A-Z GUIDE TO MOVIES AND TV SHOWS PARODIED BY MAD, CRACKED, CRAZY, ETC. UP TO 1996. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. SPOILERS AND OTHER NON-SEQUITURS, TOO. SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAVE WORDS OR SITUATIONS WE DON'T USE ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THEY'RE OLD.
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THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (1954)
dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
THE BAREFOOT NOCOUNTESSA
MAD #23, May 1955
w: Harvey Kurtzman
a: Jack Davis
I have no idea why this first page is in black and white. It parodied the poster, which was in color.
The movie opens with Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart) at the funeral for “Barefoot” (Ava Gardner), where he is at her funeral narrating the story of how he knew her.
He is in Spain with a movie crew where they have seen her dance at a restaurant and are considering her for a role in a picture. Producer Kirk Edwards (Warren Stevens) has asked her to come the table. Since she doesn't do that, Harry has been sent to her home to see her. She lives in a small place with her family, and agrees to leave right then and there.
The difference between the Kurtzman parodies and the later ones where the standard was set by Al Feldstein later was that Kurtzman played with the conventions of the mediums of comics and the other media he was parodying.
When Edwards gets into an argument with playboy Alberto Bravano (Marius Goring) and loses, she goes with him and being the star encourages the rest of the crew to break ranks like they wanted to.
She is not satisfied and leaves him for Count Vincenzo (Rossanno Brazzi)
“Melvin Coznowski” was their go-to 'funny' name early on and was the mascot's name initially before becoming Alfred E. Neuman.
Vincenzo had shot her after they were married and at the funeral is taken away by the police. In the movie, it is because she has become pregnant and it couldn't be his because he is impotent. That would be too much for a comic book so here he did it because her feet smelled.
BARBARELLA (1968)
dir: Roger Vadim
Jane Fonda- Barbarella
John Phillip Law- Pygar
Milo O'Shea- Durand Durand
David Hemmings- Dildano
BOOBARELLA
Blast #2, May 1971
w: Mel Campbell
a: Jim Mooney
Based on the comic strip by Jean-Claude Forest.
Men of a certain age have said the opening credits were their first glimpse of nudity as adolescents.
Jane Fonda (also married to director Vadim then) has mentioned that being in her late twenties and having to do this shoot early in the morning hung over on a glass table was very unpleasant for her.
Blast was one of the stranger parody magazines. They only lasted two issues and were not quite for kids and not quite for adults.
I usually only print excerpts except when I know something's been proven in the in the public domain elsewhere or if they're less than two pages, but here I doubt the copyright owners exist anymore.
UPDATE:
MOVIE REVIEW: BARBARELLA
Sick #67, March 1969
w: Bill Majeski
“Goodnight Chet” “Goodnight David” was how Chet Huntley and David Brinkley signed off their nightly newscast.
BANG
#14, August 1954
w: Harvey Kurtzman
a: Wallace Wood
Not any parody of anything in particular, from an article called Movie...Ads! about making films look more exciting than they actually are. I'll include the rest when they come up alphabetically.
BATTYCEK
Grin #3, April 1973
w: Fred Wolfe (Paul Laikin)
a: Jack Abel
Banacek was one of several alternating series that comprised The NBC Mystery Movie which also included Columbo and McMillan and Wife. There were all kinds of detectives on TV in the early 70s with various gimmicks. Cannon was obese, Ironside was disabled, McCloud was a cowboy, etc. Banacek (George Peppard)'s was just that he said an ancient Polish proverb every week that related to his case as a private insurance investigator.
This parody doesn't stick to the premise much except as it's an excuse to make Polish jokes. It's not so widespread now, but in the seventies, people were open about making one-note ethnic jokes. There were paperbacks of them in drugstores right next to crossword magazines. Poles' one note jokes were about how stupid they were supposed to be.
“Watta Goniff” isn't based on anybody. He looks more like Hercule Poirot. Come to think of it, Battycek doesn't really look like George Peppard, he's more modeled after the “simpleton” archetype based on Lennie of Of Mice and Men.
Eldridge Cleaver was the original ACAB activist.
One of the suspects is Cannon.
Another suspect is Marlon Brando as The Godfather.
THE BAD SEED (1956)
dir: Mervin LeRoy
Nancy Kelly- Christine Penmark
Patty McCormack- Rhoda Penmark
Henry Jones- Leroy Jessup
Eileen Heckart- Hortense Dagle
Evelyn Varden- Monica Breedlove
THE BAD SEAT
MAD #32, April 1957
w:Paul Laikin
a: Bob Clarke
Paul Laikin was a person in the humor magazine genre I'd like to see a bio of. I'd probably be one of only three people though. One of MAD's fallen angels, one of their first writers who was fired when it was revealed he was writing for their competition as well. There were still a few articles he had sold to them which they printed and they're the only ones without bylines. He soon became editor of Cracked and for a while was their only writer. Throughout his career he was editor for Sick, Crazy, Wacko, and probably others, while also writing for various comedians and TV shows. A lot of his material was under various pseudonyms, often family members. His biggest claim to fame was The JFK Coloring Book, which was illustrated by Mort Drucker and became a bestseller.
His downfall occurred in the late 80s when, as editor of Cracked again, he was revealed to be recycling material he did for other magazines decades earlier, using his dead wife's name as art director so he could collect two paychecks, and taking kickbacks from his contributors. It was fun while it lasted, I guess.
