MADS - Walk the Dark Street

MADS - Walk the Dark Street
Air/Release Date	September 15, 2020
Running Time	102 minutes
Movie Director	Wyott Ordung
Year	1956
Cast	Chuck Connors Don Ross Wyott Ordung Regina Gleason
Preceded by	MADS - The Tingler
Followed by	MADS - A Night of Shorts

“	And if you lose, you're debt-free!	”
	- Trace

The Mads (Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff) riff the 1956 film Walk the Dark Street, written and directed by Wyott Ordung. The livestream duplicates many of the jokes from their live performances.

Without the restrictions of television standards and practices, the content sometimes includes coarse language and pointed social/political commentary.

The Movie

Synopsis

Main article: Walk the Dark Street (film)

A recently discharged army veteran engages in a battle of wits with the revenge-seeking brother of a solider who had died under his command.

The Show

Callbacks

• Trace jokes "'Associate Producer' - that is such a lame title. (mutters) I had it on the Mystery Science Theater movie. I'M NOT BITTER!"
• Over a shot of a large snake "Apparently, we're supposed to be looking out for these things, Frank." "Yeah, watch out for... Watch out for something, I can't remember the phrase..." (Eegah)

Quotes & References

• "Oh, an AARP film..."

AARP stands for American Association of Retired Persons.

• "'Show Me the Way', from the album Frampton Drops Dead."

Rock musician Peter Frampton's album Frampton Comes Alive includes a song entitled "Show Me the Way". It is not the same one from this film.

• "He's bionic!" "Che-che-che-che-che..."

On the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, "bionic" described the humans' cybernetic enhancements. Frank then mimics the sound effect that indicated that these enhancements were being used.

• "Are you there, God? It's me, Lee Harvey Oswald."

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret is a young readers book by Judy Blume that deals with a girl struggling with adolescence. Lee Harvey Oswald is the man widely believed to have assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

• "Losers, suckers..."

In the weeks shortly before this livestream events, reports were published stating that U.S. President Donald Trump had derided members of the military, dismissing those who served in Vietnam as "losers" and those who did not avoid service as "suckers".

• "Number one, the larch."

A reference to the Monty Python sketch "How to Recognize Different Types of Trees From Quite a Long Way Away".

• "Hugs and kisses, Antonio Sabato Jr. Remember me? Nobody does..."

Antonio Sabato Jr. is one of several professional actors who have claimed that their careers have suffered because they have publicly stated their conservative political views.

• "This is called 'How I Met My Mother's Suitcase'."

How I Met Your Mother was a popular long-running TV sitcom. At one time, suitcases were often made of alligator skin (or an imitation thereof) but this has become less fashionable recently.

• "Hobbes!"

Hobbes the tiger was the imaginary friend of the mischievous boy Calvin in the popular newspaper comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, which ran from 1985 to 1995.

• "Look out, Lancelot!"

Trace is mimicking the vocal style of one of the supporting characters on the TV comedy Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp, which featured trained chimpanzees with voices dubbed over their mouth movements. The titular Lancelot was a secret agent.

• "Rare footage of Chris Christie running!" "The hot doughnut light's on..."

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is an overweight man. When Frank Conniff was removed from his position as a political commentator on the John Fugelsang radio show, one reason given for his dismissal was that he continued to make jokes about Christie's weight after being asked not to. The chain doughnut restaurant Krispy Kreme has a light on the exterior of some of their locations that they turn on to alert potential customers when the doughnuts are hot and fresh.

• "...Or an asshole like Trump Jr."

Several photos have circulated of former U.S. President Donald Trump's adult sons (Don Jr. and Eric) posing with deceased animals that they apparently killed while on safari.

Behind-the-scenes

• The livestream of Walk the Dark Street was the third performance by The Mads of 2020. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, all shows by The Mads for 2020 were cancelled. This production also marks the third commercially available performance by The Mads outside their participation in RiffTrax productions. A portion of the proceeds went to benefit the NAACP Empowerment Program.
• As was the case with The Tingler, Walk the Dark Street was only made available to stream live as a Zoom meeting.
• The Mads were joined by special guest Jonah Ray,
• At the conclusion of the event, the Mads announced that their next live streaming event would be on October 20th, 2020 and feature riffs of a program of shorts, including industrials, cartoons, and a Halloween safety featurette.

Video Release

• The live stream was also made available for ticket purchasers to view or download following the show.
• A rebroadcast of the event was scheduled for October 23, 2021. It was available at no additional charge for those who had bought a ticket for the original event.