ROUTE 66: Lizard's Leg & Owlet's Wing

As first broadcast on October 26th, 1962, here's the famous Halloween episode of ROUTE 66, complete with original network commercials, just as it was seen a half-century ago.

[@donniepurcell9887]

This originally aired on my birthday of October 26, 1962 and it has always stayed with me. I turned 8 years old that Friday and it was a thrill to be able to find it on You-tube and watched it again on my birthday a few years ago. What wonderful innocent times they were.

[@JJJBRICE]

" Golden Boy " Paul Hornung doing a cigarette commercial . A football player doing a cigarette commercial , Today this is unheard of ! NY Giants announcer Chris Schenkel doing the narration for a rival player !

[@Tchernobog]

if only Bela had lived long enough

[@dadahyena]

The classic horror stars (especially Lon Chaney Jr) seem so lovable; I think every monster kid wants to give them a big hug as well!

[@donbudge6706]

Great stuff! Black and white even. What do people know of life these days? Paul Horning as "The Marlboro Man". Priceless!

[@blackdogslivesmatter1568]

What an insane cast for a tv show. This would have also made an amazing movie.

[@douglasthompson9482]

Such a fabulous episode and gorgeous ladies.....both are gone today. Thanks for reality again.

[@tessaducek5601]

Best episode of all. Never knew of the program let alone this particular one featuring such horror greats. Missing is sir Bela and Vincent. All and all a fantastic view! I can watch and rewatch....👍 " These three fainted when they saw me!!!!

[@MrMakemyday3]

bela had passed by then

[@tessaducek5601]

@@MrMakemyday3 Thank You. 😉

[@seashepherds4959]

Viewing on the 31st of October! HALLOWEEN! What a treat. Thanks

[@Jolar70]

That was so fun! The Molly Cross character was like 28 red flags of someone you would NOT want to get involved with, but put to great use in this story! And of course the commercials are wonderful.

[@simeonflake]

Lorre, Karloff and Chaney, need I say more.... 😈

[@whitting54]

Was it really a half-century ago? Surely, it can't be. I remember watching it like it was yesterday. Filmed back when they still knew how to write and film television shows without relying on repetitive re-shoots or cgi. They actors made it believable.

[@markukeley2924]

Hilarious ads and a fun Route 66! Love that horror trio!

[@stanochocki8984]

Excellent! Four great actors of Old Style Horror, 'Dracula's Mother', Lorre , Chaney, Karloff.....Buzz, 'ogling' the 'girls', (lol)...the commercials, and the always Hot Marlboro Man, just leaning back....remember seeing one of those 'animated' Billboards....they were cool to watch..Thanks for posting....

[@ivabender3564]

This was for sure one of my Most Favorite Route 66 Episodes of all Time, It was Great to see Horror Movie Legends: Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. and Peter Lorre Get together for this, I can't Recall ever seeing Chaney Jr. and Lorre together in anything else! Loved seeing Karloff in his Frankenstein Monster Costume as well as Chaney Jr. in both his Wolfman and Mummy Costume Too, The HunchBack of Notre Dame Costume From his Sr. Father was Great on Chaney Jr. at the shows beginning, Such a Crying Shame that Bela Lugosi aka Dracula Couldn't have lived long enough to have done this with them, Loved The Complete Broadcast Commercials and Sponsor Ads in this and Also the Old Chicago view of the O'hare Restaurant and Hotel! Great Masterpiece of Traditional TV History! Wish we could go back to that Era Sometimes! Thank-You For Sharing and God Bless!

[@Crazeyfor67]

Thanks, this was great fun. The commercials just helped to take me back even more.

[@jameskennedy4377]

Thanks for posting. Heard about this for years but never saw it until now. Too bad Bela couldn't have been there too.

[@johnallen6945]

I live in MS now but I spent 40 years in Cali. The '63 Chevy Impala was the OG lowriders car in Cali when I lived there. All Chicano lowrider cars I saw were beautiful and some had $20,000 paint jobs. Plus they made them jump with special shocks. It's nice to see these old cars when they were brand new. Ralph Nader proved the compact model was a death trap.

