1974 Skull Cup Ad

The Skeletal Spotlight shines this time on:

Famous Monsters Skull Cup Ad
(Click for high rez!)

"Drinking from this cup with impress your friends and get you girlfriends!"

"A big four and half inches tall!" Hey, I wouldn't brag about that if I were you.

The ads in the pages of Famous Monsters were part of the fun of the magazine for us Monster Kids. Although in my case I never could order anything, just reading them was enough. And oddly, they're even more fun to read now, for the nostalgia they evoke.

By now we've generally seen and probably own on DVD most of the films in the articles. The pictures and articles no longer represent a glimpse of unknown adventures we long to see. But the ads still have the bit of mystery about them because most are for items we never acquired.

The enjoyment of the ads now also stem from the text copy. Tell me you didn't grin just a little as you read the ad above! "Horribly frightening!" "You'll scare the death out of friends and family!" Good stuff... and back then, we believed it.

I'm sure that someone has already posted this ad somewhere on a blog... these old FM ads are popular. But I went through my FM issue #107, May of 1974, and I enjoyed re-reading not only the mag but remembering the time I bought it. I enjoyed scanning it in, formatting it, and posting it. If for nothing but all that, it was worth it! Others will be forthcoming, as well as some from other publications of the same general time period. Hope you enjoy them too. In fact, here's one now... for a 12-inch replica of the horror within. Perfect to look at as you raise your skull cup to it in a toast.

What really attracted the kids to this was the "Free Anatomy Chart" included. Hopes of finally seeing a naked female were dashed when they realised it was a skeleton anatomy.

Below is a photo I found online of the actual cup from a Flickr page of a fan who has a lot of the Don Post masks. Check out his page for a lot of cool pics of the actual products the ads were hawking.

Image source


An earlier version of the ad when it was cheaper. Use your imagination for the ominous-sounding "anything else" it makes taste better!

Remembering the Forgotten Prisoner

The Skeletal Spotlight shines this time on:
Aurora's Forgotton Prisoner of Castel-mare

"He’s the last remaining prisoner from years gone by. Long since passed, and now all that remains are his bones as proof to his existence. His crimes have long been forgotten. His sentence fulfilled. However, this unfortunate prisoner was lost in the system, and now his bones are the only remains that hang from the dreaded shackles of his prison cell. Until now."

Oh, man... this brings my younger days back so clearly I can actually smell the model glue and paint. And the giddy, light-headed feeling I had while working on it in 1974 had very little to do with the fumes. Even today, taking out my little Prisoner model invokes such a strong sense of nostalgia that it almost hurts. Among the relics of my youth, only a few survive, and I'm grateful this one did. I had stored it away in a box of collected goodies in my grandmother's guest bedroom closet. Since her house was my one refuge from the strain of a controlling and intolerent stepfather, I kept the things I treasured there, for I had seen more than one item go into the flames of the trash barrel simply because my having them irritated him.

He was an ex-Army sargent, a hunter and construction worker with a sixth-grade education; while I was a bookwormish monster-loving kid who had an artistic bent. Needless to say we clashed, and I always came out on the losing end, being a pacifistic kid who loved nothing more than finding a quiet place to read my comic books. Unfortunately, that also irritated him. That's why my weekend stays at Grandma's house, a haven of love, freedom and normalcy, loom so large in my good memories. Stress-free afternoons reading my newest Monster Times or Castle of Frankenstein, putting together a model, and evenings watching the good stuff on TV: "Kung Fu," "Planet of the Apes," Night Stalker," and the Saturday Night Movie.

The Skeleton in my closet

Over a decade after I built my Forgotten Prisoner model, I re-discovered it in that box in the closet when I went to bring the things I had stored there into my own home. It was in several pieces, but easily fixed and lovingly touched up (except for a missing foot). It was funny, for he had become forgotten for awhile, but he was relocated, restored and placed in a collection bookcase for safe-keeping. Now he comes out yearly and joins the Halloween decorations on the mantle.

It's ironic that the one model that is most remembered by Monster Kids is the one called The Forgotten Prisoner. My lonely friend, you are not forgotten. You are fondly remembered and loved. I think I related to you a lot.

As much as it means to me, you won't find a picture of my own Prisoner on this page; my efforts are painting him were amaturish next to these awesome examples and not worthy to be compared. But you will see some great interpretations of the Prisoner paint job, all of which are terrific. Enjoy!

http://www.lowbudgetrecords.com/models/prisoner.htm

http://gobedelighted.blogspot.com/2007/09/talk-like-pirate-day.html

http://www.monstersinmotion.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/11444




http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=171006

The two images above come from a great FP page: http://www.tylisaari.com/models/fp/forgotten.htm

http://www.horror-wood.com/skeleton.htm

http://www.bobbysmonstermodels.com/prisoner.html

http://www.monstersontheshelf.com/id59.html

http://www.majormattmason.net/stevendemarco/prisoner.htm


http://www.markatherton4.com/prisoner.html

http://plmodels3.tripod.com/mindiola2.htm

http://museum.theclubhouse1.net/submissions/scottterry1.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~steven_demarco/id12.html

http://www.professorplastik.com/monster_site/proscenium/kits/prisoner_kit/prisoner_kit.htm

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l118/S_Coffey/?action=view&current=IMG_0129.jpg

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/showphoto.php/photo/27515/cat/500/ppuser/15338

A new larger version is available! Wow, but for the price I would possess this...

http://www.monstersinmotion.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/663

Here's a Youtube video of "a" forgotton prisoner that's pretty funny. Not a re-creation of our beloved bones, but in the same spirit.

I plan on making a life-sized re-creation of the Forgotten Prisoner for a Halloween display this coming October. I'll post images if my plans come to fruition!