Customer Reviews

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally this incredible Canadian children's show from the 1970's makes its way to DVD. I picked this wonderful 3 disc set up more for nostalgia than anything else, but I must admit that I've really enjoyed watching these episodes. It's been so long I almost forgot how funny Billy Van was and how memorable his characters were; this guy was truly amazing to watch and very entertaining. It's also great to see the amazing and iconic Vincent Price again as the narrator for the show. This show ran for 25 years and it has a huge cult following. Thanks to Alliance and Critical Mass for finally releasing this 3 single sided disc set with great packaging and artwork. The video does suffer here and there and the sound isn't always perfect or consistent, but the picture and sound are definitely much better than I expected. The set only consists of 13 episodes; hopefully future sets are in the works. Enter the House of Frightenstein if you dare!

DVD Episodes Include:
Amos Moses
My Baby Loves Lovin
Tennessee Birdwalk
Gypsy Woman
I've Been Hurt
Heather Honey
Incense & Peppermints
Midnight Confessions
There Is a Mountain
Dizzy
Playgirl
Reach Out Of the Darkness
Bella Linda

As a 1970s kid, I grew to appreciate the occasional import from Canada and around the world. In the early 1970s, New York City's WNEW-TV, Metromedia 5 had an awesome weekday afternoon lineup for the kids. Among the afterschool stuff was a double-dose serving of the original Mickey Mouse Club, with Annette and the gang...and, from Canada, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein! It was a gas, man!! Billy Van and the whole crew put in a solid half-hour of fun...we loved every minute of it.
You see ignorance is not only bliss, it allows for fun. None of us were aware that HOF was originally a one-hour Canadian show...and we could have cared less. Just as we never knew about wide-screen/letterbox movies, and accepted full-frame/pan and scan on television...and still enjoyed our movies...so we loved and accepted whatever FUN, FUN shows came on televison.
So, by all means, seek out the full-hour DVD box sets of HOF...go on. But, why not grab a copy of this New York favorite, too. So it's only half an hour. Watch it on the days when you're short on time...and have some FUN!

The show was originally produced as a one-hour show, with no laugh track. This is how it was broadcast in Canada in the early 70's. When it was later syndicated in the US, the episodes were cut to a half-hour and a laugh track was added. Unfortunately, the four episodes on this DVD are from the US syndication package.

I wish I'd read the reviews before ordering. As already stated, these are indeed the half-hour US syndicated versions. They are sloppily edited and include a terrible laugh track. I'm still almost tempted to recommend these for purchase, if only to enourage the rights-holders to re-issue more episodes on DVD(the proper, full, one-hour Canadian eps with NO laugh track) but, really... this is a disappointment and the great work of Billy Van deserves better.

Like so many others, I watched this show as a child. Growing up in Western New York is was carried by, I believe WKBW.

Sitting down in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal watching monsters run around doing crazy things.

I will start off by parroting what so many others have said - this version being the full 1 hour episodes is far superior the the U.S. version which has the episodes edited down to just 30 minutes and burdened with a laugh track.

This version contains 3 discs which hold 13 one hour episodes. It has a very basic menu structure. One menu showing the episode names and that's it - though it does have a clip of Igor singing the anthem and a large tombstone with the various characters popped up around it.

The episodes are as follows:
Disc 1:
Amos Moses
My Baby Loves Lovin
Tennessee Birdwalk
Gypsy Woman
I've Been Hurt

Disc 2:
Heather Honey
Incense & Peppermints
Midnight Confessions
There Is A Mountain

Disc 3:
Dizzy
Playgirl
Reach Out Of The Darkness
Bella Linda

The quality is actually pretty good. Very little audio distortion and remarkably low video noise. You can tell this is something that's 30 years or more old but I've certainly seen much worse. I would say the audio and video quality is actually better than the U.S. release.

All in all, this is absolutely worth the price where the U.S. version though cheaper is a questionable value.

So sit down with a good bowl of cereal, prepare to raise the flag and sing along...
Gory, Gory Transyl-wannnnnnia!

Just a brief taste of a great show. The 'rights holder' to this wonderful tv series, should make all 130 1-hour episodes avaialable (in their original format) in a box-set. There is indeed an adult audience who watched and remebered this great canadian tv series.

I TOTALLY agree with the last guy! I should have read the reviews first. I've recently been watching the reruns on cable television, and this dvd just doesn't cut it. The laugh track, as well as additional audio sounds, interfere with the audibility of the characters. During a Grizelda the cook sketch, I had a hard time hearing her dialogue over the added bubbling cauldron noises, and unnecessary laugh track. It was a great campy show, but it wasn't THAT funny! There's childrens laughter before the jokes and punch lines are delivered.

For the same amount of money, you could add the Drive-In Classics channel to your cable subscription, and receive about 130 days of complete 1 hr canadian episodes... with equal or better visual quality, and NO added audio!!! Highly disappointed.

This was my favorite morning show as a kid throughout the '70s. Looking back, its slapstick humour plays just as well to adults as to kids! Grizelda and the Librarian rank as my favourite characters ... even today! Like the other reviewers I too am disappointed that there are only 4 episodes (how about a boxed set?) and what's with the laugh track??? There was no laugh track when the show was first aired! It definitely takes away from the mood. Imagine "Frankenstein" with a laugh track! Also, the editing is a bit sloppy. Hopefully they'll get it right ... or should I say ... fright! on Volumes 2,3,4, etc... To answer the Librarian: I'm not "terrified" ... just disappointed. Nevertheless, I'm glad that the show has been at least been remembered and is now available on DVD.

This Cult Classic Is Low Budget, Has Bad Special Effects, And Questionable Acting....However This Show Takes All Those Things That Would Normaly Ruin A TV Show And Mixes Them All Together In A Big Witches Cauldron Of Absolute Television Genius. I Personaly Grew Up Watching This Show In The Early Mornings Before Going Off To School, And Forgot How Totaly Awsome The Show Was And How Much Of An Impact It Left On Me. Billy Van Handles Almost All The Characters And Plays The Count, The Oracle, Grizelda The Ghastly Gourmet, The Wolfman, Bwanna Clyde Batty, The Librarian, And Dr. Pet Vet. My Favorite Character I Would Have To Say Is Grizelda. And Of Course Don't Forget That The Show Is Narrated By The Late And Dearly Missed Master Of Horror, Vincent Price. The Hilarious House of Frightenstein Has A Unique Quality That Draws The Viewer Into It's Private Little World, And You Often Find Yourself Not Wanting To Leave. FIVE STARS For this Classic Cult Hit That Was A Part Of My Childhood And Now Years Later I am Able To Enjoy Again And Again.

The newer version released in 2006 has the original sparkle and appeal for kids of all ages. The Wolfman, the Professor, Griselda...it's wonderfull to revisit those far-off happy days when children's television was unbounded by political correctness and didn't underestimate the audience. Don't buy this. Get the 2006 version and you will be pleased. There's no laugh-track (which is put there so the audience doesn't have to think!), and it's as fresh and funny as ever. Vincent Price is classic. This has to be where Michael Jackson got his "inspiration" for "Thriller".