The Cliche Family in Televisionland
November 12, 2010 2:57 PM   Subscribe

Meet the Cliche Family (very briefly nsfw) "...it was made around 1965 as an in-house joke at an ad agency" Via
posted by frobozz (41 comments total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
Direct link to YT video, for in-browser viewing.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:11 PM on November 12, 2010


Is that Garrison Keillor?
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 3:15 PM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


Absolutely awesome.
posted by Decimask at 3:16 PM on November 12, 2010


yeah, the 60's didn't get good 'til about '68.. prior to that it was really pretty boring...

wait.... breasts! I didn't think those were invented until just before Woodstock!
posted by HuronBob at 3:17 PM on November 12, 2010 [2 favorites]


Garrison Keillor would have been 23 in 1965....
posted by HuronBob at 3:18 PM on November 12, 2010


No, in the tub.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 3:19 PM on November 12, 2010 [6 favorites]


Thanks, filthy light thief. I didn't think of it.
posted by frobozz at 3:21 PM on November 12, 2010


"Her husband is an oil-rigger for Chesterfield Cigarettes"
posted by zippy at 3:26 PM on November 12, 2010 [11 favorites]


Don Draper says "needs more booze".
posted by crapmatic at 3:35 PM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


Loved it!
posted by nola at 3:37 PM on November 12, 2010


One or two or three, or multiplication.
Or?
posted by Mblue at 3:43 PM on November 12, 2010


No self-respecting 1960s family allowed Casper comics into their home. Can you imagine if the neighbours caught them reading Hot Stuff the Little Devil?
posted by evilcolonel at 3:51 PM on November 12, 2010


This is terrific. Look how much fun the actors were having, even the kids -- no one was really fooled by all that TV propriety. The joke about the racial purity was particularly scathing; I feel a bit sorry for the child actress, who might not have appreciated being the joke when she was older, but I'm sure she was paid.

I believe it's authentic, but I'd sure like to know where it's from, although, as with those 1920's porn cartoons, there was probably a fair amount of effort to keep that on the q.t.

Also: it's good to see that I wasn't the only one confused as a child by the fact that happy people in commercials brush up and down, not side to side.
posted by Countess Elena at 3:54 PM on November 12, 2010 [2 favorites]


Countess Elena: "1920's porn cartoons"

Pics or it didn't happen
posted by kitarra at 4:05 PM on November 12, 2010


Oh it happened.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:17 PM on November 12, 2010 [6 favorites]


Rock & Rye? Rock & Rye.
posted by tommasz at 4:19 PM on November 12, 2010 [2 favorites]


I havent had a Rock & Rye since the night those negroes stole our dates.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 4:28 PM on November 12, 2010


Was stoned enough to watch this all the way through. Worth it. *obligatory smiley-face*
posted by malusmoriendumest at 4:42 PM on November 12, 2010


The sound effects during the tooth-brushing segment were especially nice.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:51 PM on November 12, 2010


Maybe I'm jaded because anything on YouTube that "my son found" from 1965 is almost always fake.
posted by birdherder at 5:26 PM on November 12, 2010


Boobs are at 4:10 FYI.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 5:41 PM on November 12, 2010 [3 favorites]


I say hoax! I suspect some of the props would have required time travel. the audio quality seems too high relative to the film(no props, hisses or off speed pitch). The film degredation effects look like the standard one in iMovie. Also what birdherder said.
posted by humanfont at 6:20 PM on November 12, 2010




OT: Rock & Rye bottles make excellent penny jars because of the wide mouth openings to originally fit the rock candy into the booze... the one I have is from my grandpop's bar that I got when I was about 8 years old.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 7:25 PM on November 12, 2010


FUCKERS!!!!!
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:25 PM on November 12, 2010


the audio quality seems too high relative to the film

Because the audio was recorded separately from the film. This was a silent movie with a voice over.
posted by delmoi at 7:28 PM on November 12, 2010 [2 favorites]


Hmmm, an early example of the phrase "make it rain" as a reference to "tons of money" appears at the end.

Cool, even if our modern usage of "make it rain" that you hear from rappers et. al. was most likely independently coined.
posted by sleslie at 7:31 PM on November 12, 2010


Garrison Keillor? No I'm pretty sure that's Lane Pryce playing a Yank to have a laugh.
posted by condour75 at 8:15 PM on November 12, 2010


For what it's worth, there's a mention of "The Cliche Family in Television Land" on Google Books from a 1961 magazine:

"Webber, by the way, is the producer of "The Cliche Family in Television Land," a "bit of inspired foolery" which was screened for the festival judges at their orientation meeting. It received a festival director's citation for ..."

It's not much to go on, but it suggests that if this is a hoax, it's at least named after a real comedic short film from that time period, with a named producer ... anyone want to pick up the trail?

(Personally I suspect it's real, because the voice work seems better than the usual fake-old-movie stuff, but I'm gullible about this sort of thing.)
posted by jhc at 8:27 PM on November 12, 2010 [2 favorites]


I recind my hoax call. Archive.org has more details. The father was Roger Price, the mother was Betty Garrett.
posted by humanfont at 8:27 PM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


Briefly NSFW -- do you mean the "Dick Cliche" part?
posted by davejay at 8:43 PM on November 12, 2010


Direct link to NSFW bath scene.

You people are so impatient.
posted by ryanrs at 9:12 PM on November 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


Was stoned enough to watch this all the way through. Worth it. *obligatory smiley-face*

Peggy?
posted by The Whelk at 9:26 PM on November 12, 2010 [3 favorites]


"God dammit, CUT!"

That made me LOL. Good stuff.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:11 PM on November 12, 2010


Now, if only we could find something like this in the archives of the Catholic Church.
posted by converge at 4:08 AM on November 13, 2010


> For what it's worth, there's a mention of "The Cliche Family in Television Land" on Google Books from a 1961 magazine

I'm glad to see this, both because it knocks the "haha, fake!" people off their perches and because it proves that, as I was sure, the 1965 date people were throwing around was far too late. Jokes about "all those Kennedys" ended, like Vaughn Meader's career, in late 1963.
posted by languagehat at 6:59 AM on November 13, 2010 [3 favorites]


Jokes about "all those Kennedys" ended, like Vaughn Meader's career, in late 1963.

That, and the fact that any Mad Men blog worth its salt should recognize that women on the show stopped regularly wearing full skirts with tight bodices and natural waists sometime in season 3. If it looks like 50's fashion, it's unlikely to be after 1963.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:52 AM on November 13, 2010


"Her husband is an oil rigger for Chesterfield Cigarettes."
posted by Israel Tucker at 10:47 AM on November 13, 2010


This is one of those rare old things that really makes the past come alive.
posted by DU at 6:11 PM on November 13, 2010


dude looks like kelsey grammer
posted by readyfreddy at 7:55 PM on November 13, 2010


I'd like to see a remake of this, the 2010 Cliche Family in Televisionland.

Smiles are gone for Mom and Dad. Mom has a closed-mouth frown with worry-lines. Dad has a slack-jawed, confused expression. Mom spends her time doing so much stuff, she lives in fast-forward. Dad eats hamburgers.

Grandma and Grandpa Cliche have giant smiles and spend lots of time on walks with their trusty golden retriever. But sometimes, they have to stop in their walks, overcome by worry, as they consider how they might fall down.

Daughter Cliche wants to be a scientist! Which is why she spends all her time dressing her Barbie Dolls up in lab coats. Son Cliche gets lots of owies that make him cry, but not for long -- soon, he's back to shouting in joy while rollerblading while eating Captain Crunch.
posted by meese at 7:45 AM on November 14, 2010 [1 favorite]


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