I’m not sure why The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T is “the greatest merchandising picture.” Oh, wait a minute…yeah, okay. With the “greatest merchandising campaign ever prepared” it does have a lot of merch and tie-ins going for it. I would say, though, that I lean more toward Star Wars being the greatest merchandising picture, given the amount of toys, clothing, decorations–you name it–that it has generated over the years. One thing: merchandising for pictures didn’t start with Star Wars; SW certainly took it to a whole new level, but product placements and merchandising off a film have been part of the movie business for many years. Still, this one is impressive.
Wow! The 5,000 tie-ins of Dr. T. What an amazing collection of everything but the kitchen sink! It’s like a Sears catalog of…stuff! Why Hand-y pants never caught on is beyond me. It has been about 45 years since I last watched this picture, and looking over this pressbook, it “almost” made me want to watch it again, but I think it’s still too soon. I first need to track down a Beanie Cap before I commit to a second viewing.