The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: Hunchback of Notre Dame from Universal Studios Monsters by Uncle Milton

 

   Today I have an interesting offering for 31 Days of Toy Terror with a look at a figure from Uncle Milton's 1991 Monster Studio set, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, which itself is a recast of the original Louis Marx & Company figure from 1963 or 1964. The original plastic figures were sold loose by Marx in 1964 in both bright blue and orange color schemes. Marx made toys from 1919 until 1980 and was the first company to license the Universal Monsters for toys. Louis Marx sold his company to Quaker Oats in 1972 who then sold it to the British company Dunbee-Combex-Marx in 1976, closing up shop on the last Marx factory in West Virginia in 1980. Eventually, the Marx molds were licensed to toy company Uncle Milton who produced both glow-in-the-dark versions of these vintage toys and a Monster Studio set with six cream colored figures, a set of paints, and a brush. I've seen 1990 or 1991 listed as the year of release for the glow-in-the-dark figures and 1991 or 1992 for the Monster Studio set. The seller I acquired these from had them in bulk and claimed that Uncle Milton produced these in 1990 and was offering the figures in bulk in this color a year or so before they packaged them together in the Monster Studio set. It sounds like these were available individually, though not at standard retail. Maybe mom and pop shops and hobby shops? Can anyone shed any more light on these? I know hobbyists have recast these figures in different colors over the years beginning around the year 2000, so there are lots of these out there. For now, let's enjoy this cool recast of a vintage Marx Quasimodo that's older now than the Marx figures were when Uncle Milton recast them. Join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 4 inches (hunched on a base)

Articulation: None

Accessories: None

Year of Release: 1990-1991?

Original Retail Price: ?

The Positives:

* The Marx sculpts were rather dynamic and Uncle Milton didn't change anything. I believe the plastic is supposed to be more solid and less brittle on the Uncle Milton recasts and by some reports they hold paint much better than the Marx originals. Hunchback is standing on a little stepping stone bearing his name and is perched on one foot with his right arm giving him some balance while his left hand is emoting. It's all very dramatic!

* This version of the Hunchback doesn't really look all that much like Lon Chaney's take on Quasimodo. It's clearly Quasimodo, but it's not Chaney's rendition as the hair, outfit, and proportions are fairly different. Still, it's not a bad hunchback. It's just an interpretation rather than a specific version. There's some good detail on the folds on his sleeves and clothes and he's wearing funky old school shoes and a laced up shirt. I believe Marx marketed these as Cinema Creatures back in the day, just FYI.

* If the hair were different I'd be more inclined to call this a Chaney inspired Quasimodo but the hair is too short and too tame to truly be based on that version. Still, the face is pretty good with a pained grimace and a deformed right eye. Is it possible that the sculptor was thinking of Charles Laughton's Quasimodo from the 1939 RKO film?  Poor guy. I always feel bad for Quasimodo. I like when he gets placed in the Universal Monsters properties because he's such a great character and the film itself definitely is a huge part of the silent horror era, but Quasi isn't really the bad guy, is he? He's a victim. 

* His hump might not be as extreme as I'm thinking it should be but it is there, stretching his clothes. You can even see what I can only imagine is the outline of his spine poking through the back of the shirt, which has a few little rips and tears at the bottom. 

* Interestingly, Marx put the names of the characters (or at least a title for them) on the base of the figure. He's not Quasimodo, though: He's just Hunchback.

The Negatives:

* The name is pretty tough to pick out on the shiny plastic. They look to stand out a bit more on the Marx figures than on these casts. 

For the record:

* The figure still has the Louis Marx & Co. Inc. stamp on the bottom and the 1963 year of production.

   Quasimodo is a pretty cool figure. He's not the coolest of the Marx releases, but he's still a Great release and is a neat bit of history in horror toys and Universal Monsters toys. And he's now like 35 years old and isn't even an original Marx release! There's some cool detail here and an expressive pose. Considering they didn't make Dracula or the Bride of Frankenstein, I can only assume Marx assumed that Marx thought kids would be wild about the Hunchback of Notre Dame? Maybe they'd figure he'd get used in book report dioramas? If you were a kid in the 1960s, this was your NECA Universal Monsters Ultimates. 

If you dig Quasimodo then make sure to check out my review of the Diamond Select The Hunchback of Notre Dame from their Universal Monsters Select line, Quasimodo/ Lon Chaney as the Hunchback of Notre Dame from Super7's ReAction line, and the Hunchback Playset from McFarlane's Monsters