Elusive Cephalopod

March 28, 2009 3:17 PM

Can anyone help me find a screengrab of the octopus on the end of Wednesday's bed (from the movie version of The Addams Family)?

My google-fu is failing me. I'd just go out and buy the dvd and do a screengrab myself, but suprisingly there is no R2 release of this movie! I'm planning on using the image as a starting point for a t-shirt illustration.

posted by jzed to media & arts (9 comments total)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/Starriedreamer/Screen%20caps/Addams%20Family/AddamsFamily117.jpg

Top of its head is visible here, but it's difficult to find that specific image. I'll keep browsing!
posted by lhall at 3:41 PM on March 28

The same image appears in at least one of Charles Addams's original cartoons - based on lhall's image, the octopus in the movie is taken directly from Addams's drawing. I couldn't find the cartoon I have in mind online, but if AskMeFi fails you, getting your hands on a book of his work might be easier than finding a DVD in your part of the world.
posted by bubukaba at 4:04 PM on March 28

lhall - ack! so close! thank you for trying :)

You certainly got a lot closer than me. I did stumble across this treasure trove of pulp covers involving octopi whilst searching though, so it hasn't been a complete loss.
posted by jzed at 4:04 PM on March 28

bubukaba - good idea! It would be interesting to see how strong of an influence his illustrations were on the film.
posted by jzed at 4:16 PM on March 28

While I can't remember off-hand what the octopus on Wednesday's bed looks like (and can't really tell, from lhall's picture), I did come across this photo of Charles Addams in front of one of his murals. You can see an octopus right next to his left elbow. It might be the same as the one on the bed.
LINK
posted by specialagentwebb at 4:30 PM on March 28

Well you all have much better memories than me for even remembering what Wednesday's bed looks like! (And I saw the movie again earlier this year...)
posted by radioamy at 4:39 PM on March 28

If you haven't run out and bought a copy of the movie, I'll have a capture as soon as I finish downloading some free software to accomplish the task.
posted by Atreides at 6:50 AM on March 29

Well, forgive me. I can't for the life of me fix an issue with the software (KMP) and their forums are useless. I need to bill KMP two hours of my sunday morning.
posted by Atreides at 8:07 AM on March 29

Mefi user chudmonkey very kindly got this screengrab for me. Thanks chudmonkey! For those interested, I have uploaded the screengrab here, and as a bonus, here's a vector version (copyleft, non-commercial work only). Thanks everyone!
posted by jzed at 3:25 AM on May 17