"I want everything I've ever seen in the movies"

Rating: 9/10 (3 June 2016)

It is incredible to think that The Producers was Mel Brooks' directorial debut. An incredible feat not just because the film remains a classic 50 years after its 1967 debut, but also because of its subject matter. Making a comedy about making a play about Adolf Hitler, one of the worst world leaders in world history seems like an odd vehicle to launch a career with. Nonetheless, Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel join together in a brilliant display of chemistry to tell the story of two producers who hatch a plan for mischief and riches, in a way only Mel Brooks can tell.
Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), an aging Broadway producer is now relegated to attaining money for his productions by seducing wealthy seasoned women. One day, when Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), an accountant with White Hall and Marks meets Max to go over his books, the discovery of a fund-raising error gives Max an idea. If he were to raise a great deal amount more money than a play will cost, then selects a play that is sure to be a flop, the two will be infinitely wealthy since they will have no profits to pay the backers of the play. Leo, a perpetually nervous individual, is skeptical to go along with Max's plan. After Max takes Leo under his wing, shows him a good time, and treats him like a person, Leo agrees to help with the plan because for the first time in his life, he has found happiness. Springing into action to execute their plot; Max and Leo must find the worst play possible, a play that is so awful it is sure to only run one performance. Springtime for Hitler; a musical preaching the overlooked good qualities of Adolf Hitler looks like the perfect play for their plan. After meeting with the playwright, Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars) a German-born American with pictures of Hitler littering his walls, the three agree to bring the play to audiences. After the effeminate well-known terrible musical director Roger De Bris (Christopher Hewett) is hired, the play is sure to be a disaster; the only way their plan could fail is if the play is a hit.
Mel Brooks proves he was put on this earth to be a director with his debut film, The Producers. Arguably his best picture, his first film was an instant classic and clearly illustrated the type of parodies we could expect, and come to love from genius comedy director, Mell Brooks. Thankfully, years before The Producers came to be, Mel Brooks found Gene Wilder acting in a play with Mel's then girlfriend (and later wife) Anne Bancroft. Although it would be years before the pairing would come to fruition, Mel asked Gene if he would be interested in playing the part of Leo Bloom, and never forgot about him. Only his second film, The Producers was the first lead film role for Gene Wilder. From the bit part, he had in Bonnie and Clyde the same year, to sharing the lead in a film with Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder certainly proved to be quite the actor, and would go on to collaborate with Mel Brooks 2 more times, each classic in their own right.
Wilder played the role of the neurotic nervous Bloom with great tenacity. It's hard not to sympathize with his character who just wants a friend and a purpose for his life. Always being a rule breaker had gained Leo nothing in his life except a mundane existence. Although the relationship with Max didn't come to the best of outcomes, it begs the question, does it matter what results in a friendship as long as it is real and fun?