THE SEVEN ITCHY YEARS

THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955)
dir: Billy Wilder

THE SEVEN ITCHY YEARS
MAD #26, November 1955
w: Harvey Kurtzman
a: Will Elder

Comedy about publishing executive Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) bored after seven years of marriage and when his wife and son go away on vacation, is tempted by and has a dream about an affair with his upstairs neighbor (Marilyn Monroe). The image of Marilyn Monroe's dress being blown up in the air by a subway grate is the image she's most associated with and the poster is parodied in the splash panel here.

Sonny Tufts and Victor Moore are also in the cast.

THE NEW MARILYN MARONE
MAD #31, February 1957
a: Wallace Wood

Marilyn Monroe was probably the most iconic sex symbol of the twentieth century. Her calendar pose featured in the second bottom panel is one of the most well-known images of the fifties. There was a big publicity boost while she was working to show that she could be taken seriously and wasn't just some dumb blonde like she was constantly portrayed. This is a parody of magazine articles from then that were reminding the public of that.

THE SEVEN-YEAR TWITCH
From Here to Insanity (Eh!) #12
a: Carl Hubbell

Some of the editors of MAD imitations had no idea what funny was. They figured since MAD had all kinds of backround gags, they should too, except there was no explanation for them. There's no reason to have celebrities like Jack Webb, Liberace, Marlon Brando, Groucho Marx or J. Fred Muggs in the crowd, or advertising mascots like the Cream of Wheat man or a Campbell's Kid. They don't exactly fit in except they were popular celebrities. They could have done something with Jane Russell as Marilyn Monroe's co-star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes but having her floating up in the sky as her character from Underwater doesn't make any sense.

THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR TWITCH
Riot #4, February 1956
w: Stan Lee
a: Joe Maneely

RACKET BUSTER

RACKET SQUAD
CBS 1951-1953

RACKET BUSTER
Crazy #5, April 1954
w: Stan Lee
a: Joe Maneely

Taken from “true police files” of the racket squad.

PETE KELSEY'S BOOZE

PETE KELLY'S BLUES (1955)
dir: Jack Webb

PETE KELSEY'S BOOZE
Snafu #2, February 1956
w: Stan Lee
a: Joe Maneely

Movie with Jack Webb as a Prohibition-era bandleader with Janet Leigh as Ivy Conrad, Peggy Lee as Rose Hopkins, Edmund O'Brien as Fran McCarg, Andy Devine as George Tennel, Lee Marvin as Gannaway, and Ella Fitzgerald as Maggie Jackson

The panels are wide because the movie is in Cinemascope.

Pete Conrad is a jazz cornetist leading a band at Kansas City playing various speakeasies and parties. He and the band are shaken down by McCarg, a notorious mobster who demands a cut of the band. At a party the next night they play a party at Ivy's where he and Pete meet and she's constantly coming on to him.

Pete's drummer, Joey Firestone (Martin Milner) drunkenly answers the phone at the party and tells McCarg off, for which he is gunned bown my McCarg's men the next night. Pete tries to come to terms with McCarg who demands his gun moll Rose become vocalist for the band. She doesn't really want to be there and has become and alcoholic. George is a detetective who has been trying to take McCarg down and enlists Pete's help.

Pete goes to take down McCarg and his gang but is interrupted by Ivy, who doesn't know what he's doing and wants the dance with her he promised. He reluctantly agrees, they're caught, a shootout ensues, he takes them down, and goes back to the way his life was.

PERSONS TO PERSONS

PERSON TO PERSON
1953-1961 CBS

Similar to current talk shows now except the whole show focused on one celebrity with host, Edward R. Murrowinterviewing the person and their family from his studio while they were at their home.

HOUSE TO HOUSE
MAD #35, October 1957
w: Bob & Ray and Tom Koch
a: Mort Drucker

In the early days of MAD as a magazine, they often used the work of famous comedians, whether it was reprinted material or sometimes exclusive. Bob & Ray wrote their own material for the magazine and their shows, some was written by MAD writer Tom Koch. The Mad Cover Site credits the latter, so I'll take their word for it. It was through MAD editors discovering Mort Drucker's knack for caricature in illustrating the Bob & Ray pieces that they made him their go-to guy for most of their movie and TV parodies.

Harry Piel, half of the duo Bob & Ray voiced for Piels Beer, is the hood ornament in the first panel. Harry and Bert Piel make additioal cameos throughout.

From Adult TV Cartoons by Al Jaffee and Wallace Wood, based on the premise that since The Flintstones was based on The Honeymooners and made for adults, we'd soon be seeing lots of cartoons based on prime-time shows. From #63, June 1961, Edward R. Murrow was replaced by Charles Collingwood in the last few seasons.

From Russian TV Shows by Paul Laikin and John Severin in Cracked #19, April 1961

From If Political Figures Did Guest TV Shots in Cracked #20, July 1961, also by Laikin and Severin.

PERSON TO PERSONS
Sick #4, February 1961
a: Leo Morey

PERSONALLY TO PERSONALLY
Snafu #1, November 1955
w: Stan Lee
a: Joe Maneely

Amoco is a famous gasoline company, although it's Mobil that has the pegasus for a mascot.

Marilyn Monroe famously posed for a nude calendar early in her career.

There was a Bugs Bunny cartoon parodying the show as well.

THE BEAST FROM FIFTY MILLION, SKILLION, TRILLION FATHOMS

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS
dir: Eugène Lourié

THE BEAST FROM FIFTY MILLION, SKILLION, TRILLION FATHOMS (1953)
Crazy #2, January 1954
w: Stan Lee
a: Joe Maneely

First in the American "radioactive monster" genre.

A dinosaur has been awakened during a radioactive test at the North Pole, with scientist Thomas Nesbitt (Paul Christian) being the only surviving witness and the military not believing him.

The general in this is a caricature of General MacArthur, leader of the Korean War.

Nesbitt forms an alliance with another scientist who believes him (Cecil Kellaway) and with the aid of the military they attack the monster as it works its way through Canada and down to New York City. His assistant (Paula Raymond) is a brunette but here she's portrayed as a blonde.

A reference here is made to Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts