Another Nazi Spoof but with a Flair

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2007)

Nazi spoofs became big in the 1960's. Even before this movie, Hogan's Heros had already hit the TV screens & the Nazi's between the eyes. The difference is this is a bit more than a simple send up of the Nazi's.
Zero Mostell is a broken down has been producer in desperate need of money. Gene Wilder is a book keeper who just happens to suggest a way to make money by cooking the books & deliberately producing a failure of a play. Mostell, desperate enough to grab at straws, grabs this one & tries to really produce a stinker.
The only thing that goes wrong is that by trying to screw everything up, they accidentally make the play funny & in the process a hit. This is white collar crime in the 1960's, simple & funny unlike today when white collar crime has made this type of crime look like something from the age of innocence.
The material in this is good enough the Brooks managed to recycle it all, but as far as this film & its newer incarnation, this one is the better one.