While a lot of people still acknowledge The Producers as a fantastic comedy, and it has since been developed into a stage musical that was also then adapted into another film version, I can't help but feel that it's also slightly forgotten nowadays. When people think of writer-director Mel Brooks they tend to think of Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein (both equally brilliant, in different ways). Maybe even Spaceballs (not quite so brilliant, but full of fun). But if ever we needed a comedy that made Nazis ridiculous, and underlined that ridiculousness in a big musical number, then I think the time is now.
Zero Mostel plays Max Bialystock, a producer of stage plays who has to spend his days getting funding from little old ladies he allows to treat him like a young loverboy. It's a bit embarrassing, and he knows that his life isn't going the way he wants it to. Things look as if they're about to get worse when his accounts are audited by the nervy Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder). Seeing how unsuccessful Bialystock is, Bloom soon figured out that, with a bit of creative accounting, a flop play could make some people very rich. You just get much more investment than necessary, and then keep all of the "profit". The two men then seek out the worst play they can get their hands on, which they find in the absolutely awful "Springtime For Hitler". Written by Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), a German upset at how the last World War ended, it's a joyous celebration of the Third Reich, the mission to assemble the master race, and Adolf Hitler. (who ends up played by a free-love hippy dippy beatnik named Lorenzo St. DuBois AKA L.S.D.)
I am going to make a general assumption here, and I am willing to be proven wrong. But I don't think I am. Most people think of The Producers and think of the third act. That's where you get the most outrageous moments, some of the biggest laughs, and that aforementioned musical number. It's a strong finale, and arguably one of the best examples of film comedy that is equally smart and silly. There are so many other highlights throughout the film though, from the antics of Mostel and his various investors, the panic attacks performed by Wilder, and one of my favourite quotes delivered by Mars about the painting talent of Hitler. I could go on and on (Lee Meredith as Ulla, almost every line delivered by Mostel), but I fear I would then fall into the trap of simply repeating every gag uttered in the film.
Although layering silliness upon silliness, Brooks always knows exactly what targets he is aiming at, and, whether it's the preciousness and precociousness of artistes or the fetishism of Nazi regalia, he hits every time with superb accuracy, helped by his usual excellent casting.
While I prefer Wilder to Mostel when thinking about a comedic leading man, there's no denying that they both complement one another perfectly here, with Mostel bringing a bone-deep weariness to the role that only starts to fade away when things look as if they might actually work. Wilder has the moments of manic energy, but his nerves help to remind viewers of just how much is at stake as the leads stage what they consider the most sure-fire flop of all time. Mars is very funny as Liebkind, and quite rightly mocked by others for his strange attempts to hang on to a past as it never was, and Dick Shawn is a delight as the cool cat, L. S. D. Meredith makes a hell of an impression in her few minutes onscreen, Christopher Hewett and Andréas Voutsinas are both excellent, and all of the older ladies who ultimately provide the funding for "Springtime For Hitler" are quite hilarious.
Very rewatchable, and I was tempted to give it another viewing immediately when I rewatched it this time, The Producers is absolutely on par with the other classics from Brooks. Some may view it as tasteless, but that tastelessness is part of the point. And I'd rather see people risk being offended by this, while laughing hard, than see people not being offended by public figures who, for example, think it's perfectly fine in this day and age to end their speeches with Nazi salutes.
9/10
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