroy barrels they run into.  

Played cards are set aside for points.  If you encounter an obstacle on your own turn, and have no cards to play, you forfeit an already-played card, and lose the points. If you encounter an obstacle on you opponent's turn, they get to steal a card from you, which is added to their own points!

Here is where it gets weird:  if it's your turn, and you get hit, AND you have no cards to play OR cards set aside for points...it's okay.  Nothing happens.  However, if it happens on your opponent's turn, they still get to steal cards from you!

So now, the burning, eternal question with these types of board games:  is it successful in replicating the experience of playing the actual video game, or is it just a board game about this video game?

Actually, I have to say that they obviously put some effort into this one, and it does feel like brining Donkey Kong home with you.  Remember, the only other way we had, back then, to recreate the feel of being in the arcade....was this:

A brown blob rolling chocolate chip cookies downhill at you!

However, that doesn't mean it's not without some negatives, too.  First, all the mechanics involved with the barrels and fireballs can be a little overly-complicated, which leads to lots of having to stop and reference the instructions.  I could see this bogging down when trying to play with small kids, and it makes the game run a little long.  Heck, my average 25 cents' worth of Donkey Kong was much shorter...but that's probably not a good comparison.

One thing that would've improved the game play was allowing the opposing player to control the obstacles, instead of having the current player roll two dice and do everything.  It might have sped things up, too.

And here is the rather involved instruction manual: