"Mean Parents Suck" (1991 film starring William Zabka)
Dec 23, 2021 17:24:10 GMT
pinkasketch likes this
Post by snakesmith on Dec 23, 2021 17:24:10 GMT
Hello, I am a longtime lurker, I'm hoping for the good luck of Christmas that comes from Clock Man and Crack Master, and I hope you can help me find this mysterious film. I posted about this to the lost media reddit and to reddit's obscure media as well.
NSFW/NSFL
“Mean Parents Suck,” Aka “For Parents Only”, is a German-French-American black comedy film originally completed in 1991, starring William Zabka and directed by William Shepherd.
PLOT
The film concerns a kindergarten class of children in a town called Good Abode. Several of the students suffer abuse from their parents. These parents die in a series of bizarrely comic incidents, casting suspicions on the children’s innocent-seeming teacher, Lilly Herod (Maya McLaughlin). Detective Ted Clement arrives to investigate the mysterious deaths, and subsequently begins a romance with Lilly, in spite of her involvement in the deaths. Meanwhile, the coroner, Dr. Carlisle (John Ingle), enters into a flirtation with the other prime suspect, housekeeper Klara (Christiane Hörbiger).
PRODUCTION
According to IMDB, this film is the one and only credit of Swiss screenwriter Beat Claire, credited with story. Mr. Shepherd’s official film website touts his work as a “veteran writer/producer/director”, but according to IMDB “Mean Parents Suck” is his only credited work as a director, writer, and producer. Shepherd did serve as a production assistant on two films for renowned director Peter Bogdonovich, 1974’s “Daisy Miller” and 1975’s “At Long Last Love,” widely regarded as one of the worst movie musicals ever made.
According to Mr. Shepherd’s official film website, the film was “fully sanctioned under the Screen Actors’ Guild’s low-budget feature program” and shot in Los Angeles, California.
In the United States, the film rights were retained by Florence Films. This includes all marketing, domestic and foreign. Florence Films, according to Mr. Shepherd, did not provide the proper funding for post-production work, leaving its release in limbo. Whether a complete English-language version of the film currently exists is not known.
The German partners in the production were able to salvage the film and release their dub before the English-language version. They obtained marketing and distribution rights to the film in German-speaking European territories. Once the film was dubbed, it was released in 1991 under the title “For Parents Only,” and was then broadcast by German network SWR multiple times in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is unknown if SWR did the German dub of the film themselves, but as heard in the trailer, the film was shot in English.
William Shepherd, as of 2005-2010, holds all rights to the property in German-speaking territories of Europe. The official English-language title of the film appears to be “Mean Parents Suck.”
Attempts to locate any footage of the film beyond the trailer, whether in German or English, have been unsuccessful. (by me)
CAST
The film did feature some recognizable names- some who were known at the time of release and one who would be known later in life. In the leading role of Ted Clement, the detective, is William Zabka. Zabka is currently the star of Netflix’s “Cobra Kai,” in which he reprises his iconic role of Johnny Lawrence from “The Karate Kid.” The film also features, in a supporting role, Charlene Tilton (“Dallas”, “Problem Child 2”). Of special interest to the Lost Media Community is Courtland Mead, who appeared in an early live-action role before becoming well-known as a voice actor (Gus from “Recess”, the title character of “Lloyd in Space”, Ned from “Nightmare Ned”). Supporting actress Christiane Hörbiger appears to be well-known in her home country of Austria and to German-speaking audiences, known for her role in German series “Julia- An Extraordinary Woman” and as Mrs. Calloway in the German dub of Disney’s “Home on the Range”.
The current fate of this film, and the full circumstances of its obscurity, are unknown. The macabre and bizarre subject matter would give the film limited audience appeal, although it’s uncertain if this affected production or distribution in the US.
The main source for information on the film is its long-dormant website which bears a copyright date of 2005. Attempts to contact Mr. Shepherd at the listed email address on the site were unsuccessful.
A low-quality trailer for the film, uploaded from the film’s site, can be viewed on Youtube.
Additional stills for the film were found on Alamy Stock Photo:
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-charlene-tilton-william-zabka-for-parents-only-1991-31040010.html
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-maya-for-parents-only-1991-31039809.html
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-charlene-tilton-for-parents-only-1991-31039812.html
And on this German website:
www.tvspielfilm.de/kino/filmarchiv/film/for-parents-only,1324530,ApplicationMovie.html
SPECS:
Length: 90 minutes (IMDB.com ) 92 minutes (meanparentssuck.com)
Filming locations: Los Angeles, California
Production Company: Florence Films, Lotek Productions, SWR (German)
Written by: Beat Claire and William Shepherd
Produced by: William Shepherd, Christian Leprus, Ralph Strohle
Associate Producers: Bill Yerian, Jay Killingsworth
Music, Cinematography, and Film and Sound Editing by William Shepherd
Director of Photography Pierre Rouger
Sources: www.imdb.com/title/tt0101901/
www.imdb.com/title/tt1600771/
www.meanparentssuck.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_H%C3%B6rbiger
www.imdb.com/name/nm0791894/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
NSFW/NSFL
“Mean Parents Suck,” Aka “For Parents Only”, is a German-French-American black comedy film originally completed in 1991, starring William Zabka and directed by William Shepherd.
