"A human."
"They're the worst kind."
Dr. Boris Frankenstein (Karloff), who discovered the secret to life, has finally found the secret to absolute destruction. To celebrate he invites all of his monsters to a party on the Island of Evil. He also invites his clumsy human nephew, Felix Flankin. As they prepare the castle, he tells his assistant Francesca (Garnett) of his plans to retire and name a successor at the party.
When the boat is sighted, he and Francesca are joined by the Frankenstein Monster "Fang" and his Mate (Diller) to welcome the convention to the island. There is Count Dracula, "Wolfie" the Werewolf, the Invisible Man, the Hunchback, the Mummy, Dr. Jekyl / Mr. Hyde, and the Creature. As the guests arrive, the zombie army patrols the skies for signs of the rampaging, diabolical It.
When the monsters learn who will replace the doctor, they decide to get rid of the competition. Who will survive this terrifying convention, and who will ultimately possess the serum?
After making some Christmas family friendly Christmas movies in stop motion animation, Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, turned their attention to Halloween. All the classic monsters from the 1920s-1940s appear, and they were able to get the biggest movie monster in the business: Boris Karloff. Karloff lends his likeness to Baron Frankenstein and the Frankenstein Monster, and his voice to the Baron. Comedienne Phyllis Diller is the Monster's Mate, which is a thinly veiled version of herself. She is also the most obnoxious character. Singer / actress Gale Garnett voices the voluptuous Francesca. Allen Swift voices all the remaining characters... Felix sounds like Jimmy Stewart, Yetch is Peter Lorre, etc. For copyright purposes some of the monsters were given different names, i.e. IT is obviously King Kong, Creature is the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The characters of the Mummy and the Wolfman never speak, with the Wolfman in wolf form for the entire film (and dressed as a gypsy).
Not my favorite film in the Rankin / Bass cannon, but still a funny, Halloween film.
Mad Monster Party (1967) 94 minutes
Director: Jules Bass
Starring: Boris Karloff as Baron Boris von Frankenstein
Allen Swift as Felix Flankin / Yetch / Dracula / Invisible Man / Dr. Jekyl / Mr. Hyde / Additional voices
Gale Garnett as Francesca
Phyllis Diller as The Monsters Mate
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