HOLLYWOOD NEVER FACED A ZANIER ZERO HOUR!

I had not seen this movie, Mel Brooks’s first, for a very long time and was somewhat surprised to discover just how funny it is – and original. Who else would come up with a story as clever and insane as this? Perhaps Brooks found inspiration in his own experiences from working on a Broadway musical flop, “All American”, in 1962.

This film was also derided by many highbrow critics at the time of its release, but it did win Brooks an Oscar and has become a much-loved classic.

Wooing old women
Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), an accountant, arrives at the office of Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), an unscrupulous stage producer who’s in big trouble. The only way for him now to earn a living is wooing old women, treat them like sexual objects and collect paychecks for whatever project he tells them will be a certain hit. Leo discovers that Max has cooked the books a little bit, but agrees to hide the $2,000 he’s stolen somewhere in the accounts. He jokingly tells Max that someone could actually make a lot of money on a flop by finding a play that is so awful that it is certain to bomb on stage, then oversell shares to a group of financiers. Once the play flops, the producers will have a lot of money left and no one will bother to audit the books because of the failure. Leo is shocked when Max becomes excited and offers him to participate in the scam.

After some persuasion, Leo agrees to abandon his dull life as an accountant and join Max. Eventually they find a suitable play, “Springtime for Hitler”, a jolly musical about the Fuehrer, written by a crazed Nazi, Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), who lives in New York. After sharing a few schnapps with the duo, the writer agrees to let them put on his glorious tribute to Adolf Hitler. Then Max gets busy charming every ditzy old lady he can find. It looks like the boys will get away with it, but their choice to play Hitler could backfire in an unexpected way…

Very disciplined film
One could go on and on about the steady stream of jokes and the freshness of the script, but Brooks shows great talent as a director as well. The film is very disciplined, hilarious from the first to the last frame, without any unnecessary shots. It became sort of a blueprint for his future endeavors, with the extravagant, glorious silliness (on display not least in the magnificent “Springtime for Hitler” production number) and his constant, intelligent efforts to make racism and totalitarian ideologies look as silly as possible without resorting to simple anger. There is a boldness in this project that is one major reason why it is still highly memorable.

The cast’s great enthusiasm and joy also helps make the film special. Mostel delivered possibly his finest performance as the inspiring but unabashedly corrupt Bialystock; there isn’t a scene with him that won’t make you at the very least smile. Wilder is terrific in his second movie as the hysterical, bland man who decides crime is the way for him to achieve greatness; this became his breakthrough. Mars is also a lot of fun as the sentimental Nazi who always wears his helmet from the war; Lee Meredith made her most memorable effort as the blond, Swedish secretary whose principal duty is to dance for Max.

It is easy sometimes to forget that Brooks also knows how to write songs that stick in your mind. “Springtime for Hitler” is what you will be humming after viewing the film. If you also chose to put on an SS uniform and do a little tap dance, Brooks would know you got the point of it all. 

The Producers 1968-U.S. 88 min. Color. Produced by Sidney Glazier. Screenplay, direction and songs: Mel Brooks. Cast: Zero Mostel (Max Bialystock), Gene Wilder (Leo Bloom), Kenneth Mars (Franz Liebkind), Dick Shawn, Lee Meredith, Christopher Hewett.

Trivia: The “Springtime for Hitler” number got the film banned in Germany. Dustin Hoffman was reportedly considered for the part of Liebkind. Brooks subsequently turned this movie into a stage musical, which was filmed as The Producers in 2005.

Oscar: Best Original Screenplay.

Quote: “We find the defendants incredibly guilty.” (The jury delivers a verdict against Wilder and Mostel)

Last word: “I only had eight weeks to get it all in the can, including a big production number, ‘Springtime for Hitler’. I was lucky to have John Morris as my composer. He’d never done a score before. I said, ‘Look, I’ve written a beautiful song called ‘Springtime for Hitler’. Forget the lyrics. If you sing the lyrics, it’s crazy, but if you just stay with the tune, it’s a very beautiful song, all you’ve got to do is play variations on that. When we have a sad scene, play it sad. When we have a happy scene, play it happy.’ He said, ‘Well, that’s a good start!'” (Brooks, The Guardian)

IMDb