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.
Updated daily. There's posts besides this one archived in the sidebar on the right, you clods!
if you're at a laptop or desktop, right-click and open link on pages and they'll be clearer and legible in a new window.
TO TELL THE TRUTH
CBS 1956-1968
SYND (1968-1976, 1980-1981)
NBC (1990-1991)
This game show had several hosts over the years. Its first was Bud Collyer. The show's concept was that three challengers would come on, each claiming to be the main character, and a group of panelists would ask questions to the challengers and through those questions find out which of the challengers was the real character.
From The Minute After That TV Show Is Over from MAD #85, March 1964, by Stan Hart and Mort Drucker.
From Adult TV Cartoons in MAD #63, June 1961, by Al Jaffee and Wally Wood.
From Combined TV Shows in #47, June 1959, by Paul Laikin and Mort Drucker, which combined it with The Line-Up.
From Russian TV Shows by Paul Laikin and John Severin in Cracked #19, April 1961
WHY TELL THE TRUTH
Humbug #6, January 1958
w: Harvey Kurtzman
a: Bill Elder
The first contestant is mobster Frank Costello and the third contestant is Charles Atlas.
The panelists are Polly Bergen, Ralph Bellamy, Dorothy Killgallen, and Hy Gardner. Dorothy Killgallen was also a panelist on What's My Line?, which often used the question “Is it bigger than a breadbox?”, which is why she is holding one. She was also on a show called Breakfast with Dick and Dorothy which took place at her home and occasionally featured her children. Hy Gardner looked similar to Sen. John McClellan, which is why John Kennedy is also in one panel.
Panelists on What's My Line had blindfolds.
MAD writer Dick DeBartolo was also a writer for To Tell the Truth which is also probably why MAD publisher William Gaines was once a panelist.
CURLEY SCHMERLEY'S GOREYBOOK
Panic #1, July 1958
artist unknown
Series of TV specials adapting well-known fairy tales and childrens' books such as Wizrd of Oz or Rip van Winkle hosted and narrated by Shirley Temple, former child star. This is apparently adapting Beauty and the Beast and sponsored by Piels Beer, whose commercials at the time featured Harry and Bert Piel, voiced by Bob & Ray.
THE PRICE IS ALL RIGHT
MAD #51, December 1959
w: Larry Siegel
a: Mort Drucker
Best known for the version that existed in the 70s with Bob Barker and that continued into the 00s with Drew Carey, this is the first version with Bill Cullen when game shows were on networks in prime time the first time.
The premise had four contestants guessing how much a prize cost, and the one with the closest guess would win it.
THE PRICE IS TRITE
MAD UK #303, July 1987
w: David Robinson
a: William Simpson
There was a British version of the show as well, hosted by Leslie Crowther. It used the “Come on down” catchphrase and the contestants were guided by four models.
The Generation Game was a British game show similar to Family Feud except it was different generations competing against each other rather than different families.
“Escalator” was one of the games in which a contestant would guess a price for a product, then choose if they wanted to go up the next step to make another guess aand take a chance at possibly winning something better.
Punch a Bunch allowed contestants to punch a circle with a £ sign for each correct guess about a price and would get the amount on the card inside the hole.
THE NIGHT PETER GONE CRACKED
MAD #50, October 1959
w: Larry Siegel
a: Bob Clarke
Peter Gunn (Craig Stevens) was a private detective known for being suave and sophisticated, modeled after Cary Grant, probably best known for its theme. There was always a jazzy score in the background as well. His contact at the police department was Lieutenant Jacoby (Herschel Bernardi).
Gunn worked at a club called Mother's where his girlfriend Edie (Lola Albright) worked there and it was run by “Mother” (Hope Emerson).
In the third panel are Harry and Bert Piel, mascots for Piel's Beer voiced by Bob & Ray
The substitute band is Lawrence Welk.
PETER GOON
Cracked #12, January 1960
w: Paul Laikin
a: Jack Davis
Matt Dillon (James Arness), Kitty (Amanda Blake), Chester (Dennis Weaver), and Doc (Milburn Stone) are in the last panel. L & M Cigarettes was the main sponsor for Gunsmoke.
THE NIGHT THAT PERRY MASONMINT LOST A CASE
MAD #48, July 1959
w: Dee Caruso & Bill Levine
a: Mort Drucker
Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) was a criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles. The criminal defense attorney was Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and the police detective was Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins).
Perry was assisted by Paul Drake (William Hopper) and his secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale).
The diagram on Della's head in the first panel is from the Anacin commercials' representation of a headache.
Cracked #10, August 1959
a: John Severin
From What Do TV Characters Do After the Show Is Over? in Cracked #45, August 1965, art by Bill Ward
From The Comedy Trend on TV in #50, March 1966, art also by Ward
PERRY MAZIN: THE CASE OF THE GUILTY CLIENT
Cracked #235, May 1988
w: Robert Loren Fleming
a: Bill Wray
Erle Stanley Gardner was the author of the books Perry Mason is based on. He is drawn here as Charles Bronson. The wall on the first panel has a picture of Lt. Col. Oliver North.
From TV Scenes That Make More Sense in Sick #47, by Calvin Castine and Angelo Torres.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) SABOTEUR (1942) THE WRONG MAN (1956)
dir: Alfred Hitchcock
MAD GOES TO AN ALFRED HATCHPLOT MOVIE
MAD #53, March 1960
w: Larry Siegel
a: Wallace Wood
Though this is an amalgam of many of his films, it takes off primarily on North by Northwest, which was then Hitchcock's most recent film. North by Northwest had a plot of someone mistaken for a spy and kidnapped, though Cary Grant was the lead and not James Stewart as portrayed here. Stewart was the male lead in many of Hitchcock's movies that decade.
Alfred Hitchcock is drawn here in every panel because he always made a cameo in his films an an extra. NXNW had a scene where Grant was chased and shot at by a cropduster. The Statue of Liberty is from Saboteur.
In North by Northwest, there were scenes where Cary Grant was running away from secret agents on a train and met Eva Marie Saint, and she turned out to be a spy. There's also a climax in that movie with a chase scene at the top of Mount Rushmore. Alfred Hitchcock Presents, an anthology TV show he hosted (but did not direct) began with a shadow of him walking into a silhouette.
“Goot eev-ning” was also Hitchock's signature phrase when he introduced the story on his show in his deep British accent.
