The Producers (1968) trailer - YouTube The Producers (1968) trailer Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Mar 26, 2009 The Producers is a 1968 comedy film written and directed by Mel Brooks, which tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who attempt to cheat their investors by deliberately producing a flop show on Broadway. The films stars Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder and features Dick Shawn. The Producers was the first film directed by Mel Brooks, who won an Academy Award for his screenplay. Category The Producers Movie Review & Film Summary (1968) | Roger Ebert Tweet Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder have a scene in "The Producers" where they roll on the floor so ferociously we expect them to chew on one another. Mostel is so manic and barbarian, Wilder so panicked and hysterical, you wonder why spit didn't get on the camera lens.

The whole movie is pitched at that level of frenzied desperation, and one of the many joys of watching it is to see how the actors are able to control timing and nuance even while screaming. Advertisement This is one of the funniest movies ever made. To see it now is to understand that. To see it for the first time in 1968, when I did, was to witness audacity so liberating that not even " There's Something About Mary " rivals it. The movie was like a bomb going off inside the audience's sense of propriety. There is such rapacity in its heroes, such gleeful fraud, such greed, such lust, such a willingness to compromise every principle, that we cave in and go along. The movie stars Mostel and Wilder as Max Bialystock, a failing Broadway producer, and Leo Bloom, a nebbishy accountant. Bialystock raises money for his productions by seducing checks out of little old ladies, who come to his office to fool around ("We'll play the innocent little milkmaid and the naughty stable boy!").

Bloom is sent to do his books, and finds that Bialystock raised $2,000 more than he lost on his last failure. You could make a lot of money by overfinancing turkeys, he muses, a glint in his eye: "The IRS isn't interested in flops." This leads to their great inspiration: Max will venture into "little old lady-land" and raise thousands of dollars more than they need for a production that will be guaranteed to fail. The critic David Ehrenstein traces the first use of the phrase "creative accounting" to "The Producers," and Bialystock and Bloom make it into a fine art. "Hello, boys!" says Max, plopping down next to his safe and patting the piles of money. Advertisement Their formula for failure is a musical named "Springtime for Hitler," with a dance line of jackbooted SS girls and lyrics like, "Don't be stupid, be a smarty!

Come and join the Nazi Party!" Their neo-Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind ( Kenneth Mars ) roars up to opening night on a motorcycle, wears a Nazi helmet into the lobby, and tells them, "It's magic time!" Reaction shots during the first act show the audience paralyzed in slack-jawed horror. How did Mel Brooks , the writer and director, get away with this? By establishing the amoral desperation of both key characters at the outset, and by casting them with actors you couldn't help liking, even so. Like Falstaff, Zero Mostel's Max Bialystock is a man whose hungers are so vast they excuse his appetites. There is a scene where he scrubs his filthy office window with coffee, peers through the murk, sees a white Rolls-Royce and screams, "That's it, baby! When you've got it, flaunt it! Flaunt it!" You can taste his envy and greed. "See this?" he says to Bloom, holding up an empty setting. "This used to hold a pearl as big as your eye. Look at me now!

I'm wearing a cardboard belt!" It is typical of this movie that after he says the line, he takes off the belt and rips it to shreds. Mostel was a serious actor, a blacklist target, an intellectual. His performance here is a masterpiece of low comedy. Despite a comb-over that starts just above his collar line, he projects optimistic vanity, spitting on his hand to slick back his hair before Miss "Hold me! Touch me!" (Estelle Winwood) enters for her weekly visit. What Mostel projects above all is utter confidence. He never has second thoughts. Perhaps he never thinks at all, but only proceeds out of Darwinian urgency. Advertisement Gene Wilder was a new face in 1968, introduced to audiences with a key supporting role in " Bonnie and Clyde " (1967), also as a character consumed by nervousness. His performance in "The Producers" is a shade shy of a panic attack. On the floor with Mostel looming over him, he screams, "Don't jump! Don't jump!" Mostel starts to hop in a frenzy, and Wilder escapes to a corner, hides behind a chair, and screams, "I'm hysterical!

I'm hysterical!" Mostel pours a glass of water and throws it in his face. Wilder delivers another classic line: "I'm wet! I'm hysterical, and I'm wet! I'm in pain, and I'm wet, and I'm still hysterical!" The movie's supporting stars became briefly famous after the movie came out, although none found equally funny material again. Mars was a bug-eyed fanatic, up on the roof with his pigeons, singing Nazi songs, later ordering an audience member to stop laughing because "I am the author! I outrank you!" To the Nazi jokes Brooks added gay jokes, with the flamboyant couple of Broadway director Roger De Bris ( Christopher Hewett ) and his valet Carmen Giya (Andreas Voutsinas). At one point Max, Leo and Carmen crowd into a tiny elevator, and are expelled breathless and flustered. Heterosexuality is represented by the pneumatic Lee Meredith, as Ulla, the buxom secretary, who types one letter at a time and then pauses for a smile of self-congratulation.

The other great supporting performance is by Dick Shawn as the actor who plays Hitler; in a movie made at the height of the flower power period, he's a hippie constructed out of spare parts, with his finger cymbals, Campbell's soup can necklace and knee-high shag boots. To produce a musical named "Springtime for Hitler" was of course in the worst possible taste, as an escaping theater patron observes in the movie--to the delight of Bialystock and Bloom, who were counting on just that reaction. To make a movie about such a musical was also in bad taste, of course. It is obvious that Bialystock and Bloom are Jewish, but they never refer to that. As Franz Liebkind rants, they nod, because the more offensive he is, the more likely his play will fail. Brooks adds just one small moment to suggest their private thoughts. As the two men walk away from the playwright's apartment, Bloom covers the red-and-black Nazi armband Franz has given him. "All right, take off the armband," says Bialystock, taking off his own. They throw both armbands into a trash can. Leo spits into it, and then Max does.

