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Universal Monster Figures

This Halloween we are looking at figures of Universal Monsters.

Dracula Aurora figure, first released in 1961. Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

In the 1930s Universal Pictures embarked on one of the most influential periods in filmmaking history and released a series of horror films known collectively as the ‘Universal Monsters’, introducing audiences to stalwarts of horror – Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, the Wolf Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Their first two movies, ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’, both released in 1931 just eight months apart, were based on the titular novels by Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley. They were soon followed by ‘The Mummy (1932)’, ‘The Invisible Man (1933)’ and ‘Bride of Frankenstein (1935)’.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and the Phantom of the Opera are also considered to be Universal Monsters since the company first made films featuring them in 1913 and 1925 respectively.

Frankenstein (1961). Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

Dracula (1962). Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

Wolf Man (1962). Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

The Mummy (1963). Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

The Phantom of the Opera (1963). Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1964). Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

Bride of Frankenstein (1965). Image courtesy of Preston Park Museum.

The figures featured in this blog were made by Aurora in the 1960s. While the company had been founded in 1950 to make car and aircraft toys, they realised that there was a lucrative market in making figures of film characters, especially the Universal Monsters.

At first they were not so sure, and worried that the inclusion of monsters would be frightening for their younger customers. They went so far as to consult child psychologists on this next business venture but decided to proceed in the end. Frankenstein was the very first model to be made in 1961, with each Universal Monster following in the next five years.

The figures have always been popular with fans of the iconic movies, and they have been consistently released over the past few decades.

Which is your favourite Monster figure?

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Universal Monster Figures

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