Rob Zombie Missed An Opportunity To Correct A Munsters House Mistake - Screen Rant

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Rob Zombie's remake of The Munsters missed a perfect opportunity to correct a longstanding mistake involving the ghoulish family's iconic house. While few plot details are currently known about this latest attempt on Universal's part to revive the beloved 1960s sitcom, the involvement of Zombie (a well-known Munsters devotee) has reassured many faithful fans that the property is in very good hands. The film is currently in pre-production, and one of the biggest recent updates is confirmation that the set for the Munster's house is nearing completion.

In the classic original series, the Munster's gothic and spooky residence at 1313 Mockingbird Lane became almost as beloved and recognizable as the monstrous family that lived inside of it. Complete with fog-shrouded grounds, plenty of cobwebs, and even a dragon named Spot living under a trapdoor in the stairs, the Munster house served as the setting for most of the show's episodes. For audiences who grew up with the series, the memorable abode defined the idea of a creepy-yet-inviting haunted house.

It goes without saying that any reboot of The Munsters needs to include the family's foreboding home, and the incredible recreation of the house built for Zombie's film is remarkably faithful to the classic location. However, while the new Munster house is an undeniably beautiful and respectful homage to the original, its construction is a missed chance to reverse one of the most controversial decisions Universal has ever made in regards to preserving film and TV history. As it turns out, the original Munster house still technically exists—albeit in an unrecognizably altered form—and with a little renovation the location could've easily been used for the new movie.

The Munsters House in Leave it to Beaver

While the interiors of the original TV show's Munster house were shot in a Universal soundstage, the exterior was an actual structure that stood on the Universal backlot during filming. The "house" was actually a façade with no finished interiors, and was originally constructed for the 1946 film So Goes My Love. After filming wrapped, the structure (dubbed the Maxim House) was moved from an interior soundstage to the backlot's Colonial Street, where it could be seen for many years in the backgrounds of shows like Leave it to Beaver. When NBC began scouting locations for The Munsters, the Maxim House stuck out as being the perfect home for Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Eddie, Marilyn, and their various supernatural shenanigans.

Following production of The Munsters' final season, the Maxim House stood in various locations on the backlot for nearly 50 years. Unfortunately, in 2004, Colonial Street became the main setting for the TV series Desperate Housewives, and nearly every historical house on the street was significantly altered to look more modern. The Maxim House was among them, and while the building still stands on the backlot today, it's barely recognizable as the once-spooky home of the Munsters. This decision (along with the destruction of other famous houses on the lot) angered many film/TV aficionados, with various calls to restore the surviving structures to their original versions going nowhere over the past 15 years. Rob Zombie's The Munsters would've been a perfect opportunity to revert the house to how it looked in the 1960s and not only set the new film in the same home as the original series, but also restore a beloved piece of television history.

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About The Author

Daniel DiManna (98 Articles Published)

Daniel DiManna Is a Senior Writer at Screen Rant, and hails from little Sylvania, Ohio. A graduate of Lourdes University with a degree in Fine Arts, Daniel’s hobbies/passions include film history, reading, fiction/non-fiction writing, sculpting, gaining weight, and adding more toys, posters, books, model kits, DVDs, screen-used props, and other ephemera to his already shamefully monumental collection of Godzilla/movie monster memorabilia. When he's not writing about film, he can be heard discussing it on a number of podcasts. His original fiction can also be found in publications including Kaiju Ramen Magazine. His life goals include a return trip to Japan, getting a podcast off the ground, finishing (at least one of) his novel, and yes, buying even more monster toys.