CollectionDX Network
CollectionDX - Toy Reviews, Toy News, Japanese Toys and Action Figures

Fritz

Comments

5 comments posted
Ummm....Igor?

I never got the whole Fritz vs. Igor thing...

Anyway, don't you think you're being a tad kind with this review? I mean, other than the face sculpt, that's NOT Igor! To leave out some sort of hunchback look is pretty damn poor. The figure should be able to stand like this without tipping over...otherwise, why bother making this figure?

A much lesser offense, but an offense nonetheless, is the "normal brain". What? The prop that was on screen for a couple seconds before being smashed? The "abnormal brain" is the key accessory...that's just stoopid.

Also, I want a matching Marty Feldman from Young Frankenstein! Sideshow, are you listening!?

--
Sanjeev

Sanjeev's picture
Posted by Sanjeev on 31 October, 2007 - 12:36
Frtiz vs Igor

Not sure what you mean by "the whole Fritz vs. Igor" thing. What thing? Do you refer to the confusion between the two characters (that you're perpetuating here by calling Fritz ,"Igor"!) I'm not sure if there was an instance of a mad doctor having an assistant named Igor before Young Frankenstein came along and clouded the issue. I suppose the fact that both character were hunchbacked links/confuses them.

You are right though. I probably did go a bit easy on this one. I guess I just wasn't in the mood to really tear into it. Almost all of these Sideshow figures have something about them that aggravates me, yet as a whole I DO like them, so maybe I just didn't want to be overly negative.

Also, the original 12" Frankenstein DID come with an "abnormal brain" prop, so it wasn't that big a deal to me. But the lack of a hump is a pretty big omission.

One last thing. Sideshow DID release a Marty Feldman "Igor" 12" (along with the Monster and "Dr. Fronkenstein"!)

"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High

NekroDave's picture
Posted by NekroDave on 31 October, 2007 - 18:02
Whoops!

Haha...okay, so before this article, if you'd asked me who Dr. F's hunchback assistant was, I would've sworn that it was "Igor"! And, no, the confusion came way before Young Frankenstein (in fact, in that movie, if you recall, the joke actually depended on the audience assuming that Marty Feldman played a hunchback named "Igor"...hence the humor of "Eye-gor" to Wilder's "Fronkensteen").

Wasn't I just IMing you last week about how weird it was that Sideshow hadn't made a Dr. F or Igor 12"? I had no idea this toy existed...

Anyway, I did some digging. A user named "sfc" on Everything.com explains it nicely (see the fourth post down). Fritz was the hunchback assistant in the first Frankenstein film with Karloff...but in Son of Frankenstein, Dr. F Jr. has a hunchback assistant named Igor...played by none other than Bela Lugosi!

So, I think we just have another case of a later character creating the lasting impression in the media, let alone people's minds (just like everyone thinking of Kharis, rather than Imhotep, when someone mentions "the Mummy").

--
Sanjeev

Sanjeev's picture
Posted by Sanjeev on 31 October, 2007 - 21:42
Igor

The Igor portrayed by Bela Lugosi in Son of Frankenstein and Ghost Of Frankenstein wasn't really the assistant to Dr. Frankenstein though.

"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High

NekroDave's picture
Posted by NekroDave on 31 October, 2007 - 22:26
Fritz redeemed

I thought I posted this but I guess I forgot. When I finally started displaying my 12" monsters, I added some padding to Fritz' costume and managed to hunch him over a bit with the help of a doll stand. Add the torch from the 8" Frankenstein and now he looks pretty good, imo.

"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High

NekroDave's picture
Posted by NekroDave on 1 November, 2008 - 16:41