[@picnicgirl1]

My Mom and Dad were there while they were filming.

[@theironclads]

Interesting having Lon Chaney Jr dressed up as the Hunchback of Notre Dame in the opening scene.A role his father essayed in the classic silent version of the movie.

[@petebaumgartner8238]

Not just that, but the little boy in thatsame scene he wakes up is Chaney's grandson Ron Chaney. If you look closely, the boy resembles his great grandfather, Lon Chaney Sr.

[@justanotherguy1794]

"essayed;" nice.

[@michaelwertzy9808]

@@justanotherguy1794, doesn't work for me. I make up nonexistent words playing scrabble and seldom get challenged! Peace

[@justanotherguy1794]

@@michaelwertzy9808 huh?

[@ivabender3564]

Man of Many Faces! Chaney Jr. Picked Right Up Where his Father Chaney Sr. Left Off!

[@doktor_ghul]

The lovely detail about this episode's writing is that the Gerenuk is real. Peter Lorre's description is accurate; from Wikipedia, " The scientific name of the gerenuk is Litocranius walleri. The gerenuk is the sole member of the genus Litocranius, and is placed in the family Bovidae. The species was first described by Anglo-Irish naturalist Victor Brooke in 1878. In 1997, Colin Groves proposed that Litocranius is a sister taxon of Ammodorcas, the similarly long-necked Clarke's gazelle, but withdrew from this in 2000. The vernacular name "gerenuk" comes from the Somali word gáránúug , meaning "giraffe-necked".It is also known as the "giraffe gazelle" due to its resemblance to the giraffe." .

[@petebaumgartner8238]

The little boy in the opening scene is Ron Chaney, the grandson of Lon Chaney Jr. If you look closely, he resembles his great grandfather, Lon Chaney Sr.

[@doktor_ghul]

I have to imagine Ron, now well and truly grown up, watching this just to see his grandfather kiss him good night. Moments like that are rarely captured on film.

[@ivabender3564]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Costume was Awesome on Chaney Jr. Like it was on his Father Chaney Sr., Totally Pricele$$!

[@Supernumerary]

Absolutely epic episode! Plus the aura of the commercials! But to be honest with you, my doctor only smokes Camel brand unfiltered cigarettes.

[@Emrose93]

Thank you for uploading this!! Love that the original commercials are in it as well, makes you feel like you're back in time.

[@willdrucker4291]

YOU WERE!!!! =)

[@mmangum4444]

Me, too! October '62, only 7 years old, but I remember this show & some of the commercials.

[@CyclonicDeath]

Years later but are you single? ;)

[@rjwalker6677]

Heard about this episode in my youth, but never saw it until now. It had Karloff's last appearance dressed as the Frankenstein's monster and , Chaney' Jr's last appearance in the Wolfman makeup. It also Had Chaney Jr as the Hunchback , the role made famous by his father.

[@boris1932]

Great to see this one with some of the top "boogey men" of the golden age of Horror --- also loved the commercials especially since there weren't eight or nine of them at each break like there is today, lol

[@stevematz7354]

Classic Episode of the Route 66 series. Universal Horror gurus will notice that Karloff's Frankenstein Monster Makeup and Chaney Jr's Wolfman makeup differ from what they saw in 1931,1935,1937 for Karloff and in the 40's for Chaney. Universal Make-up dept head Jack Pierce did the makeup on all the Monsters up til 1944; then followed up by Bud Westmore. Since this was a Columbia Pictures TV Production ( Screen Gems) I think they would have been sued by Universal if they had used the exact makeup look. Karloff's makeup looked more like the Glen Strange makeup 1944,1945,1948, or even stuntman Eddie Parker's makeup when standing in for different Monsters. Peter lorre never was portrayed as any Monster; just a strange character in his different roles. Lorre died 2 years (1964) after doing this Route 66 episode. Karloff died in 1969, and Chaney Jr. in 1973. Old Movie Buffs that like Horror films of the 30's and 40's will always remember being frightened by these great Actors ....