Advertisement The best sight gag in the movie is the one at the end of a long day spent by Max and Leo walking around Manhattan and perfecting their scheme. Finally at night they find themselves in front of the fountain at Lincoln Center. The music swells. Leo cries, "I want everything I've ever seen in the movies!" And then the fountain leaps up. Everyone remembers the fountain. The music and the dialogue make it into a punch line instead of just a surprise. Like most of Brooks' films, "The Producers" is cheerfully willing to go anywhere for a laugh. In Brooks' next film, " Blazing Saddles " (1974), he produced the famous campfire scene, long before Eddie Murphy's Klumps had their troubles with intestinal gas.

Gene Wilder worked with him again in the wonderful " Young Frankenstein " (also 1974), and Brooks has remained prolific; high points are " Silent Movie " (1976), with its narcissistic Burt Reynolds shower scene; the Hitchcock spoof " High Anxiety " (1977), where the tracking shot breaks a plate-glass window, and the underrated " Life Stinks " (1991), inspired by Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels." Mel Brooks began in big-time show business as a writer for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows" in 1950; Carl Reiner and Neil Simon were fellow writers. That he didn't have a career as a stand-up comedian is surely only because he chose not to. Advertisement I remember finding myself in an elevator with Brooks and his wife, actress Anne Bancroft , in New York City a few months after "The Producers" was released. A woman got onto the elevator, recognized him and said, "I have to tell you, Mr. Brooks, that your movie is vulgar." Brooks smiled benevolently.

"Lady," he said, "it rose below vulgarity." Popular Blog Posts Super Reviewer ½ Mel Brooks' The Producers is an accomplished comedy classic that is superbly acted and directed. This is a funny and entertaining film that is pure comedy when comedy mattered and is a smart film in terms of it not relying on vulgar or obscene comedy bits that so many films of today rely on to try and make you laugh. Mel brooks has crafted a fine movie here, one that is highly entertaining from start to finish and its ridiculous plot make a film to treasure from film lovers that enjoy something truly entertaining humorous throughout. Brooks' work would be more elaborate as he would sharpen his skills as a director, but with The Producers is a work that showcases his talents and you can clearly see his talent in this impressive classic. I do believe that Brooks made better films, but with this one he splashed onto the movie making scene and just delivered something truly refreshing in terms of comedy. The cast here do a fine work and Gene Wilder is very funny and so is the rest of the cast. The idea behind the film is immaculate and very original.

Mel Brooks has achieved something unique here, and this is a film that when first released had some unfair flack due to its content. But this is comedy that is effective and tasteful, and it deserves all the praise it has gotten since its initial release. With a great cast, fine direction and a highly thought out and hilarious script, Brooks has made a defining movie that reshaped comedy for years afterwards. If you enjoy smart comic relief and are tired of some bland comedies of today that often miss the mark, well this is a film guaranteed to entertain you. The Producers isn't perfect, but it is a film that is entertaining, fun and ridiculous and should be seen by cinema fans that enjoy these types of comedies. Alex roy Super Reviewer I think we can all agree that Mel Brooks is one of the great greatest directors of comedy that has ever lived on this planet (I'm not ruling out life on other planets). Everyone knows of how good at making paradys he is. He has a great way at looking at the funny little things that entertain society so much. Most of the planet has probably seen "Spaceballs". But have those people seen "The Producers"? Well, maybe the musical, but what about the original?

Before it became one of the broadway musicals that it originaly was mocking? To those who haven't seen "The Producers", it is the tale of an unstabble accountant and a greedy broadway producer who discover that they can make more money with a broadway flop than with a broadway success. They go out to see if they can pull this skeem off, but they end up releasing one of the biggest broadway hits in history. A fantastic story, very creative and filled with opportunities to laugh. And you know what? Not only does it take advantage of all the opportunities to laugh, it gets ones you wouldn't even think of as an audience. Another thing we have to consider is that this was Mel Brooks first movie. No director makes a hit so successful as this on his first go. Anyone who saw this when it was first released had to have known that this man was destined for greatness in film. He didn`t go cheap on this movie either. He got a fantastic cast including Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. And he didn`t just get a great cast for the leads, but the smaller characters in it really were what made the film.

Especially the characters of the man who wrought the play and the lead actor in the play, L.S.B. I couldn`t stop laughing when those guys where on screen. And who could forget Mel Brooks first cameo in one of his own films; a single line he sings, `Don`t be stupid, be a smarty! Come and join the Nazi Party!`. Good times, good times! As for Wilder and Mostel, they were at they`re very best. They were living charactures of things hat were already hilarious. From the first time these characters meet each other, the audience knows they are going to have a real treat by watching these guys. But with these characters, it wasn`t just how funny they were, you really loved them. You felt lucky to be able to spend 2 hours with such interesting people. They were the kind of characters that revolutionized comedy film making for the world! They werent afraid to go over the top with the way they acted. They really just wanted to give everyone some of the greatest laughs of their lives! They didnt use some of the cliches that we see in comedy today, they invented their own!

Sometimes, we watch a film and we we finish we realize silently that this film is going to change everything for this film industry, and then you immediatly watch the film over again. If you have not watched this film yet, then what the hell are you doing! GO SEE IT, YOU IDIOT!!!! Anders Gatten Super Reviewer A Broadway producer and his accountant team up to make a flop as part of a get-rich-quick scheme. Maybe it's because this film is an oft-imitated classic, but I found much of the plot and gags to be predictable. Zero Mostel's performance was over-the-top, and even Gene Wilder occasionally abandoned his deadpan, "I'm in a room with a bunch of crazy people and I'm becoming one of them" demeanor to over-act as well. I did enjoy a few moments: Wilder's "I'm hysterical, and I'm wet, and I'm in pain!" and "Springtime for Hitler" dance number. Overall, I think if I were alive and watching this film in 1968, I would be raving about it.

