This is a movie with a scene that happens today – September 6. I hope you will enjoy this film while watching it tonight.
THE PRODUCERS(1968)
Max Bialystock is a Broadway producer who has fallen on hard times, being reduced to seducing little old ladies so they will invest in his productions. Nerdish accountant Leo Bloom arrives to do his books and discovers that Max raised two thousand more on his last play than he needed, which is fraud. Max persuades Leo to cover this up. Leo has an idea that if someone raised much more than he needed for a play that flopped, the producer could keep all the extra cash. Max immediately decides to put this plan into action with Leo as his partner. After reading many, many terrible scripts, the two settle on Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden. They persuade the insane ex-Nazi author Franz Liebkind to sell them the rights to the script. Max sells 25, 000% of the play to his little old ladies and hires an attractive Swedish receptionist who can’t speak English. They hire the cross-dressing Roger DeBris as the director. On September 6, 1967 [49:53 to 57:14] auditions are held for Springtime for Hitler. Lorenzo St. DuBois, a hippie who wandered in by accident is signed on to play Hitler. The show seems doomed to fail, but the audience takes the play as a satire and it is a big hit. Liedkind tries to kill Max and Leo, angry how they presented his story. Eventually he helps them try to blow up the theater in order to stop the show. The are caught, tried, convicted and sent to prison where they oversell the musical they produce with the prisoners called Prisoners of Love.
A hilarious old time comedy. That is the film is funny because of the dialogue, not because of overuse of sexual innuendo or gross out sight gags. Still a very funny movie.
Date given in Variety at 49:47 -50
Producer - Sidney Glazier
Director - Mel Brooks
Screenplay - Mel Brooks
Awards – The film won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. The movie was also nominated for the Best Supporting Actor(Wilder) at the 41st Academy Awards.
Runtime – 1 hour 28 minutes
Released - March 18, 1968
Starring –
Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock
Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom
Dick Shawn as Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.)
Kenneth Mars as Franz Liebkind
Lee Meredith as Ulla
Estelle Winwood as "Hold Me! Touch Me!"
Christopher Hewett as Roger De Bris
Andreas Voutsinas as Carmen Ghia
Renée Taylor as the actor playing Eva Braun
Barney Martin as the actor playing Hermann Göring
Bill Macy as the foreman of the jury
William Hickey as the drunk in the bar
Madelyn Cates as apartment building concierge
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