This post has been modernized.
Now, enjoy all the scenes!
The View-Master packet The Addams Family (B486) -- in color!
Packet Cover
Booklet Cover
From the original packet cover:
“Portrait of Gomez”
On Cemetery Ridge, at the edge of town, stands a mysterious old mansion surrounded by a thick hedge and a fence with razor-sharp spikes. A sign at the gate warns, “Beware the Thing.” From the house come occasional weird noises—the boom of a foghorn and the reverberation of a gong that rattles all the windows in the neighborhood.
Gomez Addams, head of the spooky family that inhabits the house, is an expert on barracuda breeding and wrecking railroad trains. So who is better qualified to be Strife Magazine’s Man of the Year?
The efforts of Gomez and his wife Morticia to find just the right picture of Gomez for Strife’s cover involve them, however, in some hair-raising adventures—such as a magnesium powder explosion and a wild driving test by Gomez, who has never learned about cars.
Scene 01
In the moonlit front yard, the Addams Family “moonbathed”
From the 16-page booklet:
“PORTRAIT OF GOMEZ”
A full moon shed its eerie light over the front yard of a gloomy Victorian mansion on the outskirts of town. Reveling in the silvery brightness, a strange-looking family moonbathed in the yard.
Morticia Addams, wearing dark moonglasses, sat under a tree, affectionately watching her children, Wednesday and Pugsley. With little buckets and pails, they were busily building up an oddly human-shaped pile of sand. Her husband Gomez, in a gaudy 1910-style bathing suit, peered at the moon through a telescope, while bald, beady-eyed Uncle Fester sprawled in a beach chair.
Morticia looked at the pile of sand. “Are you all right, Mama?” she asked it. “Getting enough air?”
“Fine—fine,” came a muffled voice. “I took a real deep breath before they covered me up.”
Scene 02
As Thing fanned Morticia, Lurch answered the doorbell
From the 16-page booklet:
A hand, holding a fan, emerged from a hole in the tree near Morticia’s head and began fanning her.
“Thank you, Thing,” said Morticia. She showed no surprise; this was merely the family’s hired hand, Thing. (It usually lived in a small box in the house, but could also appear suddenly in such places as the mailbox, frightening the mail carrier speechless.)
BEEE-OHHH! The deep groan of a foghorn penetrated the night. The sound came from the old mansion.
“The doorbell!” said Morticia. “Who could it be?”
Scene 03
“You say he was from Strife Magazine?” Gomez asked
From the 16-page booklet:
Gomez reached for a hangman’s rope, dangling in midair near him, and jerked it. A deep, reverberating BONGG, like a Chinese temple gong, shook the yard with weird vibrations.
A young man in a butler’s uniform appeared. Nearly seven feet tall, he somehow resembled Frankenstein.
“You rang?” he asked in a sepulchral voice.
“Yes, Lurch,” said Gomez. “Who was at the door?”
“Man from Strife,” replied Lurch. “Photographer. Said he’d return.”
“Strife Magazine?” mused Gomez. “Wonder what—“
“This is the time they choose their Man of the Year,” Pugsley broke in. “You don’t suppose—“
“Gomez! Who deserves the honor more than you?” asked Morticia excitedly. “Who can match your dexterity with the boomerang, your skill at parchesi…?”
“We’ll go through the family album and select a photo of me for Strife’s cover picture,” Gomez decided.
“And I know just the one!” Morticia added happily.
Scene 04
“Maybe they want my photo as Man of the Year”
From the 16-page booklet:
In the conservatory room of the old house the next day, Gomez, Morticia, and Wednesday looked at pictures in the album.
“This one?” asked Gomez, holding up his baby photo, complete with mustache.
“No, Gomez,” said Morticia. “This is the one I mean.” She picked up a photo that was underexposed and out of focus. “See how it captures your divine poetic fire! This is the real Gomez Addams? Close your eyes – can’t you just see this picture on the cover of Strife?”
They closed their eyes in ecstasy –forgetting that they were standing next to Cleopatra, their pet potted plant that would eat anything…
Scene 5
They chose a picture, but the hungry plant ate it up!
From the 16-page booklet:
Suddenly they both became aware that Cleopatra had swallowed half of the photo and was munching away on the rest! Gomez seized the plant and shook it. “Cough up that photo, Cleopatra!” he commanded. Instead, the plant gulped—and swallowed the rest.
Morticia brightened. “Cheer up, darling—we’ll have Krumstrass, the same photographic genius, take another identical photo of you!”
“Capital idea! I remember just where his studio is!”
Scene 6
The photographer had disappeared! Gomez was so despondent…
From the 16-page booklet:
Reaching the decrepit little studio on a side street, they were stunned to find the building empty. A sign, CLOSED, was taped to the window.