Jim Hunter The Producers (1968 film) - Wikiquote The Producers (1968 film) Jump to: navigation , search The Producers is a 1968 film about producers Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom who make money by producing a sure-fire flop. Written and directed by Mel Brooks . Hollywood Never Faced a Zanier Zero Hour! Contents Max Bialystock[ edit ] How humiliating. Max Bialystock. Max Bialystock. You know who I used to be? Max Bialystock! King of Broadway! Six shows running at once! Lunch at Delmonico's. $200 suits. You see this? This once held a pearl as big as your eye! Look at me now. LOOK AT ME NOW! I'm wearing a cardboard belt! I used to have thousands of investors begging, pleading to put their money in a Max Bialystock production. Look at my investors now. [He opens a cabinet with pictures of wealthy, elderly women] Voila! Hundreds of little old ladies stopping off at Max Bialystock's office to grab a last thrill on the way to the cemetery!

[To Leo] You have exactly 10 seconds to change that look of disgusting pity into one of enormous respect. One, two... Do the books. Do the books...Window's so filthy, can't tell whether it's day or night out there. That's it, baby, when you've got it, flaunt it, flaunt it! That's exactly why we want to produce this play. To show the world the true Hitler, the Hitler you loved, the Hitler you knew, the Hitler with a song in his heart. How could this happen? I was so careful. I picked the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast. Where did I go right? Bloom, look at me. Look at me, Bloom! Bloom, I'm drowning. Other men sail through life. Bialystock has struck a reef. Bloom, I'm going under. I'm being sunk by a society that demands success when all I can offer is failure. Bloom, I'm reaching out to you. Don't send me to prison. [bellowing] HELP!!! Next time I produce a play, no author. Springtime for Hitler and Germany, Deutschland is happy and gay.

We're marching to a faster pace: Look out, here comes the master race! Springtime for Hitler and Germany, Winter for Poland and France. Springtime for Hitler and Germany, Come on, Germans, go into your dance. Don't be stupid! Be a smartie! Come and join the Nazi Party! Actually sung by Mel Brooks Others[ edit ] Leo Bloom: [reading the title of the play for the first time] "Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden"... Wow... Franz Liebekind: I am the author. You are the audience. I outrank you! Franz Liebekind: Adolf Elizabeth Hitler Leo: Let's assume just for the moment that you are a dishonest man. Max: Assume away. Franz Liebekind: You know, not many people knew it, but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer. Max: Really, I never dreamed that... Franz Liebekind: That is because that you were taken in by that verdammte Allied propaganda! Such filthy lies! They told lies! But nobody ever said a bad word about Winston Churchill, did they? No! 'Win with Winnie!' Churchill! With his cigars.

With his brandy. And his rotten painting, rotten! Hitler - there was a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon! Two Coats! Churchill. He couldn't even say 'Nazi'. He would say 'Noooo-zeeehz, Nooooooooooooo-zeeehz!' It wasn't Noses! It was Nazis! Churchill!...Let me tell you this! And you're hearing this straight from the horse. Hitler was better looking than Churchill. He was a better dresser than Churchill. He had more hair! He told funnier jokes! And he could dance the pants off of Churchill!...Churchill! Max: It's practically a love letter to Hitler! Leo: This won't run a week. Max: A week?! Are you nuts? This play's gotta close on Page 4! Leo: Just think! Yesterday I was a meaningless little accountant...and today, I am the producer of a Broadway flop! Max: [raising his glass] To failure! Leo: [raising his glass in return] To failure! Drunk at the end of the bar: Oh, thank you. That's very kind of you. Leo: I would like to say something, your Honor.

Not on my behalf, but in reference to my partner, Mr. Bialystock...Your Honor, Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, Max Bialystock is the most selfish man I ever met in my life. Max: Don't help me. Leo: Not only is he a liar and a cheat and a scoundrel and a crook, who has taken money from little old ladies, but he's also talked people into doing things, especially me, that they would never in a thousand years have dreamed of doing. But, your Honor, as I understand it, the law was created to protect people from being wronged. Your Honor, whom has Max Bialystock wronged? I mean, whom has he really hurt? Not me. Not me. I was... This man. No one ever called me Leo before. I mean, I know it's not a big legal point, but even in kindergarten, they used to call me Bloom. I never sang a song before. I mean with someone else. I never sang a song with someone else before. This man, this man, this is a wonderful man. He made me what I am today. He did. And what of the dear ladies?

What would their lives have been without Max Bialystock? Max Bialystock who made them feel young and attractive and wanted again? That's all that I have to say. [The ladies stand and applaud] Max: And may I humbly add, your Honor, that we've learned our lesson and that we'll never do it again. Movie Review - - THE PRODUCERS - NYTimes.com THE PRODUCERS By Renata Adler Published: March 19, 1968 The Producers, which opened yesterday at the Fine Arts Theater, is a violently mixed bag. Some of it is shoddy and gross and cruel; the rest is funny in an entirely unexpected way. It has the episodic, revue quality of so much contemporary comedynot building laughter, but stringing it together skit after skit, some vile, some boffo. It is less delicate than Lenny Bruce, less funny than Doctor Strangelove, but much funnier than The Loved One or What's New, Pussycat?

It begins with Zero Mostel, overacting grotesquely under the direction of Mel Brooks, the famous 2,000-Year-Old Man and writer-narrator of the Academy Award-winning cartoon The Critic. Mostel, as a producer who gets investors by giving old ladies "their last thrill on the way to the cemetery," is first shown in silhouette through the glass door to his office, as he nuzzles one of his elderly ladies. That is the last time. We next see him rolling about with them, being chased by them, making lewd conversation with them, and generally being as gross and unfunny as only an enormous comedian bearing down too hard on some frail, tasteless routines can be. Gene Wilder, who plays the young bookkeeper who inspires Mostel to oversubscribe with backers a show that will close after a single night (leaving Mostel and Wilder with the amount that has been oversubscribed), is wonderful. Last seen as the young man who was stolenalong with his car and his fiancéeby Bonnie and Clyde, he plays his present part as though he were Dustin Hoffman being played by Danny Kaye.

