Added: 4 years ago
From: killnkind
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  • I'm just like this guy when I drop a girl back to the projects.

  • Ohh, the boyfriend drives a beautiful 1964 Imperial Crown!

  • One other thing: If you're familiar with the Chroma-Dot colourisation (originally done by a BBC engineer) of DAD'S ARMY and some early DOCTOR WHO episodes), they look amazing - as opposed to that HORRIBLE watercolour look when things are 'colourised.'

    Things that had been shot in colour, but, were saved on B&W video can have the colour restored. In that situation, it looks amazing.

  • Poor, poor, 'deformed, ugly' cousin Marilyn...

  • I am SO glad that they didn't keep that useful woman as Lily and used Yvonne..thank goodness!!!! and, I'm so glad that they Made it in black and white!! and NOT color

    Oh yeah..and: added Pat Priest later as Marilyn!!! :D I'm done.

  • Not a comedy..a reality show...all those grand old victorians like the munster house are all broken down in the northeast where I live...theres even demons(crack dealers)...grampa types(slumlords)...and bat attacks(drive- by shootings)...this show was way ahead of its time!

  • This was creepy, in an unintentional way. I can't believe the network would've moved ahead with a pilot this bad. As stupid as the series was, it was much improved over this.

  • @UnseenCaller @UnseenCaller Stupid??? The MUNSTERS? R u for real????

  • this was ok.

  • I'm glad they tweaked it ,turned out better

  • Sucks. The show would never have seen the light of day if the producers had settled on this.

  • Who is Joan Marshall & Happy Freeman? Never saw them before! How did Yvonne Decarlo land the part as well as Butch Patrick? Any info, please share!

  • why did they have a different name for lily back then? and why most different actors?

  • Spot would never be able to fit under those stairs. The cast and set changes were definitely needed!

  • This Phoebe munster is equal to Morticia Addams

  • @BenitoVodoke No way: she can't act, and has no presence.

  • Who the hell is Phoebe? Happy Derman...yikes! Thank God for the changes...

  • I am glad they did not film this show in color. Phoebe looked too much like Morticia Addams and lacked Yvonne's great personality, and Happy Derman was beyond disturbing.

  • HOLY CRAP!

    Phoebe <3<3<3<3<3

  • Happy Derman looks like McLovin.

  • This wasa trip. I never knew Butch Patrick was not the original Eddie, Phoebe was more like Morticia than Dracula's daughter I agree, and Grampa wrapping himself in his cape in the credits was a howl! Man i am still cracking up

  • I think Grandpa ended up bitting Phoebe's neck and Herman went on to marry his new wife Lily. LOL

  • Some of the same footage shot here with Marilyn at the front door seems like it was reused for the opening of ep 1 season 1. Of course they printed it in Black & white. It is interesting to see that this pilot was suffiecient to get the show an order for production however many changes were apparently ordered for air.

  • One wonders why if they had colour film at this time why they didn't shoot the whole series in colour.

  • @meetthefocker2 Most tv stations didn't broadcast color until 1965 and some even later than that.

  • Hello Phoebe!!!!

  • Happy Derman........wtf

    

  • Joan Marshall as Phoebe was a lot creepier than Yvonne De Carlo as Lilly, but De Carlo rocked! I wanted her to my mom when I was kid.

  • Hey, what's Morticia doing here? (And no, that was not a serious question)

  • thanks,,,al lewis made my day when i shook his hand at universal when i was about ten years old,

  • .....and the later and horrifically bad and recast family values series and films

    I would have enjoyed the munsters far more had they stuck to the style of the pilot ( and I like the faded sepia-intentional or not!) but with the adjusted cast

  • I was always more fond of the Addams family (the munsters seemed like standard issue 50's American sitcom, with costumes)

    To go against the general consensus I think I prefer the more somber Herman and the colour filming of the pilot but think they were right to recast Lilly and eddie.

    On the other hand the Addams family was far better in black and white and went downhill drastically as it evolved into colour with the 80's" Halloween with the new Addams family" (original cast) and the later

  • Who the hell is Phoebe? Where is Lily? Are they divorced?! oO

  • @MistressNine95 (sigh) Phoebe was the original Lily when this pilot was pitched to the network. Thankfully, they came to their senses and dropped the Morticia lookalike and hired de Carlo for the series.

  • @MissKitae That's what I was thinking that Phoebe was more like Morticia.

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  • happy derman what a fucking joke did his parents not want him he grew up to be happy gilmore

  • No lesbian but Phoebe or Lily.. I would

  • Is the pilot on the complete series DVD set?

  • I wonder who Marilyn's parents were...

  • Joan Marshall is so ravishing she makes Yvonne de Carlo look like nothing by comparison. If they'd kept her in the role, a whole generation would've grown up talking about having a crush on Lily Munster.

  • @Onlymusical Oh I do agree. She is a stunning beauty. But I see why they replaced her as she looks like a direct copy of the equally gorgeous Morticia Addams.

  • @LacrymosaLies The thing is, both shows were, as far as I know, rolling out at exactly the same time, so there would've been no accusations of copying. Joan Marshall somehow actually looks even better in the makeup than she did without it and would've been a huge boon for the ratings. Oh wait, you mean she looked exactly like the original Charles Addams cartoons! You're absolutely right!! She's the drawings come to life. She should've been cast in the Addams Family instead.

  • @Onlymusical The Munsters came after the Addams family series. As far as I know, anyway. This is where the accusations came from. Because Phoebe, as gorgeous as she was, looked to much like Morticia for the fans likings. I myself like both the Addams and the Musters. But yes, she is like the drawings come to life, it's marvelous!!!

  • @LacrymosaLies Both series ran from 1964-1966 (I remember this and imdb.com corroborates it, in fact it's often mentioned that they were exactly contemporaneous) so there could've been no copy accusations because of the other series but Joan Marshall was magnificently the Addams drawings come to life and certainly should have played Morticia instead of Carolyn Jones! The Munsters was canceled because Gwynne and Al Lewis were so much trouble but I don't know why The Addams Family ended so soon.

  • @Onlymusical Oh, see I was told the Munsters ran shortly after the Addams family. I do think Joan would have made a wonderful Morticia but I'm very fond of Carolyn Jones, haha. I think the Addams family ended because Carolyn was sick, or so I've heard. I know she died of colon cancer, but I'm not sure if it affected the show in any way. Such a shame though, to lose such a beauty.

  • @LacrymosaLies Carolyn Jones didn't die at 53 for another twenty years but at the time "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters" were being cast, she was a much more successful actress than Joan Marshall, having played large parts in some big movies like "A Hole in the Head" with Frank Sinatra, "King Creole" with Elvis Presley, and best of all "Baby Face Nelson" with Mickey Rooney and the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from Jack Finney's novel, remade at least two or three times.

  • @Onlymusical Ah, I see. I didn't know when she died, so I was just wondering. But good to know. I do remember seeing her in a few films though, I was brought up on a lot of old t.v. series and movies and such.

  • @LacrymosaLies Her turn as 2nd lead in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," one of the cinema's most revered films, immortalizes her, and she played Mickey Rooney's leading lady in "Baby Face Nelson," a fantastically exuberant movie with sensational turns by Rooney as Nelson and Leo Gordon as Dillinger. Her movie career was barreling along when she was abruptly typecast during "The Addams Family," which I think more or less stopped everything for her deader than DeForrest Kelly after "Star Trek."

  • @Onlymusical Ah. I may have to watch a few of these movies. I'm quite fond of Carolyn as an actress and I've never been able to find any of her film in the stores. Which saddens me, I must admit.

    Star Trek, eh...

  • @LacrymosaLies Yes, I only mention DeForrest Kelly because, aside from George Reeves in "Superman," he's the textbook example of a single television series role destroying a career. He'd been working literally non-stop for years as an upcoming young character actor prior to "Star Trek," in movies and TV, and afterward you can count his non-Star Trek jobs for the rest of his life on your fingers. The irony is that he was by far the finest actor on "Star Trek," much better than Nimoy or Shatner.

  • @LacrymosaLies "Baby Face Nelson" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (generally regarded as one of the finest films of the sound era) are Carolyn Jones' two best movies. She had a huge role as the Other Woman in "A Hole in the Head" with Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson, and was leading lady to Elvis Presley in "King Creole," billed right under Presley and above Walter Matthau in a film directed by Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca," "Angels With Dirty Faces")!! These are all readily available.

