About 25 years ago, there was an ad in a Pennysaver-type weekly paper here
in L.A. for a "Frankenstein 7 Foot Statue" being sold for $75. I would check
the paper every week religiously when it came out on Thursdays and
immediately call if anything sounded promising. On this particular Thursday,
something
"important" came up and I somehow didn't get around to making the call about
the "statue". I remember I couldn't sleep that night, kicking myself for
not contacting the person who'd placed the ad. My "rational" mind told me--
"this thing is probably some blow-up, dumb piece of garbage from the 70's or
80's that isn't worth anything---it COULDN'T be! I mean--the guy--whoever he
is-- only wants 75 bucks for it!"
I finally made the call at 10 the next morning---the guy who owned it told
me that the probable buyer was walking up his driveway at that very
moment---"but if he doesn't buy it", the guy told me, "I'll call you back".
Of course, he didn't call me back. The buyer had paid the $75 and left with
it. I asked the seller about it and he said it was a full-sized 7-foot
likeness of Boris Karloff used in the movie "Frankenstein". I remember
telling
myself that he must have been mistaken---I couldn't admit to myself that I'd
missed out on something so incredible....
Flash forward 3 or 4 years--- I had listed a movie poster for sale in the
same weekly publication. To make a long story short, a man called me and
after speaking with him for awhile I discovered that he was the guy who was
walking up the driveway a few years earlier...the guy who bought the
Frankenstein
"statue" that I'd missed out on because I was a day late with my phone call.
The "statue" turned out to be a 7 foot tall "stand-in" for Boris Karloff
from The Bride Of Frankenstein. It was dressed with the original wardrobe of
the monster and had a life-mask of Karloff as its face. The guy told me the
face needed a little restoration--but once that was completed he was going to
put it up for auction somewhere. Looking back now, I can't believe that I
never asked him if I could swing by and take a look at it. Those were the
early days of my collecting. It's been quite a long time and I really can't
remember how our whole conversation went...
Flash forward again...2 years. I remember looking at Movie Collector's
World or possibly even the L.A. Times---I'm not really sure which. Anyway,
there was a short article about a movie memerobilia auction ( it was called
Guernsey's) that included what I'm sure was the very same Karloff stand-in
statue from The Bride Of Frankenstein---that I could have had for 75
bucks---having sold for $50,0000! This was probably in 1988. I don't know
where that
incredible piece is now, but I have no doubt that in today's market it would
easily sell for a million bucks! And I coulda had it for $75! For me, THAT'S
the one that got away!
Rick
rixposterz
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