Going through long, infinitely variegated riffs and arpeggios of neuroticism, he blushes and gasps, "I'm hysterical," and grins shyly and fondles his security blanket. He is forced to be as loud and as fast as Mostel (and as the crude and incredibly amateurish cutting). But he's fine. There is a great scene when the deal between them is consummated at night in front of Lincoln Center, and all the fountains soar at once. They decide to produce Springtime for Hitler, a play by a helmeted Nazi in Yorkville, a play true to "the Hitler you loved, the Hitler you knew, the Hitler with a song in his heart." They hire a transvestite director, whose plays have never lasted beyond the first rehearsal. There is a lovely conversation with the director's roommate, played by Andreas Voutsinas as a prancing young person in black slacks, black turtleneck, beads, and a beard curled up in front like the toe of a dancing slipper. As leading man, they hire a mind-blown hippie played by Dick Shawn.

(At the audition for the part, he has sung a grand hippie song.) Mostel hires for himself a blond receptionist, who does not speak English and who, when told to go to work, begins to dance frenetically. Strangely enough, the first act of Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva in Berchtesgaden is the funniest part of this fantastically uneven movie. The Gestapo chorines, the opening number, "Look Out, Here Comes the Master Race"well, it loses absolutely everything in transcription. But there is just enough talent and energy to keep this blackest of collegiate humors comic. Barely. Then, the movie makes a terrible and irreversible mistake. It allows the audience onscreen to find the play funny. This turned the real audience in the theater off as though a fuse had blown. Hardly anyone laughed again. Partly, it must be admitted, because Springtime for Hitler itself gets less funny at this point (even Shawn becomes quite weak).

But mainly, because there is nothing like having your make-believe audience catch on to a jokeand a joke that absolutely capsizes the plans of your leading charactersto make your real audience really hostile to you. The ending, when all the comic props are supposed to be in motionMostel conning, Wilder hysterical, German fanatic, girl dancing, etc.goes better than one might think. On the whole, though, The Producers, leaves one alternately picking up one's coat to leave and sitting back to laugh. THE PRODUCERS (MOVIE) Written and directed by Mel Brooks; cinematographer, Joseph Coffey; edited by Ralph Rosenblum; music by John Morris; art designer, Charles Rosen; produced by Sidney Glazier; released by Embassy Pictures. Running time: 88 minutes.

With: Zero Mostel (Max Bialystock), Gene Wilder (Leo Bloom), Dick Shawn (LSD), Kenneth Mars (Franz Liebkind), Estelle Winwood ("Hold Me, Touch Me" Old Lady), Renee Taylor (Eva Braun), Christopher Hewett (Roger De Bris), Lee Meredith (Ulla), and Andreas Voutsinas (Carmen Giya). The Producers (1968 film) - iSnare Free Encyclopedia The Producers (1968 film) March 18, 1968 (1968-03-18) [1] Running time Decades later, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry and placed eleventh on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list. It was later remade successfully by Brooks as an acclaimed Broadway stage musical , which itself was adapted for a 2005 feature film starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick .

Contents 12 External links Plot The once-great Max Bialystock (Mostel) had once been the toast of Broadway, but now he has been reduced to a washed-up, aging, fraudulent, corruptible , and greedy Broadway producer who barely ekes out a hand-to-mouth existence romancing lascivious, wealthy elderly women ("angels" in theatrical terms) in exchange for money for his next play. Accountant Leopold "Leo" Bloom (Wilder) arrives at Max's office to do his books and discovers a $2,000 discrepancy in the accounts of Max's last play. Max persuades Leo to hide the relatively minor fraud, and while shuffling numbers, Leo has a revelation: a producer could make a lot more money with a flop than a hit by overselling shares in the production, because no one will audit the books of a play presumed to have lost money. Max immediately puts this scheme into action. They will oversell shares on a massive scale and produce a play that will close on opening night, thus avoiding payouts and leaving the duo free to flee to Rio de Janeiro with the profits.

Leo is afraid such a criminal venture will fail and they will go to prison, but Max eventually convinces him that his drab existence is no better than prison. After reading many bad plays (including a stage adaptation of Franz Kafka 's The Metamorphosis ), the partners find the obvious choice for their scheme: Springtime for Hitler : A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden . It is "a love letter to Hitler" written in total sincerity by deranged ex-Nazi Franz Liebkind ( Kenneth Mars ). Max and Leo persuade Liebkind to sign over the stage rights, telling him they want to show the world "the Hitler you loved, the Hitler you knew, the Hitler with a song in his heart." To guarantee that the show is a flop, they hire Roger De Bris ( Christopher Hewett ), a director whose plays "close on the first day of rehearsal." The part of Hitler goes to a charismatic, but only semicoherent, flower power hippie named Lorenzo Saint DuBois, also known as L.S.D. ( Dick Shawn ), who can barely remember his own name and mistakenly wandered into the theater during the casting call .

After Max sells 25,000% of the play to his regular investors (dozens of lustful little old ladies), they are sure to be on their way to Rio. The result of all this is a cheerfully upbeat and utterly tasteless musical play purporting to be about the happy home life of a brutal dictator. It opens with a lavish production of the title song, "Springtime for Hitler," which celebrates Nazi Germany crushing Europe ("Springtime for Hitler and Germany/Winter for Poland and France"). After seeing the audience's dumbfounded disbelief, Max and Leo, confident that the play will be a flop, go to a bar across the street to celebrate and get drunk. Unbeknownst to them, the audience ends up finding L.S.D.'s beatnik -like portrayal (and constant ad-libbing) hilarious and misinterprets the production as a satire. During intermission, some members of the audience come to the bar at which Max and Leo are drinking and rave about the play, much to Max's and Leo's shared horror. The two decide to return to the theater after intermission to hear what the rest of the audience has to say, which echoes what the others already said.