[@michaelwertzy9808]

If only we could see them for the first time again! Peace

[@MrWosclifton]

The girl that Lon Jr. tries to scare was a regular in Petticoat Junction, the first two years . Jeannine Riley.

[@MaskedMan66]

"The old ghosts are the best after all!" Ain't it the truth! :-)

[@jimvines4194]

Hysterical! Loved it!

[@kevins.butler3402]

I love Lonnie's portrayal of "The Wolfman"in this episode of"Route 66". and I also enjoyed seeing and hearing Boris speaking in this "Frankenstein Monster"..and this time..he used his own voice.

[@dbj0955]

It's a great combination of Tod Stiles (Martin Milner) and Buzz Murdock (George Maharis) with the great horror stars, Boris Karloff (the Frankenstein monster) and Lon Chaney Jr (the Mummy and the Wolfman). I'm not sure who Peter Lorre was trying to portray, although he could been Dracula with the cape and the hat. Too bad Bela Lugosi wasn't alive to portray Dracula. Bela would have been 80 years old in 1962. Boris Karloff was about 75 years old, Peter Lorre was about 58 years old and Lon Chaney Jr was about 56 years old in this Route 66 episode.

[@Scott-ly2nk]

Thank you for that knowledge l always wonder how old these guys were

[@sharksport01]

hotel hallway carpet is fantastic

[@MaskedMan66]

Lon's reaction at 41:42! "I still got it!" :-)

[@JohnnyJTav]

This episode is my favorite!

[@albrechtaka]

That was awesome--thanks for posting it!!!

[@sclogse1]

Stirling Siiliphant..the writer. He gets his moment when she talks to Boris about life.

[@edholohan]

Why can't they make TV shows like this now? Everything is crap-ola today on TV!

[@steveanacorteswa3979]

Makes me want to light up a Marlboro and go fishing with my new stainless razor, the commercials were great, how many people blew up in Corvairs?

[@jbodden6977]

wow, I haven't seen a cigarette commercial since the old videos of 'Make Room for Daddy', it really chokes me up. Seriously, I feel constrictions in my chest...

[@gerrydooley951]

me to, I can hardly breathe

[@Tarbtano]

damn good episode

[@KRhetor]

Loved this.

[@barneygilewitz1064]

Interesting early women’s liberation movement theme thrown in this story- but in 1963 women were still pretty much viewed as “ the weaker sex” and this was only promoted by those included fainting scenes...par for the course back in that era. Today’s woman would probably kick their monster asses - and definitely not settle for lower wages for similar work performed. Times have certainly changed. Also, interesting to see pre Marlboro Man commercials for this tobacco company’s product.

[@shivasirons6159]

Wow! People see them as some kind of horror actors but they were brilliant! All of them , too bad they did get bela legosi, he would have been aleb.

[@IzludeTingel]

All kidding aside,as good as Charles Laughton was as Quasimodo..Lon Chaney Jr would have taken the character to another level..For one thing..Charles Laughton was a marshmellowy ,gargoyle type..hard to believe he possessed incredible physical strength,(as described in the book) Chaney Jr,on the other hand conveyed this quality with the character of Lennie in "Of Mice and Men"..Also Chaney Jr was passionate about playing the role his Father made famous..

[@derricko4137]

Love it!

[@rebeccaquartieri3564]

this episode aired two months and two days after i was born!

[@davidhull7115]

When I saw the ad with Paul Hornung I had to google him, see what'd happened with him. I didn't realise that he died just over a year ago. From Dementia. Guy took a lot of hits.

[@bobandrayfan1]

Peter Lorre in a scary cape and top hat.