  • @LacrymosaLies You've got to see "King Creole" to believe it. Always cited by critics as Presley's best movie, it's a B&W musical film noir(!) based on a Harold Robbins novel in which Elvis' leading lady Carolyn Jones portrays an abused prostitute, very far from Morticia Addams, and Walter Matthau plays a gangster. The whole movie's on youtube under "Elvis Presley # THE MOVIE King Creole # part 1 of 11" and it's a grand showcase for Jones before "The Addams Family" pillaged her career.

  • @Onlymusical I think I have seen that one, actually. Or at least parts of it. If I remember correctly, it was rather good. Although I was quite young so I'm not sure if it was that particular film I was watching.

  • @LacrymosaLies If she was playing a prostitute, that's the one.

  • @Onlymusical I may have to get it out one day, ave another look.

  • @LacrymosaLies You have the youtube address if you'd like to see it that way.

  • @Onlymusical Oh I'm sure it won't be hard to find, haha. Thank you anyway,

  • @LacrymosaLies I guess you can say that again....

  • @Onlymusical WHO CARES!

  • @yuk53 Guess you've got a good point. 

  • Joan Marshall was hot as Lily.

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  • I'm glad they recasted Lily, Eddie, and Marilyn:) I'm also glad it wasn't in color, and that the makeup was changed:)

  • Joan Marshall, the first Lily seen here, had a far more terrifying role in William Castle's movie, "Homicidal"!!! Check it out, it's a pretty intense film...

  • And, there were TV executives who watched this pilot and said: "Wow, this is awesome! Make this into a series, STAT!"

  • Herman looks kind of dopey here.

  • Howdy fellow Munster lovers! Did you know that the Munster's house is now painted yellow and used as a set in Desperate Housewives? It is still on the Universal Studios' LA set and I saw it! I kinda almost jumped out of the tour long trolley bus golf cart thing...it was intense.

  • That car is sweet!! Is it a Chrysler Imperiale?

  • wow! herman's first wife was hotter!

  • @katkal3 Damn right!!!!!

  • Herman's makeup was not perfected. As for Phoebe Munster she was too Morticia.

  • I am glad the changed it. The colour may be washed out due to age, or quality of the reel, but it looks nowhere near as appealing as the B&W version.

    Happy Derman is a creep.

    Herman's brows are too weird.

    The intro is far to drawn out and dull.

    The theme song was....not a song but just a bunch of warm ups in the orchestra pit.

    Everything about the version we all love was far superior.

  • @cuttock Yeah - I think shooting in B&W was a much superior way (for this series) to be shot. People don't get it. They think; 'the only reason to shoot in B&W (after the advent of colour) is because the makers' were 'cheap.' No, no always true. In the case here, while I may be more familiar with the series' being done in B&W, it still gives this series' an 'other-worldly' retro-ish quality.

  • Very interesting.

  • i prefer yvonne decarlo... and eff color

  • Marylin was hot hot hot lol

  • Wow, this is wild, thanks for posting. I am rely glad they got Yvonne DeCarlo... Yvonne owned that part.

  • To all those who wondered who Joan Marshall was (Phoebe Munster) Joan was the star of the 1961 cult classic "Homicidal" by William Castle. She was billed as "Jean Arless" in that one. It's a MUST see. Never reveal the ending!! You'll rarely see a performance like the one Joan delivers in "Homicidal"

    She was also on the 60's Star Trek series.

  • This is great. It actually was shot on color film - I think to further impress potential backers of the show at the time. Happy Derman is a RIOT as Eddy!

  • LOL when Herman comes on its like hes president with that music who agrees?

  • Less Butch Patrick, more Happy Derman !!

  • Oh woe is me, how I pine for the long lost days of yore.....the Happy Derman days gone by........

  • Big change from the series that I grew up with ,lol

  • never remembered this version.......changed Mom and kid to Yvonne DeCarlo and Butch Patrick .......Even Herman looked bigger in series........

  • woah, this is pretty awesome

  • This is realy neat .DeCarlo really had star  persona.I think they chose the right actress who was Marshall?

  • it's not in color, it's been colorized.

  • Who the "F" was that female imposter?

  • herman played athletic sports, including baseball and golf and basketball, whereas grandpa liked playing checkers with an unseen opponent. what a difference!!

  • awww so cute when he kisses her!

  • Marilyn so looks like Doris Day. I'm glad they picked Yvonne DeCarlo and Butch Patrick in the end.

  • like the cars back then

  • where did you find this, its awesome! I find it odd that the pilot is in color and the series was B&W. PLus whats with Hermans head, onoly the forhead looks green.