PLOT
The film concerns a kindergarten class of children in a town called Good Abode. Several of the students suffer abuse from their parents. These parents die in a series of bizarrely comic incidents, casting suspicions on the children’s innocent-seeming teacher, Lilly Herod (Maya McLaughlin). Detective Ted Clement arrives to investigate the mysterious deaths, and subsequently begins a romance with Lilly, in spite of her involvement in the deaths. Meanwhile, the coroner, Dr. Carlisle (John Ingle), enters into a flirtation with the other prime suspect, housekeeper Klara (Christiane Hörbiger).
PRODUCTION
According to IMDB, this film is the one and only credit of Swiss screenwriter Beat Claire, credited with story. Mr. Shepherd’s official film website touts his work as a “veteran writer/producer/director”, but according to IMDB “Mean Parents Suck” is his only credited work as a director, writer, and producer. Shepherd did serve as a production assistant on two films for renowned director Peter Bogdonovich, 1974’s “Daisy Miller” and 1975’s “At Long Last Love,” widely regarded as one of the worst movie musicals ever made.
According to Mr. Shepherd’s official film website, the film was “fully sanctioned under the Screen Actors’ Guild’s low-budget feature program” and shot in Los Angeles, California.
In the United States, the film rights were retained by Florence Films. This includes all marketing, domestic and foreign. Florence Films, according to Mr. Shepherd, did not provide the proper funding for post-production work, leaving its release in limbo. Whether a complete English-language version of the film currently exists is not known.
The German partners in the production were able to salvage the film and release their dub before the English-language version. They obtained marketing and distribution rights to the film in German-speaking European territories. Once the film was dubbed, it was released in 1991 under the title “For Parents Only,” and was then broadcast by German network SWR multiple times in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is unknown if SWR did the German dub of the film themselves, but as heard in the trailer, the film was shot in English.
William Shepherd, as of 2005-2010, holds all rights to the property in German-speaking territories of Europe. The official English-language title of the film appears to be “Mean Parents Suck.”
Attempts to locate any footage of the film beyond the trailer, whether in German or English, have been unsuccessful. (by me)
CAST
The film did feature some recognizable names- some who were known at the time of release and one who would be known later in life. In the leading role of Ted Clement, the detective, is William Zabka. Zabka is currently the star of Netflix’s “Cobra Kai,” in which he reprises his iconic role of Johnny Lawrence from “The Karate Kid.” The film also features, in a supporting role, Charlene Tilton (“Dallas”, “Problem Child 2”). Of special interest to the Lost Media Community is Courtland Mead, who appeared in an early live-action role before becoming well-known as a voice actor (Gus from “Recess”, the title character of “Lloyd in Space”, Ned from “Nightmare Ned”). Supporting actress Christiane Hörbiger appears to be well-known in her home country of Austria and to German-speaking audiences, known for her role in German series “Julia- An Extraordinary Woman” and as Mrs. Calloway in the German dub of Disney’s “Home on the Range”.
The current fate of this film, and the full circumstances of its obscurity, are unknown. The macabre and bizarre subject matter would give the film limited audience appeal, although it’s uncertain if this affected production or distribution in the US.
The main source for information on the film is its long-dormant website which bears a copyright date of 2005. Attempts to contact Mr. Shepherd at the listed email address on the site were unsuccessful.
A low-quality trailer for the film, uploaded from the film’s site, can be viewed on Youtube.
Additional stills for the film were found on Alamy Stock Photo:
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-charlene-tilton-william-zabka-for-parents-only-1991-31040010.html
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-maya-for-parents-only-1991-31039809.html
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-charlene-tilton-for-parents-only-1991-31039812.html
And on this German website:
www.tvspielfilm.de/kino/filmarchiv/film/for-parents-only,1324530,ApplicationMovie.html
SPECS:
Length: 90 minutes (IMDB.com ) 92 minutes (meanparentssuck.com)
Filming locations: Los Angeles, California
Production Company: Florence Films, Lotek Productions, SWR (German)
Written by: Beat Claire and William Shepherd
Produced by: William Shepherd, Christian Leprus, Ralph Strohle
Associate Producers: Bill Yerian, Jay Killingsworth
Music, Cinematography, and Film and Sound Editing by William Shepherd
Director of Photography Pierre Rouger
Sources: www.imdb.com/title/tt0101901/
www.imdb.com/title/tt1600771/
www.meanparentssuck.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_H%C3%B6rbiger
www.imdb.com/name/nm0791894/?ref_=tt_ov_dr
