Art Design: What incredible box art! This is a five panel box, and the front panel has a beautifully recreated poster of the FRANKENSTEIN (1931) movie. On the upper right side is the notation: 12" Fritz Figure; which identifies what is inside the box when you open it. The inside cover panel has a wood-plank design with the UNIVERSAL MONSTERS logo over the FRANKENSTEIN logo. Under the logos are the Cast of Characters from the 1931 movie. At this point, staring at you from the shadows of the window box is creepy Dwight Frye! The back panel of the box has a movie still of Dwight Frye which captures his wide expressive eyes and the lunacy of his character.
The Headsculpt: Sometimes Sideshow issues truly great examples of collectible action figures, and this is another one! This Dwight Frye' Fritz headsculpt is excellent down to the detail of his facial scars and skin imperfections. The only complaint I have is that the scars do not have any skin tone discoloration. Usually a scar is not the same exact skin color as the rest of the skin around it, but Sideshow never seems to give scars any coloring.
The Character: Dwight Illiff Frye worked on stage, on Broadway, and in Hollywood, where he is best remembered as Renfield in DRACULA, and as Fritz in FRANKENSTEIN. Sadly, Dwight Frye died three days before he was scheduled to begin filming his first substantial role in a major studio production. In spite of making such a powerful impression in his film appearances, Frye had a very short career, and his best roles may only exist in the imaginations of the collectors who buy the Fritz action figure. The photo at right shows Fritz dressed as a gang villain.
The Body: Standard Sideshow ultra-articulated body. The "hunchback" effect is created by a black pillow which is attached to the figure with elastic slings, much like a backpack.
The Outfit and Gear: Fritz is dressed in brown pants made of a heavy cloth fabric (in relation to the thickness of cloth used for a typical 1:6 scale figure's pants) and a dark green long-sleeve shirt and a black coat also made of a heavy cloth. The outfit looks appropriate, however the pants do not have endseams, and I imagine that Fritz bought his pants at the same store as the villagers, so if the pants were supposed to look ragged, then Sideshow should have ripped the ends instead. Fritz is also wearing socks and the standard black rubber dress shoes, which is were Sideshow could have provided a pair of detailed shoes with a hole in the sole or some other distinctive characteristic. Instead, these shoes look the same as the GI JOE dress uniform shoes. There is a nicely detailed abnormal brain and the labelled "glass" storage jar and lid included. Fritz also brings a foot stand and what looks like a wooden stake or cudgel.
The Market: Originally priced at $40., this figure has a great headsculpt, and an excellent prop in terms of the brain and its container. Any fan of Fritz or Frankenstein will really enjoy this set, and it was on clearance at the Sideshow Toys website, and it can also be found at a good price on e-bay or online.
Grade: B+