Meanwhile, L.S.D.'s portrayal of Hitler enrages and humiliates Franz, who — after going behind the stage, untying the cable holding up the curtain, and rushing out on stage — confronts the audience and rants about the treatment of his beloved play. However, someone behind the curtain manages to knock him out and remove him from the stage, and the audience assumes that Franz's rant was part of the act. Springtime For Hitler is declared a smash hit, which means, of course, that the investors will be expecting a larger financial return than can be paid out. Bialystock is frustrated and miserable. “I was so careful,” he laments. “I picked the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast...where did I go RIGHT???” As the stunned partners turn on each other, a gun-wielding Franz confronts them, accusing them of breaking the "Siegfried Oath". After failing to shoot Max and Leo, Franz tries to shoot himself, but runs out of bullets. Leo comforts Franz, while Max tries to convince Franz to kill the actors, but Leo intervenes.

After a reconciliation, the three band together and decide to blow up the theater to end the production, but they are injured, arrested, tried, and found "incredibly guilty" by the jury. Before sentencing, Leo makes an impassioned statement praising Max for changing his life and being his friend (while also referring to him as "the most selfish man I have ever met in my life"), and Max tells the judge that they have learned their lesson. Max, Leo, and Franz are sent to the state penitentiary. There they produce a new play called Prisoners of Love...a show which proves to be even worse than Springtime For Hitler (mostly because, this time, Leo and Max are actually striving to make a good play instead of a bad one). While Max and Franz earnestly supervise rehearsals, Leo continues their old scam - overselling shares of the play to their fellow prisoners, and even to the warden. The song "Prisoners of Love" plays while the credits roll.

Cast William Hickey – Drunk in the bar Mel Brooks – Singer in "Springtime for Hitler" (cameo) Production “ I was never crazy about Hitler...If you stand on a soapbox and trade rhetoric with a dictator you never win...That's what they do so well: they seduce people. But if you ridicule them, bring them down with laughter, they can't win. You show how crazy they are. ” — Mel Brooks, in an August 2001 interview [8] Writing and development The title Springtime for Hitler was first coined by Brooks as a joke during the press conference for All American in 1962. Shortly afterwards, he also decided to relate this title to a character named Leo Bloom, an homage to Leopold Bloom , protagonist of James Joyce 's Ulysses .

[9] It was reused by him years later once he had an idea about "two schnooks on Broadway who set out to produce a flop and swindle the backers." [10] The inspiration was some people Brooks met during his early show business days: Benjamin Kutcher, a New York producer who financed his plays by sleeping with elderly women, became the basis for Max Bialystock, [11] and the scheme had origins in two theater producers who had a lavish lifestyle while making various unsuccessful plays. When imagining what play "would have people packing up and leaving the theatre even before the first act is over," Brooks decided to combine Adolf Hitler and a musical. [4] Brooks first envisioned his story as a novel, and changed it to a play when he realized it had "too much dialogue, not enough story." [12] He wrote the script in nine months, with the help of secretary Alfa-Betty Olsen.

[10] During the process, he mentioned in an October 1966 interview with Playboy that he was working on Springtime for Hitler, "a play within a play, or a play within a film – I haven’t decided yet." [13] Then, it evolved into a screenplay to take advantage of various settings, as “it could go places, it wouldn’t have to stay in the office.” [9] As Brooks sought backers for his 30-page film treatment , both major film studios and independent filmmakers rejected Springtime for Hitler, finding the idea of using Hitler for comedy outrageous and tasteless. [9] This changed as Brooks's agent arranged him to have a meeting with a friend of his, New York producer Sidney Glazier . Glazier laughed so much at Brooks' performance of the script, he accepted the project by saying, “We’re gonna make it! I don’t know how, but we’re gonna make this movie!” [14] Glazier budgeted the film at $1 million, and sought financers.

Half the money was gotten through philanthropist Louis Wolfson, who liked the idea of laughing at a dictator, [4] and the remainder, along with the distribution, was arranged by Joseph E. Levine of Embassy Pictures . Levine's only condition was to change the title, as he felt many distributors would not carry a picture named Springtime for Hitler. [14] Brooks renamed it The Producers, considering it ironic as "these guys are anything but producers." [12] As Brooks "couldn't think of anybody to direct it," eventually he decided to take the task for himself, even though he himself had only directed one play before. [10] While Levine was insecure in having an inexperienced director, Brooks convinced him by saying it would be cost-effective, and he knew how to do physical comedy after being a stage manager in Your Show of Shows . [12] [14] Casting Brooks wanted Samuel “Zero” Mostel as Max Bialystock, feeling he was an energetic actor who could convey such an egotistical character. [12] Glazier sent the script to Mostel's lawyer, but the attorney hated it and never showed it to the actor.

Eventually, Brooks had to send the script through Mostel's wife Kathryn Harkin. While Mostel did not like the prospect of playing “a Jewish producer going to bed with old women on the brink of the grave,” his wife liked the script so much, she eventually convinced him to accept the role. [9] [14] In contrast against the sad-sack approach Nathan Lane took to the character years later, Mostel allowed all his pent-up hostilies towards all the sources of his professional disappointments to spill over into his performance as Bialystock, making his a bitter, hate-filled, and often angry interpretation. Gene Wilder met Brooks in 1963, as he performed with his then-girlfriend Anne Bancroft in a stage adaptation of Mother Courage . Wilder complained that the audience was laughing at his serious performance, and Brooks replied that Wilder was "a natural comic, you look like Harpo Marx ," and said he would cast him as Leo Bloom once he finished the then-titled Springtime for Hitler. [14] When production arrived, Peter Sellers accepted an invitation to play Leo Bloom, but he never contacted again, so Brooks remembered Wilder, who was about to make his film debut in Bonnie and Clyde .

