Les Producteurs

When you see a movie once and think it's hilarious, that's a good sign. When you see a movie about a half-dozen times and think it's still hilarious, that's more than a good sign. That means that not only can you put up with seeing it multiple times, but you also find new things that you didn't see before. Plus, there are some scenes that are too hilarious not to laugh at! The chemistry between stars doesn't hurt, either. What movie am I talking about? Mel Brooks' The Producers, his most sustained and inspired piece of lunacy!

Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel have amazing chemistry as meek accountant Leo Bloom and scheming Broadway producer Max Bialystock. Max seduces little old ladies for checks, and when Leo comes into his office one day, he finds that a producer can make more money with a flop instead of a hit. They decide to do his ploy, and create the world's worst play, Springtime for Hitler (a gay romp with Adolf and Eva), and meet interesting characters, including author Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), director Roger DeBris (Christopher Hewett), and their Hitler, Lorenzo St.DuBois, aka L.S.D. (Dick Shawn).

What makes this comedy such a gem is its mixture of types of comedy. There is slapstick, there's satire, there's bad taste, and everything but the kitchen sink! The scenes I have seen so many times, but what makes me love them is how they, mainly Wilder, play their roles. Wilder is somewhat crazy, and relies on his blanket to calm himself down. Not only does he have comic perfection, he's a darned good actor to boot! Mostel is great as the would-be sleazy loser-producer, with eye movements that put Silent Bob to shame and a great voice.

The songs in it are great, also. Two of them were written by Brooks himself, `Springtime for Hitler' (with which I have auditioned for a role in a musical with) and `Prisoners of Love'. They're both very funny (real Brooks-ian) (note to Merriam-Webster: include that word right next to `bling-bling'). It's not exactly a musical, but The Producers is in a class of its own. Long live The Producers!

My rating: 9/10

Rated PG for bad taste and homosexual themes.

Mel brooks' first attempt at directing is this film " The Producers, " originally entitled "Spring Time For Hitler." It's the story of down and out producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), once known as the 'King of Broadway' who can't believe his incredible streak of bad luck. Once when the Moon of his Fortune rode high, he had Six shows running at once. However now-a-days he's so poor, he wears a Cardboard belt. Into his life arrives a timid little man named Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder). As an accountant, he makes a startling discovery. In his last play Max, raised more money to produce his show than he needed. As a result, Leo speculates Max could make more money with a flop, than with a hit. Max demands to know how and a crooked scheme develops. Max decides to find the worse play ever written. He will then hire the worse, director, the worse actors and then raise a $1,000.000 for a flop of a play which is sure to close the first night, allowing Max to keep all the rest of the money. This then is the plot and with Bloom becoming his partner, the pair plans on keeping the fortune. The movie which also casts Dick Shawn as 'L.S.D.' or Lorenzo St. DuBois, Kenneth Mars as Franz Liebkind, Christopher Hewett and Roger De Bris all combine to create a wonderful masterpiece of hysterical madcap comedy. It is with little wonder this film began as an unwanted idea and ended up becoming the surprise hit of the decade. A milestone for Mel Brooks, but a Classic for any audience. ****

This is a classic film with wonderful performances all around (although I didn't take to Dick Shawn's as much as the others). Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder were perfect casting as was Christopher Hewitt (later to be known as TV's "Mr. Belvedere"). What's even more impressive are the various elements of truth that are beneath the histerical if not obsurbed storyline. The current Broadway hit doesn't compete with this film. The performances are good on stage but not as wonderful as here. Due to long term business problems this film wasn't released for home video and cable until much later then it should have been. Outright broad comedy and silliness belong in our daily lives and this film offers them very well. EVERYONE should see this film!

This is a marvellous piece - a combination of utter farce, black humour, Jewish schtick and high camp, "The Producers" remains a truly wonderful film.

From the opening sequences, where Theatre agent Max is a despairing old fool trying to avoid tax, through the "little old lady seduction" scenes, to the gorgeous rooftop scene where a mad German pigeon fancier tries to remain within the bounds of sanity and fails, via the meeting with "top" Hollywood director Roger" we're not alone" de Bris, the film traces the hapless and eponymous producers who devise a foolproof scheme to make money out of a flop. They employ a Nazi writer to script the musical "Springtime for Hitler", which is guaranteed to be a flopperoony. Of course, they manage to totally miss the mood of the day and the projected flop is a huge hit - whereupon they have to pay back the 16,000 percent of the cost that they acquired....

Wild, manic, joyous and deeply perceptive, this is Mel Brooks at his finest - Jewish gags abound, but never alienate, accountants get the mickey taken (cheers all round!) and the final production - well, if you haven't seen this film, where have you been living? One of the greats.

There are so many laughs in THE PRODUCERS (long before Mel Brooks lost his magic touch), that you'll be in tears by the time Brooks gets to his "Springtime for Hitler" routine. ZERO MOSTEL's early scenes with ESTELLE WINWOOD are hilarious enough, but he and GENE WILDER top themselves by the time you get to the frantic ending.

LEE MEREDITH is the curvy Ulla who can shake a mean hip and DICK SHAWN is the hilariously daffy Lorenzo St. DuBois (LSD for short), and everyone in the cast has a fine time delivering over-the-top performances in the spirit in which this sort of satire requires.

The story is simply that of a producer running short on cash who devises a scheme whereby if he produces the worst musical in the world, he can actually get his investment back and then some. He convinces his mild-mannered bookkeeper GENE WILDER to join him in the scheme and then the fun gets off to a great start.

The climactic "Springtime for Hitler" is just one of the delirious highlights (if politically incorrect by today's standards), and is probably the reason so many of the comments here resent the film and everything it stands for. But there's no getting away from it--the script is downright brilliant and original--winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and numerous other writing awards including an award from The Writer's Guild of America.

Summing up: Mel Brooks at his wittiest.