This was one of the first movie parodies under the second editorial regime. Not quite a scene-by-scene breakdown but more in the vein of a trailer. The movie is about an eight-year-old girl who has murdered one of her schoolmates, the building's handyman is onto her, and the mother covers it up realizing it's in the genes.
She is not actually seen committing the murders like she is in this version.
Trigger warning: racist language in trailer and parody. It was 1976.
I know most of us are shocked by things like negative stereotypes and racial slurs, especially in association with beloved institutions such as these. They come up in these parodies once in a while. I'll defend it this time since it establishes what a brat the kid is. When it's in something like Blazing Saddles, that's one thing, but when it's like the sandwich board in Die Hard, I can't approve.
I know a lot of you roll your eyes when I bring things like this up. I know you're tired of hearing it again. I was like you once, but we all have a way to go. Even though we realize how bad they are today, as anyone marginalized will note, micro- and macro-aggressions, whether intended or not, are and were everywhere. Now go back and enjoy your privilege. BAD NEWS BEARS (1976)
dir: Michael Ritchie
SPLIT SCREAM DEPT. THE BAD-MOUTH BEARS
MAD #188, January 1977
w: Stan Hart
a: Jack Davis
Another instance where MAD figured if one of their regular artists is doing the movie poster, have them do the parody. Since Jack Davis had done the poster, they decided to have him do the parody. It was half a double feature, hence the name of the department. The other is Missouri Breaks, which we'll get to when we get to the M's.
Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau), single, lazy, and alcoholic, who claims to have pitched for the minors, has decided to pick up a few extra bucks coaching a little league team.
There are all sorts of kids on the team mainly of various ethnic groups, a brainy kid, and a fat kid.
The team keeps losing, so Buttermaker finds someone he knows can play—Amanda (Tatum O'Neal), the daughter of his ex-girlfriend.
The local juvenile delinquent Kelly Leek (Jackie Earle Haley) is a better ball player than anyone on the team, and they try to recruit him for the Bears. Amanda uses her charms to get him.
Now that they have two ringers, the Bears work their way up to second place. Not first because at the last minute Buttermaker throws the last game because wants them all to have fun more than he wants them to win. He explains his motive to rival coach Roy Turner (Vic Morrow).
THE BAD NEWS BORES
Cracked #136, October 1976
a: Bill Powers (John Severin)
The Cracked parody, since it has more pages, includes more from the movie, such as Buttermaker being hired by Mr. Whitewood (Ben Piazza)
There's more with Engleberg (Gary Lee Cavagnaro), Oglivie (Alfred Lutter), and Ahmad (Erin Blunt)
BAD-MOUTH BEARS
Sick #112, October 1976
w:Jim Simon
The movie had two sequels and a TV series. The Davis-esque poster for one of the sequels was drawn by one-time MAD artist Bruce Stark.
An early Saturday Night Live had a sketch called The Bad News Bees when Walter Matthau was the host, where the little leaguers were recurring characters The Bees at summer camp. The joke was one had been caught masturbating. Matthau comes in and said “buzzing off” was a perfectly normal thing to do. The punchline was that everybody started doing it after the lights went out, which you could tell was happening because the bedsprings were creaking. John Belushi reportedly hated doing the Bees sketches.
HACKDRAFT
MAD #307, December 1991
w:Dick DeBartolo
a: Angelo Torres backdraft [băk-drăft] an explosive surge in a fire produced by the sudden mixing of air with other combustible gases
By this time, MAD was opening practically every movie parody with a splash panel of the main characters introducing themselves.
(The cartoon fireman is Smokey Stover, a comic strip character whose catchphrases 'Foo' and 'Notary Sojac' were always written somewhere near him and his cat Spooky. DeNiro's pad refers to his movie Raging Bull)
On his first day, Brian McCaffrey (William Baldwin) sees his cohorts break through a car to get the hose through as punishment for parking in front of a hydrant. He's hazed by his fellow firemen when the body he pulls out of a fire turns out to be a mannequin they put there.
Brian's brother Steven (Kurt Russell) is also on the force and is very violent and competitive, which is why he doesn't get along with his estranged wife (Rebecca DeMornay).
Brian transfers to the arson unit of the fire department led by Donald Rimgale (Robert DeNiro). There was a fire in a theater where they suspect something happened.
They pay a visit to notorious arsonist Ronald Burwell (Donald Sutherland) in prison, hoping to get clues.
The prisoner in the background is Hannibal Lecter, a character from Silence of the Lambs, another concurrent movie about a lifer giving tips to police on how a crime was being committed.
During research, Brian gets back together with his ex-girlfriend Jennifer (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and they have sex on top of a firetruck, which interrupts them when it has to go on a run. Everybody thinks the coitus interruptus is really funny.
Jennifer also works for the alderman. He knows there's a connection between the mysterious fires and the alderman closing station, so he asks for her help
(The actress was also in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which is why the diploma is on the wall.)
They rescue the alderman from a fire at his house when they go to inquire about the fires. Brian
realizes his supervisor was in on the conspiracy, and when another fire is set, his brother dies in the line of duty.
also HACKDRAFT
Cracked #267, November 1991
w: Tony Frank (Lou Silverstone)
a: John Severin
The movie opens twenty years earlier with Brian as a child showing how he was destined to become a fireman.
A Silence of the Lambs reference is made in this parody as well.
There was also a parody of the film ala Airplane. I never saw it, but if it's like most others in the spoof movie genre, it broke two rules:
1) play it straight
2) you don't parody one specific film, you do a type of film.
