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{{short description|Film by Mel Brooks}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = The Producers | image = The Producers (1968).jpg | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Mel Brooks]] | producer = [[Sidney Glazier]] | writer = Mel Brooks | starring = {{plainlist| * [[Zero Mostel]] * [[Gene Wilder]] * [[Dick Shawn]] }} | music = [[John Morris (composer)|John Morris]] | cinematography = Joseph Coffey | editing = [[Ralph Rosenblum]] | distributor = [[Embassy Pictures]] | released = {{film date|1967|11|22|Pittsburgh|ref1=<ref name="tcm"/><ref name="AFI">{{cite web |title=The Producers |work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=19896 |access-date=August 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914015613/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=19896 |archive-date=September 14, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>|1968|3|18|wide release|ref2=<ref name=wided/>}} | runtime = 88 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 87:49--><ref name="tcm" /><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/producers-1970-3 | title=''The Producers'' (A) | publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=December 29, 1967 | access-date=September 18, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919073659/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/producers-1970-3 | archive-date=September 19, 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="nyt68adler" /> | country = [[United States]] | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = $941,000<ref name=guardian>{{cite web|last=Wise|first=Damon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/16/comedy.theproducers|title=The Making of ''The Producers''|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=August 16, 2008|access-date=April 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212195125/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/16/comedy.theproducers|archive-date=December 12, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> | gross = $1.6 million {{small|(Rentals)}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Rental Films of 1968|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=http://www.varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/WV-01-03-1968-25|date=January 8, 1969|page=15|access-date=July 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623221143/https://varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/WV-01-03-1968-25|archive-date=June 23, 2019|url-status=live}} Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.</ref> }} '''''The Producers''''' is a 1967 American [[satire (film and television)|satirical]] [[black comedy]] film. It was written and directed by [[Mel Brooks]], and stars [[Zero Mostel]], [[Gene Wilder]], [[Dick Shawn]], and [[Kenneth Mars]]. The film is about a mild-mannered accountant and a con artist [[theater producer]] who scheme to get rich by fraudulently overselling interests in a [[stage musical]] designed to fail. To this end, they find a playscript celebrating [[Adolf Hitler]] and the Nazis and bring it to the stage. Because of this theme, ''The Producers'' was controversial from the start<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vOeYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 | title=Hollywood and the Holocaust| isbn=9781442252240| last1=Gonshak| first1=Henry| date=October 16, 2015| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=saNvAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |title = Mel Brooks in the Cultural Industries|isbn = 9780748664504|last1 = Symons|first1 = Alex|date = August 6, 2012}}</ref> and received mixed reviews. It became a [[cult film]],<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/16/comedy.theproducers|title = Mel Brooks talks about the making of the Producers|newspaper = The Guardian|date = August 15, 2008|last1 = Wise|first1 = Damon|access-date = December 13, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161212195125/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/16/comedy.theproducers|archive-date = December 12, 2016|url-status = live}}</ref> and found a more positive critical reception later. ''The Producers'' was Brooks's directorial debut.