[12] Wilder received the script to The Producers as Brooks visited him backstage during a performance of Luv , and his co-star Renée Taylor was brought for a brief appearance as Eva Braun. [9] Dustin Hoffman was originally cast as Liebkind. According to Brooks, late on the night before shooting began, Hoffman begged Brooks to let him out of his commitment to do the role so he could audition for the starring role in The Graduate . Brooks was aware of the film, which co-starred Brooks's now-wife, Anne Bancroft, and, skeptical that Hoffman would get the role, agreed to let him audition. When Hoffman did win the role of Ben Braddock, Brooks called in Kenneth Mars as Liebkind. [12] Mars was originally invited because Brooks envisioned him as Roger De Bris, given he played a gay psychiatrist on Broadway. Instead, Mars was interested in Liebkind's role, which was his film debut and had him remain on the role while not filming as method acting . [9] De Bris was instead portrayed by Christopher Hewett , the first actor who read for the role.

[12] Once recent American Academy of Dramatic Arts graduate Lee Meredith was invited to audition, she was given the condition of knowing a Swedish accent. She borrowed a book from the AADA library to learn the accent, and won the role of Ulla with the screen test featuring the scene of her dancing. Bancroft suggested her friend Andréas Voutsinas for the role of Carmen Ghia, feeling his thick Greek accent would fit. Brooks thought of Dick Shawn to play Lorenzo “L.S.D.” Saint DuBois, and the actor accepted for both liking the part and having no work. Bill Macy , the husband in the TV series Maude , was brought for a cameo as a jury foreman. [12] Writer-director Mel Brooks is heard briefly in the film, his voice dubbed over a dancer singing, "Don't be stupid, be a smarty/Come and join the Nazi Party," in the song "Springtime For Hitler". His version of the line is also dubbed into each performance of the musical, as well as the 2005 movie version. Filming Principal photography for The Producers began on May 22, 1967.

Filming had to be done in 40 days on a $941,000 budget, and Brooks managed to fit both requests. [4] The primary location was the Chelsea Studios in New York City , where the musical version (2005) was also shot. [15] The now-demolished Playhouse Theatre hosted the Springtime for Hitler play, and various actors who heard the film was seeking an actor for Hitler were cast in the musical number. The crew tried to film on location whenever possible, filming on such midtown Manhattan locales as Central Park , the Empire State Building , and Lincoln Center . [9] Brooks's lack of knowledge of filmmaking had him committing many mistakes during production, requiring the help of assistant director Michael Hertzberg. [10] Being both inexperienced and insecure, Brooks started to have tantrums and behave angrily. He got impatient with the slow development compared to how quick television production was, temporarily banned Glazier from the set, berated a visiting reporter from The New York Times , and had clashes with cinematographer John Coffey and main actor Zero Mostel.

[9] Mostel also had a troublesome behavior caused by a recent leg injury received in a bus accident, which made his contract feature a clause dismissing Mostel from any work after 5:30 pm. Given the fact that the leg injury got worse in humid weather, [12] the last scene at the Lincoln Center's fountain had Mostel throwing a fit and giving up on production. Glazier had to leave a dentist's appointment and rush to the set where Mostel and Brooks were arguing, and once the producer managed to calm them down, the resulting scene had to be shot all night long. [9] Despite being described as a lavish production number, "Springtime for Hitler" was not ready until the first rehearsals. Brooks sat with Olsen and first-time composer John Morris at the piano, and improvised some lyrics. Morris then developed the stage performance with choreographer Alan Johnson, instructed to do the number "big, wonderful, flashy, but terrible." As Brooks kept suggesting bizarre costume ideas to enhance the burlesque nature of "Springtime for Hitler," such as women with clothes inspired by beer mugs and pretzels, Johnson decided to showcase them all in a parade.

Few scenes had to be altered from the original script. Leo and Max would visit the Parachute Jump in Coney Island , but the attraction was closed by the time filming began. Brooks filmed Liebkind making Max and Leo swear the Siegfried Oath, where they promised fealty to Siegfried , accompanied by The Ride of the Valkyries and wearing horned helmets . But feeling that it "went overboard," Brooks cut the scene, which was restored in the stage adaptation. [12] The art direction and costumes emphasized the color yellow, which Brooks considered a funny color. For the posters in Bialystock's office, production designer Charles Rosen found a collector in the Theater District and doctored a few posters to include the character's name. Rosen also incorporated an anecdote of his life, as he had to share a small elevator with a flamboyant Broadway director, to design the lift at Roger De Bris's house. [12] Post-production extended for months, as Brooks had gotten final cut privilege , but still had complaints with Ralph Rosenblum regarding his editing.

Release According to Brooks, after the film was completed, Embassy executives refused to release it as being in "bad taste." The film's premiere in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , on November 22, 1967, [1] was a disaster and the studio considered shelving it. However, Peter Sellers saw the film privately and placed an advertisement in Variety in support of the film's wider release. [12] [16] Sellers was familiar with the film because, according to Brooks, Sellers "had accepted the role of Bloom and then was never heard from again." [12] [16] The film allegedly was "banned in Germany." [17] Following the film's lackluster response in the UK, German distributors did decline to distribute it,[ citation needed ] but their lack of interest did not constitute a ban.

In Sweden, however, the title literally translates as "Springtime for Hitler." As a result of its success, all but two of Mel Brooks movies in Swedish have been given similar titles: "Springtime for Mother-In-Law" ( The Twelve Chairs ); "Springtime for the Sheriff" ( Blazing Saddles ); "Springtime for Frankenstein" ( Young Frankenstein ); "Springtime for the Silent Movies" ( Silent Movie ); "Springtime for the Lunatics" ( High Anxiety ); "Springtime for World History" ( History of the World, Part I ); "Springtime for Space" ( Spaceballs ); and "Springtime for the Slum" ( Life Stinks ). [18] Reception When it was first released, the film received a mixed response and garnered some exceptionally harsh reviews, while others considered it a great success. One of the mixed reviews came from Renata Adler , who, writing for The New York Times , stated: "The Producers, which opened yesterday at the Fine Arts Theater, is a violently mixed bag.

