Documentary looks at life and hoaxes of Abel, infamous prankster

College students who find humor in egging houses and putting Saran Wrap on toilet seats could learn a lot from master hoaxer Alan Abel, the man who has pranked the media and the nation for more than 50 years.\n“Abel Raises Cain,” which will play at 7 p.m. March 13-16 at The Cinemat on Walnut Street, is a documentary Jenny Abel created with her boyfriend, Jeff Hockett, to share with the world her father’s career and infamous pranks. And in this case, “the world” can be taken literally – the film has been dubbed in French, German and Spanish and subtitled in Chinese, and has been shown on four continents. \nJenny Abel said she wanted to show people the true intent of her father’s hoaxes.\n“(Shows like ‘Dateline’ and ‘20/20’) would paint him to be this scam artist,” she said, explaining that each hoax had a deeper message, but the media rarely scratched the surface when portraying her father’s actions.\nAlan Abel said he doesn’t “do scamming.” While most people use “hoax” and “scam” interchangeably, to him, the distinction is very clear and that line is never crossed. He said scams are for money and are attempts to defraud people for personal gain.\n“I try to give them a kick in the intellect, but with humor,” Alan Abel said.\nFather and daughter agreed that his first major hoax – the creation of the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals – holds a special place in their hearts.\n“I like to imagine myself in 1959 picking up the newspaper and seeing an elephant in shorts on the front page,” Jenny Abel said.\nAlan Abel was amazed at what his satirical joke about children growing up confused by a double standard – in which people wore clothes, but pets didn’t – turned into.\n“I couldn’t stop it,” he said. “It just kept growing and growing.”\nHowever, most of the media outlets that reported his joke as reality weren’t as amused.\n“Walter Cronkite is still angry at me,” Alan Abel said, referring to the fact that the CBS News anchor was one of many journalists taken in by the hoax. \nFor Jenny Abel, passing on her father’s legacy was one of the biggest motivating factors in making the documentary.\n“I’m an only child and I felt if I didn’t do it ... no one else would do it justice,” she said. “If I only make one film in my entire life, I’m glad it’s this one.”\nShe was also quick credit Hockett, her boyfriend, co-writer and filmmaker, as an essential part of the film.\n“Without him, this documentary would not exist,” she said. “(We) edited this in our living room.”\nSince its 2005 debut, the documentary has won several awards at film festivals across the country, including a Grand Jury Official Selection at the San Francisco International Film Festival.\nNathan Vollmar, the manager and booking director at The Cinemat, said he is looking forward to the documentary.\n“Alan Abel is a very interesting guy,” Vollmar said. “He was the Borat of his era.” \n“Abel Raises Cain” will be available to rent at The Cinemat after its screening run ends March 16.