  • @56thAlbanyProd amazon.com has ( or used to have ) a whole bunch of munster videos for sale. the pilot was in color, and the 2 movies were in color, and the episodes of the tv show were in b&w, and 1 episode ( called "family portrait" ) had a colorized version.

  • Nice Imperial!

  • "happy derman". poor fucker probably hung himself after parents saddled that one on him. christ!

  • @madskyltd LOL so true

  • Interesting the show was B&W..... what year is this?

  • Fortunately, the show progressed on more of a Donna Reed-Leave It To Beaver note!

  • That walk sounds like Thriller Video. It actually looks more spooky in Black and White. Wow Joan Marshall looks like Cher or the RED head on Desperate HOusewives, OMG. Why would A vampire want to bite his own daughters neck. This cast ha no real energy. It seeems like it was more like the cleavers. But the other ast had more ENERGY and more umph thta made us like it. The original Eddie was dorky. What was the crap Granpa was eating i played it back and could not figure it out.

  • i never this episode existed

  • Joan Marshall was super hot!

  • Whoa, that Joan Marshall is a freak... What a hottie.... lol

  • The title sequence had light happy music (picked up from the Doris Day movie, The Thrill of it All[1]) instead of the more hip surf theme that was to come. The episode is available on the complete first season of The Munsters DVDs. You gotta love Herman's face at 3:18 when he's about to give Phoebe a kiss. I've never seen this until today. Thanks for the post. In the pilot, Herman didn't have any padding yet.

  • Was the show originally going to air on NBC before CBS chose to take the show?. Is that why the pilot's in color?.

  • interesting thanks for putting this up but to me there was only ONE LILLY Yvonne de carlo and happy derman ??? butch patrick was the only eddy

  • I don't recall herman ever seeming HOT for Lilly!!! This reminds me more of Addams Family than he Munsters... But a true treasure; I never would have seen if it weren't for youtube! I always thought YVonne DeCarlo was hot but Herman seemed to treat her more as a mother than a wife.

  • @Nash1a

    wow great point. thats true.

  • @Nash1a you said you don't recall herman seeming hot for lily. i would agree, aside from the intros to the tv shows. in the intros, herman always semed delighted when lily kissed him.

  • @Nash1a i think the addams family came first, and this pheobe was made to resemble Morticia.

  • Oh Man:):):):):) Joan Marshall who was she??? Don't remember Happy Derman either???? Never saw this before. Joan Marshall.What a Fox!!!!! Love that intro. I'd i've gone back and giv'in her that 2nd kiss too, What a babe:):):)

  • @welder541 This was a pilot. They usually never air on TV. They're usually only made to sell the show concept to the network execs.

  • None of the characters look the same. I preffer it in black and white.

  • If Phoebe answered the door instead of Herman he probably wouldn't have run away. Unless she tried to bite him or offered him lady fingers.

  • this sucks! Lilly monsters looks more like

    Morticia from the Adams Family! I dont like the set up of the house, I guess Im use to the other stage, lol

  • @couponsexpired "Lilly Monsters" LOL!

  • Joan Marshall looked too muck like Morticia Addams, so she was dropped in favor of Yvonne De Carlo's Lilly.

  • @iwtricapecod Yes, its so obvious.

  • Strange casting and lack of theme song aside, this footage is truly special. Thanks for uploading this!

  • Wow thank God they changed the cast...this would've bombed out big time....

  • HAPPY DERMAN??? oh tell me - did this kid just hang himself? shit

  • LOL ya I did a double take on that one myself..

    The kid's real name is Happy???

  • @orangie84 Pseudonym. His real name was Nate.

  • The laugh track is so annoying. The actual Munsters in black and white with the lovely Yvonne de Carlo is so much better.

  • "Phoebe" was way too much like Morticia Addams (but Joan did NOT copy that character, as there's no possible way she could have seen the pilot of Addams Family before she filmed this!!)

  • ... cool, its Wagner from 4:04 ...

  • thanks for the color version, it's way cool. I use to watch the Munsters as a kid...(before they were reruns...lol)

  • How bad was Joan compared to Yvonne as Lily! No charisma whatsoever.

  • @batbreath77 She is hot too though.

  • Poor Marilyn always thinks it is her.