Some of it is shoddy and gross and cruel; the rest is funny in an entirely unexpected way." About the acting, she writes that Mostel is "overacting grotesquely under the direction of Mel Brooks" and that, in the role of Max Bialystock, he is "as gross and unfunny as only an enormous comedian bearing down too hard on some frail, tasteless routines can be." Co-star Wilder fares better and is called "wonderful," thanks to doing "fine," despite being "forced to be as loud and as fast as Mostel" and "[g]oing through long, infinitely variegated riffs and arpeggios of neuroticism," and playing his part "as though he were Dustin Hoffman being played by Danny Kaye ." She also puts the movie into the bigger context of "contemporary" comedy and that it has the same "episodic, revue quality" in the way it is "not building laughter, but stringing it together skit after skit, some vile, some boffo." Her early conclusion, at the end of the first paragraph, is also a comparison to other comedic movies of the time, it reads: "[The Producers] is less

 delicate than Lenny Bruce , less funny than Dr.

Strangelove ,, but much funnier than The Loved One or What's New Pussycat? " [3] The more critical and negative reviews partly targeted the directorial style and broad ethnic humor, [19] but also commonly noted the bad taste and insensitivity of devising a broad comedy about two Jews conspiring to cheat theatrical investors by devising a designed-to-fail tasteless Broadway musical about Hitler only 23 years after the end of World War II . [20] Among the most harsh critics were Stanley Kauffmann in The New Republic , who wrote that "the film bloats into sogginess" and Pauline Kael who called it "amateurishly crude" in The New Yorker . On the other hand, others considered the film to be a great success.

Time magazine's reviewers wrote that the film was "hilariously funny" but pointed out that "the film is burdened with the kind of plot that demands resolution" but unfortunately "ends in a whimper of sentimentality." Although they labelled it "disjointed and inconsistent", [21] they also praised it as "a wildly funny joy ride", [22] and concluded by saying that "despite its bad moments, [it] is some of the funniest American cinema comedy in years." [23] The film industry trade paper Variety wrote, "The film is unmatched in the scenes featuring Mostel and Wilder alone together, and several episodes with other actors are truly rare." [24] Over the years, the film has gained in stature, garnering a 91% "Certified Fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes . On Metacritic , the film holds an extremely high rating of 97, making it one of the highest-rated films on the site, as well as the second-highest-rated comedy (behind The Wizard of Oz).

In his review decades later, Roger Ebert claimed, "this is one of the funniest movies ever made." [25] [26] Ebert wrote, "I remember finding myself in an elevator with Brooks and his wife, actress Anne Bancroft, in New York City a few months after The Producers was released. A woman got onto the elevator, recognized him and said, 'I have to tell you, Mr. Brooks, that your movie is vulgar.' Brooks smiled benevolently. 'Lady,' he said, 'it rose below vulgarity.'" Awards and honors In 1969, The Producers won a Writers Guild of America, East Best Original Screenplay award. In 1996, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry .

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: 2007: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated [31] Re-releases and adaptations In 2002, The Producers was re-released in three theaters by Rialto Pictures and earned $111,866 [32] [33] at the box office. As of 2007, the film continues to be distributed to art-film and repertory cinemas by Rialto.[ citation needed ] Brooks has adapted the story twice more, as a Broadway musical ( The Producers , 2001) and a film based on the musical ( The Producers , 2005). He did not direct this last version. This film has spawned several home media releases on VHS, Laserdisc, CED, and VCD from companies such as Magnetic Video, RCA, Polygram Video, Speedy, and Lumiere Video. A 1997 letterbox edition Laserdisc was released by Polygram Video, which served as the basis for the extremely rare 1998 Polygram DVD release.

MGM (which owns most U.S rights to the Embassy Pictures library on behalf of StudioCanal) released The Producers (1968) on DVD (R1) in 2002 and 2005 (to coincide with the remake released that year). In 2011, MGM licensed the title to Shout! Factory to release a DVD and Blu-ray combo pack with new HD transfers and bonus materials. StudioCanal (worldwide rights holder to all of the Embassy Pictures library) released several R2 DVD editions and Blu-ray B releases using a transfer slightly different from the North American DVD and BDs. Influences Max Bialystock is named after the city of Białystok , Poland . A bialystoker is a roll similar to a bagel. The character was inspired by Max Liebman, the producer/director of Your Show of Shows , on which Brooks was a writer. Leo Bloom is named for the protagonist of James Joyce 's classic novel Ulysses , Leopold Bloom . Leo meets Max on June 16 ( Bloomsday ), the date on which Ulysses takes place.

Bialystock at one point calls Leo "Prince Myshkin," the titular protagonist in Dostoevsky 's novel The Idiot . In the search for "the worst play ever.", Max reads aloud from one of the rejected manuscripts. It is the opening sentence of Kafka 's The Metamorphosis , where Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed into a giant verminous bug, and Bialystock dismisses it as "too good." Roger De Bris (pronounced "debris") is named for the Yiddish term for circumcision . [34] Carmen Ghia is named after the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia , [12] a popular car in production in 1968. The "singing Hitlers" at their audition sing a number of pieces. Mentioned or performed are Lilac Time , " A Wand'ring Minstrel I ," " Beautiful Dreamer ," and " Largo al factotum " ("della ... città" being all that is heard). Siegfried from the Siegfried Oath is the main character in the opera The Ring of the Nibelung by Richard Wagner .

