TALK TO CECIL game (Mattel, 1961)

When Bob Clampett's wonderful characters made the jump from TIME FOR BEANY (the black-and-white daily puppet show) to colorful animated TV cartoon show in 1962, the marketing was very well-planned.  Mattel was the main sponsor, and they produced lots of fantastic items for kids to enjoy.  

Today, we look at the TALK TO CECIL game.  It was more than just a board game, because it included a talking Cecil puppet!  An in-joke in the cartoon was that Cecil was never completely seen, which preserved his identity as a puppet: the tip of his tail may have been used once, but they avoided it as often as possible, and even his actual length was never clear.  This may have presented problems when it came time to make various plush toys of the Sea-Sick Sea Serpent; after all, stuffed animals have to have a beginning and end...or they won't stay stuffed.  However, retaining the puppet concept worked perfectly for this interactive board game, which was a concept ahead of its time.

I'm sure the presence of the puppet alone sold copies of this game.  But, the talking toy had an actual purpose in playing the board game! The game play sort of reminds me of the GUESS WHO type of games that are still sold today, because one of Cecil's phrases would correspond to certain character cards, such as "Look for a hat."  That meant the player got to keep that card for points, and meanwhile advance along the game board.

Fifteen character cards were included, plus little Bakelite playing pieces that looked like Beany!

And speaking of the game board, even it was shaped like Cecil, and was somewhat customizable, being designed like a jigsaw puzzle, allowing some variation in play:

(And here's another example of where Cecil has to have a tail, or the board wouldn't have an end.) Here is a better look at the wonderful artwork for the fifteen character cards:

An interesting thing about the items produced for the cartoon is how Clampett kept even his unused characters alive.  Characters like Clowny and Wong appeared frequently in the puppet show, but are barely glimpsed in the cartoon (this may have been wise in the case of Wong...case in point: Mr. Magoo).

I think that Mattel really succeeded with this game, rather than just selling a puppet, or even just selling a talking puppet.  One note about that, though.  If you have ever seen vintage "talking" items, especially stuffed animals, then you know that the "talk box" could be rather huge, and it definitely is in this case.  It's so bulky, you have to have a very small hand to operate the puppet, but of course the game was made for children, so I can't complain too much.  The pull-string on mine operates perfectly, but when Cecil talks, he sounds like Linda Blair in THE EXORCIST played at a much slower speed, so I decided not to push the issue.  It's possible the spinning mechanism is restricted somehow (if you ever had an old SEE & SAY, you know what I mean), but you don't want to pull his string when you are alone in the dark. 

Godzilla 1985 figure (NECA, 2014)

Neca managed to squeak in one more figure in their Godzilla series before the year was over!  Third in the line is GODZILLA 1985, incidentally the only of the 28 films to never have an official DVD release, and another unique suit that was used only once.

While possibly my least favorite Godzilla design, this was a great choice for an action figure, because the suit is under-represented...and, come to think of it, when the movie came out, there were no toys available in America that captured its likeness accurately, so this is new territory.

Another thing, you have to hand it to Neca, again, because when the prototype for this figure was first shown, it didn't look much like the suit from the film, especially the head.  They went back, corrected the mistake, and still got the figure out before the end of the year! That is service.

It does look like the torso was re-used, and I guess the dorsal plates, but why not.  One thing you will notice is the legs are definitely new.  The stance of this figure is totally different.  I can't tell from stills whether Godzilla in the movie stands like this, and I haven't seen the film in several years.

And, the tail has the stubby, rounded end we all love, instead of coming to a point like the last figure (1994).  Neca is definitely learning from their mistakes.

Also, the paint job on my figure is excellent--look at the claws this time out; they are very well done.  Yes, he does have some tooth decay going on in the photo above, but it's not a deal-breaker.  Compare the likeness with this still:

Of course, with any Godzilla suit, the accuracy of the likeness is all about the head design.  One thing I didn't do is actually close the jaw (duh), because crucial to the 1985 (1984 in Japan) design are the oversized "fangs" overlapping.  I will have to do that.