“He’s gone out of business!” moaned Gomez.
“This is the bitterest blow since they made us fill in our lovely little patch of quicksand!” said Morticia.
Scene 7
…he stayed up on the chandelier till Fester coaxed him down.
From the 16-page booklet:
“Gomez!” said Uncle Fester in surprise. “Are you still up on that chandelier? This is the third day!”
From his upside-down perch, Gomez explained gloomily:
“It’s because we can’t find the one photographer in the world who can capture the real me.”
“Your troubles are over!” Fester announced. “I know my way around the camera. Remember my studies of “Termites at Play”? I’ll take your picture!”
A rumpled, unshaved and tired Gomez bounced out of the chandelier, landing on his feet. “By George, Fester is the answer to my problem!” he said enthusiastically. “Let’s get started!”
“Wait, dear,” said Morticia. “Better freshen up.”
Faithful Thing, always alert, popped out of its box, handed Gomez a mirror, then proceeded to lather his face and shave him with a straight-edge razor.
Scene 8
Fester, focusing on Cousin Itt, thought he was Gomez.
From the 16-page booklet:
Uncle Fester was setting up his old-fashioned portrait camera in the playroom, but couldn’t seem to get the tripod legs even. As he ducked under the black cloth to check the focus, Gomez entered the room with Morticia and a third person—or, rather, creature.
Their short, pudgy companion looked like a walking haystack. A cascade of red-blondish hair engulfed him on all sides from head to ankles. On top of the head sat a brown hat; below the hat was a pair of dark sunglasses.
The haystack spoke. “Dapple dibble gundle geek,” it said in a rapid, high-pitched voice. “Globble glibble.”
“Why, of course, we’ll take your picture too, Cousin Itt,” said Morticia understandingly.
“Ready!” called Fester from beneath the cloth, and Morticia pushed Cousin Itt in front of the camera. “Perfect! You never looked better, Gomez,” said Fester.
“Gobble duff!” chattered Itt, indignantly.
“Well, maybe the camera is a little off center,” said Uncle Fester. He swung it around the room, focusing on the head of a wart hog that hung on the wall. “That’s a nice expression, Gomez!” he exclaimed warmly.
But Itt had had enough of this nonsense. “Gobble diggle!” he sputtered, turning and striding from the room.
Finally Fester focused on Gomez, who was sitting on a stool, sneering his most charming sneer for the camera.
“Magnifique!” applauded Morticia—then caught herself in dismay. Her French words always drove Gomez berserk!
Scene 9
“Tish! Those French words inflame me!” said Gomez.
From the 16-page booklet:
He bounced off the stool and, seizing her arm, began kissing it passionately. “Tish! That French!”
“Later, darling,” she soothed him, and Gomez went back to the stool. But Fester was having trouble. The tripod was slipping again.
Scene 10
The magnesium flare powder exploded too soon…
From the 16-page booklet:
The more he tried to adjust it, the lower the camera sagged. Fester was also handicapped by having to hold in one hand the flash pan, which contained magnesium powder to be ignited for a bright flash of illumination. Both men kept crouching lower to keep level with the camera, until finally they were sprawling on the floor.
Just as Fester called, “Hold it!”—the magnesium powder exploded, blasting a light fixture from the ceiling!
Scene 11
…and a lamp fell from the ceiling onto Fester’s head!
From the 16-page booklet:
“Did you get it?” asked Morticia anxiously.
Uncle Fester crawled out from under the cloth, rubbing his bald pate. “Right in the head!” he said angrily.
* * *
It was three days later, and Gomez had been hanging from the chandelier again, ever since Fester’s failure with the camera. Meanwhile Morticia had hired a detective to try to find the elusive photographer, Krumstrass.
The telephone rang. “Hello,” said Morticia—then,excitedly, she looked up at Gomez. “He’s found our photographer!”
“Eureka!” shouted Gomez, flipping off the chandelier. “I’ll get ready.” He pulled the hangman’s rope.
Lurch appeared. “You rang?”
“Lurch, whip up a pipkin of lather for a fast shave and get Thing to sharpen the razor.”
“Thing’s busy,” said Lurch. “Cutting Itt’s hair. Started three days ago.”
Morticia hung up the phone. “Darling, there is a slight complication,” she told Gomez. “Now he works for the Department of Motor Vehicles. He takes the pictures they use for the drivers’ licenses. The only way you can be photographed by him is to get a driver’s license.”
“Bully!” boomed Gomez. “I’ve always wanted one!”
“But you’ve never been able to drive!” she protested.
“True,” he said, “but there’s very little I don’t know about cards—except how to shift, and steer, and . . .”
Scene 12
“Remember our old Stanley Steamer?” said Uncle Fester.
