"The Musician" brings back venerable John Carradine as Mr. Gateman (previously seen in "Herman's Raise"), Herman's boss at the mortuary, insistent that he ensure his son Eddie take up a musical instrument. Poor Eddie requests a triangle but instead winds up with a trumpet, every discordant bleat requiring ear muffs for even Igor the bat. Grandpa decides that a sure fire potion will turn Eddie into a true maestro, but when Mr. Gateman is due for dinner cannot repeat the same formula that was initially successful. A classical music buff, Mr. G is in for quite a surprise when Eddie's recital transforms into a real jazzy scene: "beats me Daddy-o, like man, something just came over me-like!" A father and son chat becomes necessary when the boy decides he's better off quitting grammar school rather than wait and turn into a high school dropout! Carradine gets more screen time for this last appearance, offering up more deadpan humor from firing Herman yet again (the parlor does run better without him), and once Grandpa's potion finally wears off, Mr. Gateman must endure a last ear splitting piece from a real blow hard!
2 Reviews
This Is One, Like, Cool Gig, Daddy-O
ccthemovieman-111 August 2007
These episodes when one of Grandpa's potions goes haywire are usually funny, and this is no exception. In this one we see Eddie turn into a jive-talking jazz musician!
It all starts when Herman and grandpa have a loud argument. Herman wants Eddie to learn how to lay an instrument and Grandpa says a child should never be forced to do anything. (Al Lewis always was extremely liberal.)
Eddie's playing is so awful than Grandpa can't take it, and cooks up a potion to make him a better player. Even Igor, the pet bat, is wearing earmuffs to muffle the sound of the trumpet! Anyway, the mad scientist puts in a chopped photograph of Beethoven, Leonard Berbtstein's favorite sauerkraut, a glass of water from the beautiful Blue Danube, a dash of this and dash of that....and, voilà,
The second half of the show deals with Herman inviting "Mr. Gatewood" (John Carradine) to come over to hear Eddie play. This was all good stuff; classic Munster humor. Eddie's dialog with the "groovy," "daddy-o" and other hip expressions was very funny. It didn't hurt to have Carridine in the episode as the dour and expression-filled funeral parlor boss.
It all starts when Herman and grandpa have a loud argument. Herman wants Eddie to learn how to lay an instrument and Grandpa says a child should never be forced to do anything. (Al Lewis always was extremely liberal.)
Eddie's playing is so awful than Grandpa can't take it, and cooks up a potion to make him a better player. Even Igor, the pet bat, is wearing earmuffs to muffle the sound of the trumpet! Anyway, the mad scientist puts in a chopped photograph of Beethoven, Leonard Berbtstein's favorite sauerkraut, a glass of water from the beautiful Blue Danube, a dash of this and dash of that....and, voilà,
The second half of the show deals with Herman inviting "Mr. Gatewood" (John Carradine) to come over to hear Eddie play. This was all good stuff; classic Munster humor. Eddie's dialog with the "groovy," "daddy-o" and other hip expressions was very funny. It didn't hurt to have Carridine in the episode as the dour and expression-filled funeral parlor boss.
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