All in all, I didn't expect to be so thrilled with this figure, but this series is coming along nicely.  I think the move toward the earlier films excites me, as well as the thought process involved in choosing a little-represented suit!  If I read correctly, next up is the 1995 "Burning Godzilla," and then supposedly a 1954, which I am most excited about.

And again, I would be remiss if I didn't point out these figures are TWENTY BUCKS.  You just can't beat that, folks. 

The front of the inlay card is the same as the previous figure, but here are the inserts that are new:

Inlay Card

Backing Card (back)

GODZILLA vs MEGALON Color Stills (Cinema Shares, 1976)

Fantastic promotional shot of all four of the film's monsters together!

As we have discussed in several spots, there was a metric ton of marketing done for GODZILLA vs MEGALON, but no lobby cards were produced.  Instead, the normal set of stills was issued in full color, which I think is a pretty unique move.  We are going to look at five phenomenal ones here, and then an interesting little bonus at the end:

Megalon and Gigan decide what to do with the fallen Jet Jaguar.

Godzilla decides what to do with the fallen Megalon.

Godzilla, trying to get Gigan to fall.

Godzilla (holding a tree), has somehow outsmarted both foes, who appear to be lost.  This is another promotional shot, and the blob in the upper left must be part of the photo, as it's in all of the ones I have seen.

I thought this last one was pretty cool too--it's the original envelope the Megalon materials came in!  Wouldn't quite fit on the scanner.

GODZILLA vs THE BIONIC MONSTER Ad Slicks (Cinema Shares, 1977)

Here's a very cool item:  a large set of ad slicks for GODZILLA vs MECHAGODZILLA, under its original USA title of GODZILLA vs BIONIC MONSTER, which was very soon changed to GODZILLA vs COSMIC MONSTER due to threats of a lawsuit (because the producers of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN felt they owned the word "bionic").

This is one large sheet, 11 x 17," which scanned very well as two standard size sheets, and therefore didn't need to be stitched back together, which is always a welcome bonus, when scanning.

Godzilla Action Stickers - [Set D] (Imperial, 1985)

UPDATE:  There are indeed four variations.  On the reverse side of the header card, in the bottom right-hand corner, is a number: "No. 8931 B," for example. 

GODZILLA vs. THE COSMIC MONSTER stills!

Today, some nifty stills for GODZILLA vs. THE COSMIC MONSTER.  These black and white stills were issued with both COSMIC and BIONIC (the original title) logos, and no lobby cards were made for the film.  Let's start with the best one:

One of those famous Toho paste-ups that they were so good at.  This one manages to get the entire story of the film into one picture--ALTHOUGH, it sort of makes it look like Angilas is on Mechagodzilla's team.

Planet of the (Dead) Apes.

This paste-up is an action shot that we never quite see.

Head-butting Mechagodzilla.

Not sure what King Caesar is doing in this picture, exactly, but something tells me he's going to get the worse end of it.

GODZILLA vs MEGALON & BIONIC MONSTER - Distributor Synopsis Sheets (1976-77)

A couple of very unusual items today! I recently bought a pile of stills and pressbooks from an Ebay seller for both MEGALON and BIONIC/COSMIC MONSTER, and he included two sheets that had accompanied the materials.  On the one hand, they are just old-fashioned photocopies (the thermal kind you used to see years ago), but on the other hand, they are really unique! My understanding is that they are synopsis sheets that would have been included with promo materials sent out by the distributor.

The synopsis for MEGALON is actually clearer than the plot of the film...and Jet Jaguar is only referred to as "the cyborg," but at least they weren't calling him "Robotman" at this point, as they did in the promotional comic (and also some ads).

Next we have the sheet for GODZILLA vs THE BIONIC MONSTER, which at this point had already been renamed to COSMIC, because somebody scratched it out and wrote the new name in (a penny saved, you know).  The older spelling of "King Seeser" is used, and once again the plot reads a little clearer than it plays out on screen.  I always thought that Caesar got a bad rap, and not enough screen time--since he got his tail handed to him pretty quickly--but when we actually DID get to see him again, in FINAL WARS, they did him no favors (or anybody for that matter, especially the audience).
By the way, I did my best to adjust the contrast on these scans and make them more readable! They actually look a little better than my ancient photocopies.

