Editing The Producers (1967 film) (section)

=== 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.<ref name=guardian /> The primary location was the [[Chelsea Studios]] in New York City, where the musical version (2005) was also shot.<ref>{{cite book| chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wDpSaPkSt-8C&pg=PA231 |chapter=Union Square/Gramercy Park/Chelsea |page=231 |title= New York: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York| first= Richard |last=Alleman | year= 2005 |publisher= Broadway Books | isbn= 9780767916349 |location=New York}}</ref> The now-demolished [[Playhouse Theatre (New York City)|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 at such midtown Manhattan locales as [[Central Park]], the [[Empire State Building]], and [[Lincoln Center]].<ref name=vf />

Brooks's lack of knowledge of filmmaking had him committing many mistakes during production, requiring the help of assistant director [[Michael Hertzberg]].<ref name=pb75 /> 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 Joseph Coffey and main actor Zero Mostel.<ref name=vf /> Mostel also had a troublesome behavior caused by a leg injury received in a 1960 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,<ref name=makingof /> the last scene, filmed at the [[Revson Fountain]] in Lincoln Center, 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.<ref name=vf />

Despite being described as a lavish production number, "[[Springtime for Hitler (song)|Springtime for Hitler]]" was not ready until the first rehearsals. Brooks sat with Olsen and first-time composer [[John Morris (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 were to 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 (opera)|Siegfried]]'', accompanied by ''[[The Ride of the Valkyries]]'' and wearing [[horned helmet]]s. But feeling that it "went overboard", Brooks cut the scene, which was restored in the stage adaptation.<ref name="makingof" />

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, Manhattan|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.<ref name=makingof /> Principal photography ended on July 15, 1967. Post-production extended for months, as Brooks had gotten [[final cut privilege]], but still had complaints with [[Ralph Rosenblum]] regarding his editing.