  • Esta Marilyn si era HERMOSA!! :D

  • Happy Derman doesn't look too happy. I'm glad they replaced him with Butch.

  • The Munsters are my Family

  • grandpa looks like the penguin in this

  • This definitely seems a little more "stiff" than the eventual finished product. Except for Grandpa, who is crazy no matter which version! Actually, Grandpa and Marilyn seem to be very close to what their characters would eventually be in the regular series.

  • The intro here makes more sense when Herman lays a big kiss on Lily then walks off smiling. In the regular series he kisses her on the cheek then walks off with the big grin, which makes no sense.

  • Thanks SO much for this!....Had no idea there were cast changes/(except Marylin)

    And Colour......I thought that was only for "Munsters go Home"...Thanks again.

  • My God, how long were audiences fooled by the same laugh track on every single sitcom for nearly 25 years?!?!

  • for nearly 25 years

  • 1. I love the black and white version

    I like goofier herman

    and Lilly is better then this girl

  • Herman dosen't look as good in colour

    But I will say I love this show and Black and white all the way!

  • at 4:40 you can see the top edge of the stage flat behind them!

  • Obvious use of stock music in the credits - close your eyes and you'd think this was some Donna Reed show! Just goes to show how memorable the Munsters Theme was! Maybe it's good that the series was ultimately filmed in B&W because the green makeup would have been just too ghoulish in the long run.

  • Fred Gwynnes Herman  is so dull in this

    Im glad he got goofyer in the better version

  • 4:08 a little gross.

  • Gross What In The World Was That Stuff!?

  • HAPPY DERMAN???

  • is this a fake?

  • @Rafiux No, its really the original Munsters TV pilot in color.

  • GOD DAMN IT... IM COLOR BLIND...

  • Wow Joan Marshall from Star Trek. I'm glad Yvonne De Carlo became Mrs. Munster, though.

    Kinda interesting how Marilyn stands out as the "oddball" in color even moreso than in black and white. Never really noticed that in the movies.

    Beverly Owen is cute. Kinda makes me wish, though, that the Pat Priest episodes were shot in color. :)

  • i would totally do phoebe

  • she's dead

  • Where can we get this full episode , anyone .

    Thanks

  • Its amazing this was sold as a pilot. Terrible casting, makup and dialogue. Thank god it was changed to what it became. It will never be duplicated. I still watch it on TV land. Come to think of it they dont show it there anymore. TV Land sucks

  • Yvonne DeCarlo was so much better! This is cool to see though

  • Yvonne DeCarlo in great new bio (Charlton Heston: An Incredible Life: Revised Edition) at amazon!

  • How long was this pilot? Did they film a full episode, or is this all there was?

  • Imdb says it was 15 minutes

  • Thanks. I should have checked there myself. :)

  • I think " Marilyn " ( Beverley Owen ) look great in pink !!! And it's interesting to see the prototype; such as the beginning scene. Regards.

  • i love the munsters but I prefer Lily over phoebe. I'm glad they didn't stick with her.

  • I love the Munsters. But this opening sequence is painfully terrible. And Loooooooooooooong.

    I am glad they cut a new one!

  • wow! ke interesante dato

  • Joan Marshall was extremely beautiful.

  • I agree

  • @Ultramar0270  Too seductive for 1960's 'Standards and Practices' :)

  • The Munsters, forever nice family.

  • dude, she wants you

  • i went to amazon, and found the munsters action figures. i ordered a herman action figure. it arrived today. it's good. i think i'll order the rest of the figures.

  • i went to amazon, and found the munsters action figures. i ordered a herman action figure. it arrived today. it's good. i think i'll order the rest of the figures.

  • It was cool to see this in color. Was it "original" color or was it colorized?

    I like the B&W theme better, this theme sounds like it came from a musical production.

  • this video is of the pilot episode , and it was in color, and had some actors who were different from those used in the tv series which came later.

    the tv series was in B&W, yet some of the episodes were later colorized.

  • You can get the full show on the Munsters dvd. And this kid (Eddie) was awful. The network was smart to get rid of him. I met Fred Gwynne ( in Maine in 1977

  • Does anyone else think this Lily looks the dead spit (excuse the pun!) of Brie Van de Kamp from Desperate Housewives?!

  • yeah this lily is young, my new fashion idol!!..ha ha..but Yvonne De Carlo made the role known..

  • that Lily looks so hot!!!!