Mad #244 (Albert Feldstein) - Abnormal Baits Issue - January 1984

Mad did not publish a parody of the iconic movie, Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) when it was released in 1960.  The reason was probably related to the fact that an article had just appeared in Mad #53 ("Mad Goes to an Alfred Hatchplot Movie") that was mostly a parody of North by Northwest.  The next Hitchcock movie parody appeared in Mad #82 ("For the Birds").  Writer Dick DeBartolo made up for lost time in this issue with his parody ("Psycho, Too") of the first sequel directed by huge Hitchcock fan, Richard Franklin (1948-2007).  Actor Anthony Perkins (1932-1992) went on to star in two more sequels, Psycho III (1986) directed by Perkins, and the made-for-tv movie, Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) directed by Mick Garris. [JAM 2/11/2011]

Look for Uncle Fester, Popeye, Olive Oyl and Ralph Kramden in "Warped Games" and, one of the seven dwarves, Sergio Aragones, Leonard Brenner, George Woodbridge, artist Bob Clarke, a bunny, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, a headless cheerleader, Pinocchio, Kermit the Frog, a hockey player, a blind referee, a baseball umpire and Richard Nixon in "Bedsheet Signs We'll Never See on TV."

Departments:
Missile Command - Bezerk - Kaboom! - Warped Games
Airing Their Dotty Linen - Bedsheet Signs We'll Never See on TV
Virilitease - Macho Is ...
Don Martin - One Morning in the Dungeon Room; One Afternoon in the School Room; One Evening in the Living Room
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Three Are a Match - Mad's Multiple Choice TV Scene Test
Bet It Like It Is - Mad's All-Inclusive Monday Night Football Pool
Past-Asides - Famous Quotations ... And How the People Back Then Reacted to Them
Schlock-Watching - Asinine to Five
Absurd-of-Mouth - A Mad History of Communication
BS.A.T. - Will You Make a Good Teacher? (A Mad Aptitude Test)
Re-Wedded Blitz - You Know You're in a Second Marriage When ...
I Dismember Mama - Psycho, Too

Fold-In - Acid Rain