Next up, we will get to those stills I mentioned--stay tuned.

Lego Set 205 - "Beginner Set" (1966)

A sweet flea market-find from this weekend! A boxed, vintage Lego set called "Beginner Set" from 1966!  Not only is 205 the set number, but also the part count.

And, I learned something.  For 9 years, Lego was actually a Samsonite product in the United States.  That's Samsonite, as in the luggage makers! There was a distribution deal from 1963-1972 that allowed Samsonite to sell Lego in America, and it grew so much that Samsonite even had to build another plant, in Colorado, in 1965 to meet demand.  While they imported some unusual pieces, they actually manufactured bricks in the USA.  You can see the Samsonite information below:

Of course, this was a time long before minifigures, which they wouldn't begin to evolve until the later 1970's.  Instead, this 205-piece set was for general building and creativity (except that the boy on the front of the box looks like he has just dozed off while building).

There are some interesting differences between these vintage bricks and their modern counterparts.  The first thing I noticed was that the plastic was different, which is to be expected, as the ingredients have changed over time.  Also, a wide "baseplate" is included, but not how we think of them today.  It's just an extremely wide brick, made to be used as a foundation for a house, or something similar.  Strangely, it's hollow on the bottom, where today, it would be completely interlockable, which may not be a word...but for one thing, this old design is a much weaker one:

Next, take a look at these vintage window designs:

Lastly, this was the most unusual difference I noticed.  Not only are the wheels (or "tyres") different, but they also have metal pins to connect them.  The bricks they are designed to connect to are very strange, with a clear lower piece along the bottom.  This both serves to contain the locking mechanism, but more importantly, maintains that they will interlock with other bricks, which is really clever.

I was thrilled to find such a vintage set to add to my Lego collection, and it will be displayed and treasured.  I also read that the set originally sold for an astounding $4.95, which is staggering....but take a look at the price tag on mine: $3.45!

Pewter Godzilla Figurine (Fossil, 1995)

Here's an item I have been searching forever for, going on at least 15 years.  In 1995, Fossil made a series of commemorative watches that came in fancy tins, and also included pewter figurines.  I happened to find a leftover King Kong figurine in a Fossil Outlet store in the late 1990's. I thought it was strange that there were Kongs remaining, as each one is numbered on the bottom, but some Internets research told me that the Kong watch had a limit of 15,000, whereas Godzilla (and also Dracula, apparently) watches were limited to 1,000. So I guess they over-estimated the demand for Kong.  Either way, when I discovered there was also a Godzilla watch set made that year, and the quest was on.

I was never that interested in the Fossil watch itself; I just didn't like the design, but I knew if I waited, I could find the pewter Godzilla by himself, especially since the watches are often $300 on Ebay, and I'm more of a vintage guy anyhow.

The tin featured artwork from the 1956 KOTM poster, but the Godzilla here is all Heisei.  He's about 2 inches tall, and very hefty.  Here is the numbering on the bottom:

 So, despite my natural aversion to it, patience remains a virtue, good things come to those who wait, and all of that rot that you've been told by petulant adults your whole life!
And finally, here is Kong for good measure:

Rocky & His Friends single (Golden Records, 1961)

From 1961, promoting the LP called "Rocky & His Friends," here is a wonderful Golden Records single that I just acquired.  The album features the uber-talented original cast, and is a joy to listen to.  

Both sides are on YouTube, and links are below.  Notice that the copy in the links below is a 78, made of famous Golden Records yellow "unbreakable" material, while mine is definitely 45 rpm.  Even though Bullwinkle sings the B-side, both sides are credited to just "Rocky."

"I Was Born to be Airborne"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5M6z8HSbB4
"I'm Rocky's Pal"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EI7s73X_lU

I would just embed the videos, but Blogger is being daft.