In popular culture Peter Sellers appeared on Michael Parkinson 's BBC1 chat show Parkinson in a Nazi helmet reciting the entire "Hitler was a better painter than Churchill" speech. (Parkinson BBC1 09/11/74 & BBC Audiobooks (February 5, 1996)) An episode of the TV series Remington Steele , "Springtime for Steele", has two men trying to pull the same scam by promoting a tour of an untalented singer after selling the rights for major profit. Like in the movie, though, the scam is undone when the tour is a sellout. Keeping with a running theme in the series, Steele cites the movie as inspiration for the scheme. An episode of the cartoon series Goof Troop , "Pete's Day at the Races", has Pete pulling a scam by overselling stock in a racing horse; unfortunately for Pete, his horse wins. The title of the U2 album Achtung Baby comes from a line in the movie. [35] Season four of Curb Your Enthusiasm revolves around The Producers. Larry David is hired by Mel Brooks as a surefire way of ruining the play and ending its run.

Instead, reflecting the actual plotline of the play, David turns it into a huge success. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower , this is Patrick's favorite movie. George Harrison 's 1974 album Dark Horse has a photograph in the gatefold sleeve of Harrison and Peter Sellers walking through the Friar Park estate, a speech balloon saying "Well Leo, what say we promenade through the park?", a quote from the film, a favorite of both Sellers and Harrison. Radio talk show host Stephanie Miller frequently refers to the hope that Attorney Lisa Bloom , a frequent guest of her radio show, will add an attorney with the last name of Bialystock as a partner to her law firm, which would then be known as "Bialystock and Bloom." In Series 1, Episode 19 of House, M.D. , Wilson quotes the infamous line "That's our Hitler!" after a seemingly successful interview between Dr. House and a candidate for a former colleague's replacement. See also The Producers (1967) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This!

Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Producers Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom make money by producing a sure-fire flop. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence. a list of 45 titles created 24 Oct 2013 a list of 30 titles created 24 Apr 2015 a list of 35 images created 24 Jun 2015 a list of 31 titles created 08 Nov 2015 a list of 28 titles created 1 week ago Search for " The Producers " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

See more awards » Videos In order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary. Director: Mel Brooks An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that he is not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body. Director: Mel Brooks After putting together another Broadway flop, down-on-his-luck producer Max Bialystock teams up with timid accountant Leo Bloom in a get-rich-quick scheme to put on the world's worst show. Director: Susan Stroman Mel Brooks' parody of Alfred Hitchcock films. Director: Mel Brooks A film director and his strange friends struggle to produce the first major silent feature film in forty years. Director: Mel Brooks Mel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes. Director: Mel Brooks Planet Spaceballs' President Skroob sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal planet Druidia's abundant supply of air to replenish their own, and only Lone Starr can stop them.

Director: Mel Brooks On a long-distance train trip, a man finds romance but also finds himself in danger of being killed, or at least pushed off the train. Director: Arthur Hiller Set up and wrongfully accused, two best friends will be sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit, however, no prison cell can keep them locked in. Director: Sidney Poitier In 1920s Soviet Russia, a fallen aristocrat, a priest and a con artist search for a treasure of jewels hidden inside one of twelve dining chairs, lost during the revolution. Director: Mel Brooks The younger brother of the consulting detective tries to steal Sherlock's glory by solving an important case assisted by an eccentric Scotland Yard detective and a lovely but suspicious actress. Director: Gene Wilder A spoof of Robin Hood in general and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) in particular. Director: Mel Brooks Edit Storyline Down-on-his-luck theatrical producer Max Bialystock is forced to romance rich old ladies to finance his efforts. When timid accountant Leo Bloom reviews Max's accounting books, the two hit upon a way to make a fortune by producing a sure-fire flop. The play which is to be their gold mine?

"Springtime for Hitler." Written by Scott Renshaw <as.idc@forsythe.stanford.edu> Hollywood Never Faced a Zanier Zero Hour! See more » Genres: 10 November 1968 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Mel Brooks' The Producers See more » Filming Locations: $6,091 (USA) (7 June 2002) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia Composer John Morris was given the daunting task of creating the showcase musical number "Springtime for Hitler." Mel Brooks directed him to create the biggest, flashiest, tackiest, most terrible number he could think of. "Every time we hit a level," said Morris, "we'd have to go broader, bigger, and that was the fun of it." See more » Goofs When Max and Leo are trying to talk Roger De Bris into directing "Spring Time for Hitler," Roger's personal assistant, Carmen Ghia places a wig on Roger's head to complete his costume for the choreographer's ball. As the scene cuts back and forth from wide shots to close ups of Roger while he is speaking, the bangs of his wig alternate between being off and on his forehead.

See more » Quotes Max Bialystock : You're an accountant! You're in a noble profession! The word "count" is part of your title! "The Fuhrer is causing a furor!" 31 March 2009 | by moonspinner55 (las vegas, nv) – See all my reviews Broadway theatre producer, down-on-his-luck with a string of losers behind him, takes the joshing advice from his accountant to stage a sure-fire musical flop and sell off the interest in it, thereby leaving him a millionaire when the show closes after one night. Low-voltage hysteria from Oscar-winning screenwriter Mel Brooks, who also makes his debut as director. The timing is off, the scenes ramble without punch, the sets and art direction are appalling, and the opening scenes with Zero Mostel wooing different elderly women for show-money are disastrous. Oscar-nominated Gene Wilder has a very funny early scene freaking out in Mostel's office, and the auditions for their lopsided extravaganza are amusing. However, aside from the musical number "Springtime For Hitler", Brooks never quite gets the lead out.

His pacing drags, and he's surely not helped by the flagging editing and overacting from just about everyone (Dick Shawn and Kenneth Mars are the worst culprits). Even though this is early-era Brooks, one is automatically inclined to cut him a wide berth for both his customary belly laughs and groaners--unfortunately, much of "The Producers" is lined with groaners, particularly in the third act after the show has opened. Later transformed into a Broadway musical and a 2005 film-adaptation of that show. ** from **** 8 of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes

Question: Who directed the 1968 film 'The Producers'?
Answer: MEL BROOKES