From the 16-page booklet:
“Remember our old Stanley Steamer?” mused Fester. The three strolled across the room to a large “mobile sculpture” hanging from the ceiling. It consisted of fenders, bumpers, headlights, and other assorted auto parts. Gomez twisted a valve on the old car’s boiler. A blast of steam came whooshing out, startling them.
“by Jove, after all these years she’s still got a fine head of steam!” he exulted. “Ah,” he added to Morticia, “a little practice and I’ll be ready to drive again!”
“Marvelous,” she beamed. “And I’ll be your teacher.”
Scene 13
Gomez practiced “driving” to earn a licence, with its photograph.
From the 16-page booklet:
“You’re riding the clutch again, Gomez!” Uncle Fester warned.
The scene was not the street, but the play room of the Addams house. On a soap box sat Gomez, with Morticia beside him. He casually spun a dummy steering wheel and worked a “shift lever” that was really a plumber’s plunger.
In front of him Fester lay on the floor, holding out his hands with the labels “Clutch” and “Brake” on them.
“Now, Gomez,” said Morticia, “you are passing through a school zone and your speedometer shows 75 miles an hour. What are you doing wrong?”
Gomez thought. “Oh, of course. I’m not waving to the little nippers as I drive by.” He waved. “Hi, kids!”
Morticia winced. “Step on your brake, dear!”
“Brake!” repeated Gomez. His right foot slammed down hard—and immediately there was a loud howl from Fester.
Scene 14
Stepping on the “brake,” he put his foot in Fester’s face!
From the 16-page booklet:
“That’s not your brake!” shouted Fester. “That’s my face!” He waved his left hand. “This is your brake!”
“Oh,” said Gomez. “It’s these new cars—not what they used to be.” He rose, beaming. “Well, I think we’re all agreed the test run was a huge success!”
He pulled the bell cord and Lurch came. “You rang?”
“Bring the car around to the door,” said Gomez, rubbing his hands happily. “I’m off to take my driver’s test!”
Scene 15
Lurch opened the car’s hood to investigate a strange noise.
From the 16-page booklet:
Lurch, in his chauffer’s uniform, brought their big old touring car to the front gate. Gomez was ready, in an old-fashioned duster coat, cap, and goggles.
Morticia handed him a crash helmet with a tilt-down visor that fitted over his face. “Darling, I think you’d better wear this.”
“What a smart little beanie!” He put it on, puffing his cigar. Smoke quickly filled the helmet.
“Seems to be an over-abundance of smog today,” he said coughing.
Taking the helmet off, he got into the car, looked at the dash panel curiously, and asked: “Uh—Lurch—how do you start it?”
Lurch turned the key. The motor spun twice, but something was wrong. A high-pitched chattering noise was coming from underneath the hood.
As Lurch raised the hood to investigate, Morticia exclaimed: “That sounds like Cousin Itt!”
Scene 16
Cousin Itt was drying his hair in the engine compartment.
From the 16-page booklet:
Cousin Itt, furious at being disturbed, rose from the motor compartment. His head was festooned with hair curlers. “Bloople bleeple globble gleet!” he protested.
“Oh,” said Morticia, comprehending. “Thing washed Itt’s hair after cutting it and he was sitting under the hood letting it dry. Sorry to have disturbed you, darling.”
“As long as you’re here, Cousin Itt,” Gomez invited, “you can be a witness to this milestone in motoring.”
Itt climbed out fearfully and Gomez managed to get the car started. With a terrific lurch it backed away, motor roaring. The others watched in terror as the car skidded this way and that. SCREECH! CRASH! CRUNCH! THUD!
Suddenly Gomez and the ancient vehicle shot back to the front gate and skidded to a squealing stop. “A complete triumph of man over machine!” exulted Gomez. “Let’s go!”
Scene 17
“I'm ready to take my driving test!” shouted Gomez
From the 16-page booklet:
As Morticia, Fester, Lurch and Itt waited tensely outside the Department of Motor Vehicles, Gomez burst out the door, followed by a sour-looking examiner. “Passed my written test!” he announced. “This is the dedicated public servant who’s going to conduct the driving test. Meet my dedicated wife—my dedicated uncle…”
“No dogs allowed,” said the examiner, looking at Cousin Itt, who babbled indignantly. As the examiner climbed nervously into the car with Gomez, Thing emerged from its box on the front seat and put the car into gear. They roared off in a cloud of dust.
Scene 18
Gomez failed the test, but Morticia had a great idea.
From the 16-page booklet:
The car pulled back to the curb, smoking and clanking. It had obviously been through a series of disasters. The examiner, bordering on nervous collapse, rose from the rear compartment, into which he had jumped in panic during the wild ride. “You ought to be arrested for even thinking of driving!” he stormed.