[@doktor_ghul]

This is definitely going into my " Monster Kid File " KZbin file. It's a pity that Peter Lorre didn't go for the creepy "M" character. It's doubtful anyone would remember Mr. Moto, even in the sixties. That's probably why they just threw a quasi Dracula/Jack the Ripper suit on him.

[@deniseharris4631]

Hoping someone reading this can help. I used to have nightmares from the credits of Route 66 and Big G - which was the rename in the UK of a programme originally called Empire in the US ! I thought I was 4 at the time but found out in April I was not quite 3! There was a scene that used to appear at the end of the credits of both programmes, I think with a shouty word. A long word was displayed at the bottom of the screen and I think a man, woman and dog crossing the road left to right of the screen diagonally above! I remembered the theme tune of Route 66 and the advert break picture for Big G! I think Big G was shouted out at the beginning of the programme! Too young to remember the actual programmes! But I would like to face what frightened me! Thanks to KZbin have been able to face other credits, tunes on shows that gave me nightmares! Would appreciate any enlightenment on the startling extra end credit above! Was it only in the UK or only for a while?! Also would really appreciate seeing opening and closing credits for Big G as it was in the UK! Have already messaged the people who have put Empire on KZbin about these! But if anyone can help on this also, it wd be fantastic!

[@gregnewsom447]

Boris Karloff's great aunt was the real life Ann from "The King and I" whose story became the basis for the movie and play...

[@verasmith4767]

Forgot about all the cigarette commercials.

[@shivasirons6159]

Molly is a cross between sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn.

[@mangocoffee510]

26:17 *"Boris, baby, calm down."* Excuse me but what

[@Critty200]

I haven't seen this epsoide in ages thanks for up loading it. Is that Ron Channey who is Lon Chaney Junior's Grandson? Cheers: Christine V. Berndt

[@fromthesidelines]

58:30- "'FAIR EXCHANGE' is next, on the CBS Television Network."

[@kdegru]

Decades TV channel 2.2 in NYC on WCBS is featuring a binge of all the route 66 episodes as I write. They are beautiful 35mm transfers with crisp audio. Even though they are being broadcast in standard definition they still look great and far superior to this transfer which appears to be from a 16mm film print.

[@terr777]

I'm on my fifth one of these and I haven't seen a place that would be on 66 yet. And now they're headed for Oregon. Do they ever get to Tucumcari?

[@RaveDave871]

What the safer lifestyle ? Malboro🚬man or Moderna💉man ?

[@maxinemckenzie5765]

EXTINCTION!

[@ELKFILMZ]

Got here from Gilbert Gottfried.

[@drbonesshow1]

Molly was from Indy: 23:10 Sadly, so is creepy Subway-boy Jared.

[@NickolasFigler-fi3wj]

Is that Edgar Hoover?

[@RovingRoy]

Who was a better partner for Martin Milner, Geoge Maharis or Kent McCord?

[@silvereagle2061]

+RovingRoy I grew up with Adam 12. This is the first time I've seen this episode and the only episode of the series, so I'd say Kent McCord.

[@rebeccaquartieri5509]

Both

[@drbonesshow1]

Did Paul smoke Marlboro while he was running through the defense? 31:35

[@fromthesidelines]

Philip Morris, the alternate sponsor of "ROUTE 66", was also a major sponsor of pro football games at the time-- and they got "big" endorsements from most of the big "stars" of the gridiron at the time....

[@fromthesidelines]

Philip Morris also owned the American Safety Razor Company (the makers of Personna and "Pal" razors and blades) at the time.

[@christianimations7853]

58:39 *TAIL*

[@gboard17]

I have some songs and skits....the Knight Watchman

[@thomastimlin1724]

Those Chevy's (except the Corvette), are uglier than the monsters in the episode, hahahaha. And I lived through that era. "Corvair: Unsafe at Any Speed." Fits right in wih the horror theme. Along with Marlboro Cancer Sticks.

[@billross5084]

Ralph Nader "Unsafe at any Speed". Great