# Ernie Fosselius, Mark Pirro, and other vintage film parodies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 8, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039 "2021-01-08T15:13:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/1 "2021-01-08T15:13:05Z")
I posted a link to a scene in Porklips Now! in response to another post. That elicited this: > [@The American Coup: 11.9.2020 -](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2211): > > All fans of Ernie Fosselius are family & friends of mine! How you _doin’_ , brother? 😃 So here’s a thread for vintage film parodies by the likes of Ernie Fosselius, Mark Pirro, and anyone else you may want to talk about. [_Porklips Now!_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSSdCjLdCXM) [_Closet Cases Of The Nerd Kind_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voJ6-Tyn0Do) And of course… [_Hardware Wars_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYOSZwe8Ibk) I couldn’t find Mark Pirro’s A Polish Vampire In Burbank, but I did find the [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIXcQqfY50). Ditto for [_Curse Of The Queerwolf_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unS2UgBGjUM). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/2 "2021-01-08T15:44:39Z")
I’ve remembered another one. I saw I Was A Teenage Alien at a science fiction comvention in the early-'80s. I can’t find anything on it, though there are hits for a book and a fairly recent film of the same or similar name. I Was A Teenage Alien was made by a police officer with the San Rafael Police Department. It was billed as ‘The world’s first science fiction/horror anti-shoplifting film’. As nearly as I can recall, there was an adult alien who corrupted teens by making them shoplift. Of course this had consequences for the teens, but I don’t remember what they were. The Alien’s supervisor, basically a blob with an eye-stalk, came to Earth to check up on him. I think the supervisor was upset because the Alien had somewhat ‘gone native’. I wish I could see this one again. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/3 "2021-01-08T15:56:39Z")
I don’t know (or care) who was responsible for it, but avoid, “Night of the Living Bread.” I’ve had funnier attacks of GERD. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/4 "2021-01-08T18:46:30Z")
Lots of people know _Hardware Wars_, but far fewer know _Porklips Now!_; seeing it in your post was an immediate rush! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/5 "2021-01-08T18:51:30Z")
‘Suburbia. Shoot!’ Glad I could give you a rush. I think not many people know Closet Cases Of The Nerd Kind as well. Whenever I hear someone say, ‘This means something’, I think of it. The other favourite scene is the singing mailboxes. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/6 "2021-01-08T19:53:36Z")
I remember Hardware Wars. I saw it on a VHS of short films we rented it along with a VCR from the grocery store back in the day. I don’t think I’ve seen or even heard about the others listed. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/7 "2021-01-08T20:36:13Z")
I’ve seen the Fosselius films listed here. I also love a film he has disavowed – **Hardware Wars – The Special Edition** , the very idea of which is hilarious, and which was executed brilliantly. According to Wikipedia’s write-up: > [@](#): > > When _Hardware Wars_ was re-released in 1997 with new special effects in a “Special Edition” to spoof the [special editions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases) of the original _Star Wars_ trilogy, Fosselius was not involved, as he disagreed with the concept of adding actual digital effects to a film which satirized digital effects, and asked that a “Not Approved by Ernie” label be added to the release. But that’s absurd. The original **Star Wars** didn’t _have_ digital effects (in the form of CGI) – it used computerized motion-control, but the effects were modelwork, green screen, and traditional animation. Adding cheap, bad CGI to a film using substandard model effects is the _perfect_ way to satirize a film with expensive CGI that used involved model effects. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/8 "2021-01-09T00:29:50Z")
_Closet Cases of the Nerd Kind_ is gold for several reasons, not the least of which are the vocal talents of Corey Burton, whose impression of Hans Conreid is spot-on. My buddies and I still trade lines from this to make each other laugh: “I’m the famous Fwench scientist, sent over here to find the UFO…uh hrrr!” Hey, anybody remember **Superbman: the other Movie**? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/9 "2021-01-09T06:05:15Z")
Oh yeah! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RUIhETwIhqU/hqdefault.jpg "Superbman Trailer - original") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUIhETwIhqU) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/10 "2021-01-09T06:07:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The other favourite scene is the singing mailboxes. “You’re gonna build a mountain in your living room!!” And, just before that, when he signals for the motorcycle to go around him, and it’s Darth Vader riding a chopper. I remember first seeing both _Hardware Wars_ and _Closet Cases_ in the late '70s or very early '80s at the Brown County Library in Green Bay, where they would show short films in the library’s children’s section. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/11 "2021-01-16T12:25:02Z")
YouTube now has this stuff in my algorithm; this just showed up. It’s been there for years but I don’t recall finding it with searches before. Here’s a 10 minute video: The Making of Superb-man: The Other Movie [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fFwoTUuOlnQ/hqdefault.jpg "The Making of Superb-man: The Other Movie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFwoTUuOlnQ) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/12 "2021-01-16T19:29:04Z")
There was a (fake?) trailer I saw back in the early '80’s about a Flash style superhero. The speed effect was done via stop motion photography (Also known as pixelization). Any ideas what it was called? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/13 "2021-01-16T19:32:15Z")
[The Wizard of Speed and Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92p3NgO9e-Y). ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/14 "2021-01-16T19:37:12Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/15 "2021-01-16T21:16:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [The Wizard of Speed and Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92p3NgO9e-Y). That’s Mike Jittlov’s film. Not a parody. Mike Jittlov made a lot of very short films with wonderful (pre-CGI) effects work, most of which you can’t find on the web. I saw them only because I was at a convention where he was a Guest of Honor. The Wizard of Speed and Time started out as a short for Disney (it uses Perry and Kingsley’s _Baroque Hoedown_ as its music, the same thing Disney uses in its Main Street Electrical Parade – [Baroque Hoedown - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_Hoedown) ) When I first saw him, he wanted very much to make it into a full-length feature. In 1989 Jittlov released a feature-length film of that title, but it wasn’t the film he had been describing. He wanted to make a full-length fictyional story about that Wizard. The film that emerged was a (largely fictionalized) film about the making of the short. He obviously did that because of poor funding. I really would have liked to have seen the film as he originally envisioned it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ernie-fosselius-mark-pirro-and-other-vintage-film-parodies/930039/16 "2021-01-18T23:36:12Z")
Well, whaddya know? The first film I worked on. My best fiend was talking about shooting some make-up effects on super-8 to see how they would look on film. I said, ‘Why just shoot them? Why not make a film?’ So he got to work writing it. He and I shared the camera work, he directed and produced, and I get killed on a motorcycle. Gobs of fun. [Mutilation Maniacs](https://rumble.com/vczjw7-mutilation-maniacs-1981.html) (1981 - 10 minutes) [Mike](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0527963/) is still making films.