“Oh, I never drive!” said Gomez. “I wanted a driver’s licence for the picture. You have in your employ Wolfgang Krumstrass, the world’s greatest photographer.”
“That creep?” snorted the examiner, walking away. “He was fired the same day he was hired!”
Gomez drooped. “We’re right back where we started from! Destiny seems determined to brush me aside.”
“Brush…?” said Morticia, getting a sudden idea. “Darling, that’s it! I’ll paint your cover picture!”
Scene 19
As they awaited the Strife man, Gomez practiced with a blowgun.
From the 16-page booklet:
For several days Morticia had been at her easel, painting industriously. At last the portrait of Gomez was finished, and the photographer from Strife Magazine was on his way to pay them another call.
As they waited in the living room, Morticia knitted. She and Fester watched as Gomez, aiming his blowgun, shot darts at a suit of armor that paced stiffly back and forth across the opposite side of the room. Each time he made a hit, a gong sounded and the armor did an about-face.
The doorbell’s foghorn moaned. In a moment Lurch entered with a stranger, announcing: “Man from Strife.”
Scene 20
“I’ve painted your Man of the Year!” said Morticia.
From the 16-page booklet:
“Come in!” Gomez greeted him. “Strife Magazine is one of our favorites.”
“We devour it from cover to cover,” said Morticia.
“It’s delicious,” added Uncle Fester.
“Well, the picture’s all ready for you,” said Gomez, gesturing toward the easel, which was covered by a curtain. “Here it is!” Thing pulled the cord and unveiled the portrait of Gomez Addams.
Scene 21
Strife wanted a picture of their house—not Gomez.
From the 16-page booklet:
The picture showed Gomez standing on his head! “Your Man of the Year!” said Morticia, proudly.
“Uh—there must be some mistake,” mumbled the photographer. “We already have our Man of the Year. We wanted a picture of your house.”
“You mean it’s House of the Year?” asked Gomez.
“Well—sort of. We’re doing a story on haunted houses, and yours has been chosen as the spookiest one of all.”
“Why, thank you—we do try,” said Morticia delightedly.
“This is even better than “Man of the Year’!” said Gomez. “This is a salute to the whole family!”
He saluted briskly. Each member of the family followed suit—and Thing’s salute was the snappiest of all!
17 comments:
Great to see color photos of the 1964 Addams Family. There weren't too many taken. I collect all I can find. New to me to see that by the second season, the glass on the front door was changed to multi-color.
I've had no luck in getting hold of this View-master. It can be pricey.
The first photo looks like the View-master person took a snapshot during rehearsal.
Love to see the rest.
I wonder why - are not included ALL the Addams Family scenes?
Did you miss them?
Because I have the whole package and booklet!
More Addams, yes, please...
Good news! The Addams Family is in the works. It may take a little while as the post has to be recoded and all the pictures remastered. I have recently found all of the original captions to the pictures, which is what delayed things. Thanks to everyone for visiting the Addams Family post.
Looking forward to it!
Enjoying this in color and without the laugh track. A kick every time a new photo shows up.
The last two replies have been me, from32d, but it's been showing up as Amonymous. I don't have Anonymouse checked off. Hmm, a street light in the living room.
The color, the blood red wallpaper and carpets, make the sets and props exotic. ~~ from32d
Cousin Itt is in the top five of TV's weirdest characters. I appreciate your work here. The View-Masters caught pop culture in the past decades with vivid images.
The ever evasive color view of the window at the stairs. In the color photograph of the living room published in TV Guide, it's shot at an angle so that the moose above the fireplace is blocking it. In the View-master, the feathers in the vase thing is concealing most of it. I obsess about these things. -from32d
Even in color and on a brightly lit public sidewalk they look nocturnal.
If they had shot a season of the show in color, I think they would added some makeup on them to make them a little pale like in the original Charles Addams cartoons.
-from32d
I finally have them all. Been wanting to see all of these for years. I posted a link to this page and your blog on an Addams Family group on Facebook I belong to. Some of my postings are there showing a hobby of mine colorizing black and white screencaps from TV shows. -from32
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the link from Facebook. This was a crazy episode of The Addams Family. We're lucky that View-Master was able to get over to the set and make this for us...in color no less.
Thank you again for your work.
Here's are the links to the Addams Family and Munsters groups I belong to.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/213565345390009/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/201607323259378/
from32d
Hi Jam, Absolutely love the work and effort your making with the view-master world. I am a huge fan of view-master and was wondering if you knew of the actual artist info used to make scenes for the
Frankenstein packet No. B323 reels from 1976? I think these artist need to be recognized for their lifelong lasting work that has brought a lot of us decades of enjoyment and I've never head anyone mention these artist. Someone sculpted all the figures and background scenes but WHO?
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