Rock-a-Bye Munster (1964) User Reviews (4)

The danger of eavesdropping

[BrandtSponseller · 9/10 · 9 August 2006]

While testing out Grandpa's television-based invention that allows them to spy on others in the house, Herman overhears a snippet of conversation between Lily and Marilyn that he interprets as Lily being pregnant. We know from the start, however, that Lily and Marilyn are simply discussing watching their doctor's child as a favor for him while he's on vacation.

That sets the stage for the episode, which primarily consists of Herman trying to subversively gain more information about his expected child while he attempts to leave himself open for Lily to drop the bomb. It's a classic sitcom scenario based on misinterpretation, which stems back to pioneering series such as "I Love Lucy" (1951) and "The Honeymooners" (1955).

"The Munsters" often had subplots, and the writers obtain one here in a subtly unusual way--by instead having characters trying to achieve conflicting aims while in the midst of an interlocking main plot. While Herman is trying to position himself into receiving full revelations about his new son or daughter, Lily is trying to prepare for his birthday. Herman's birthday present is a doozy--what we later came to know as the Munsters family car; it's probably my favorite car from the entire world of film and television.

In addition to containing a very funny cameo from comic actor Paul Lynde, Rock-A-Bye Munster features Fred Gwynne at the top of his Herman Munster game, as he demonstrates just how humorously and bizarrely out of it Herman can be.

The Debut Of "Dr. Dudley" and The Munster Hearse-Car

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 27 March 2007]

Who remembers Paul Lynde as "Dr. Dudley?" Lynde was excellent in this role and always made me laugh out loud. His IMDb biography says he was only in three episodes. I would have guessed more. In this episode, the doctor's son is going to be visiting for a week in the Munster home. However, Grandpa and Herman think the "the arrival of a playmate for Eddie" means Lily is having a baby. (They overheard this in a conversation between Lily and Marilyn and misinterpreted.)

Lily won't say anything so Herman and Grandpa visit Dr. Dudley at four in the morning. Dudley is like Mr. Magoo without his glasses. The conversation he has with his guests at that hour is laugh-out-loud funny. Anyway, this "screwball" charade is played out for almost the entire show. The look on Herman's face when he sees the toy Frankenstein monster, who he thinks is his son, is priceless! It's a classic moment in this series.

Also fun to see and hear in this episode was how the Munsters acquired their famous car. Sid Melton has been a familiar face from the '50s until the late '90s, and is sill alive. He played "Diamond Jim," the used car salesman.

An amazingly funny episode.

[BA_Harrison · 29 March 2008]

After eavesdropping on Marilyn and Lily, Herman and Grandpa suspect that the pitter-patter of little footsteps may not be far away.

Rock-a-Bye Munster is basically one long build up to a final joke, but the pay-off is so funny, it's well worth the wait. It transpires that the child Lily is expecting is actually Eddie's friend (the son of the local GP, Dr. Dudley) who is coming to stay for a couple of days.

After much hilarity with Herman and Grandpa doing their best to prove their suspicions, the funniest moment of the series so far arrives as Lily announces to her surprised husband that 'Eddies new playmate' is in the room next door. Herman goes to introduce himself to the 'new arrival' and spies a remote control Frankenstein toy (that belongs to Dr. Dudley's son), which he mistakenly believes to be his new baby. This confusion proves to be absolutely hilarious, with Herman gently cradling the toy whilst spouting baby-talk.

This episode is also notable for the fact that it sees the introduction of the Munsters unforgettable car: a customised dragster/hearse that Lily buys Herman for his birthday.

Rock-a-Bye Munster Coach

[MrSanDiego · 4 October 2011]

Boy, you got neat ears! That's what Eddie's friend Elmer says to him as he comes to spend the night at the Munsters.

The synopsis says this" Herman and Grandpa eavesdrop on Lily and Marilyn and get the impression that Lily is pregnant. But the playmate she's expecting for Eddie is just Dr. Dudley's son, Elmer." I think it would of been helpful to add that there's another birth of sorts, and that is how the writers cleverly thought about how to make the "Family Car" more than just a car that you pick out at the car dealer.

I thought this episode was especially smooth on how they introduced the Munster Coach. It's interesting that I saw this as the birth of the famous car. If you are interested on how it originated, please check out this episode. That's a sweet car. Little Eddie and Elmer have some great dialog through out this one, especially at the end. Classic Munster. Btw I just really loved this one on so many levels. There's even a little Herman Munster toy the boys play with that illustrates the innocence of youth.