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-tcm-fest-mel-brooks-19680308-story.html |title=Mel Brooks talks about 'The Producers' in 1968 interview |last=Champlin |first=Charles |date=March 8, 1968 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=June 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426161612/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-tcm-fest-mel-brooks-19680308-story.html |archive-date=April 26, 2018}}</ref> For the film, he won an [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]]. In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-05-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305191832/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and placed eleventh on the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] list. It was later adapted by Brooks and [[Thomas Meehan (writer)|Thomas Meehan]] as a [[The Producers (musical)|stage musical]], which itself was adapted into a [[The Producers (2005 film)|film]]. ==Plot== Max Bialystock is an aging [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] producer whose career has veered from great success to the depths of near failure. He now ekes out a hand-to-mouth existence while romancing lascivious, wealthy elderly women in exchange for money for a "next play" that may never be produced. Leopold "Leo" Bloom, a nervous young accountant prone to hysterics, arrives at Max's office to audit his accounts and discovers a $2,000 discrepancy in the accounts of Max's last play. Max persuades Leo to hide the fraud, and Leo realizes that, since a flop is expected to lose money, the [[IRS]] will not investigate its finances, so a producer could earn more from a flop than from a hit by overselling interests and [[embezzling]] the funds. Wishing to put this scheme into action and flee to [[Rio de Janeiro]] with the profits, Max convinces Leo to join him, treating him to lunch and a day out and saying that his drab life is little different to prison anyway. The partners find the ideal play for their scheme: ''[[Springtime for Hitler|Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden]]'': a "love letter to Hitler" written by deranged ex-[[Nazi]] soldier Franz Liebkind. Leo and Max bond with Franz over Schnapps and tell him they want to show the world a positive representation of Hitler. Now with the stage rights, Max sells 25,000% of the play to investors, using some of the money to redecorate the office and hire a new receptionist, Ulla. To guarantee the show's failure, they hire [[Roger De Bris]], a flamboyantly gay [[transvestite]] director, whose productions seldom make it past initial rehearsals. The part of Hitler goes to a [[hippie]] named Lorenzo Saint DuBois, also known, in a reference to the [[counterculture]] [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|drug]], as L. S. D., who wanders into the theater during the [[casting call]]. At the theater on opening night, Max tries to ensure a harshly negative review by attempting to bribe ''[[The New York Times]]'' [[theatre critic]]. The play opens with a lavish production of the title song, "[[Springtime for Hitler (song)|Springtime for Hitler]]", which celebrates [[Nazi Germany]]'s conquering Europe ("Springtime for Hitler and Germany/Winter for [[invasion of Poland|Poland]] and [[Fall Rot|France]]"). L. S. D. then comes on stage as Hitler, and his [[beatnik]]-like portrayal makes the audience think the show is a [[satire (film and television)|satire]]. To Leo and Max's horror, ''Springtime for Hitler'' is a hit, so their investors will be expecting a larger financial return than can be paid out. Back at their office, as Leo and Max are fighting after the former attempts to turn himself in to get a plea bargain, a gun-wielding Franz confronts them. He tries first to shoot them, and then himself, but runs out of bullets. The three then decide to blow up the theater to end the production, but they are caught in the explosion and arrested. At the trial, where they are found "incredibly guilty" by the jury, Leo makes an impassioned statement praising Max for being his friend and changing his life. Leo, Max, and Franz are sent to the state penitentiary and produce a new musical called ''Prisoners of Love''. While Max and Franz supervise rehearsals, Leo oversells shares of the play to their fellow prisoners and the warden. == Cast == {{See also|List of The Producers characters}} {{div col}} * [[Zero Mostel]] as Max Bialystock * [[Gene Wilder]] as Leopold "Leo" Bloom * [[Dick Shawn]] as Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.) * [[Estelle Winwood]] as "Hold Me! Touch Me!" * [[Christopher Hewett]] as Roger De Bris * [[Kenneth Mars]] as Franz Liebkind * [[Lee Meredith]] as Ulla * [[Renée Taylor]] as actress playing [[Eva Braun]] * [[Andreas Voutsinas]] as Carmen Ghia * [[William Hickey (actor)|William Hickey]] as the drunk in bar (credited as Bill Hickey) * David Patch as actor playing [[Joseph Goebbels]] * [[Barney Martin]] as actor playing [[Hermann Göring]] * Madelyn Cates as Concierge ("I'm not a madam!") * Shimen Ruskin as The Landlord * [[Frank Campanella]] as The Bartender * [[Josip Elic]] as Violinist * John Zoller as Drama Critic * Brutus Peck as Hot Dog Vendor * Arthur Rubin, Zale Kessler, Bernie Allen, Rusty Blitz and Tony Gardell as Auditioning Hitlers (uncredited) * Michael Davis as Lead Stormtrooper/Production Tenor (uncredited) * David Evans and Tucker Smith as Lead Dancers (uncredited) * [[Bill Macy]] as Foreman of the jury (uncredited) * [[Mel Brooks]] as Singer in "[[Springtime for Hitler (song)|Springtime for Hitler]]" (voiceover cameo, uncredited) {{div col end}} '''The Ladies''' * Anne Ives * Amelie Barleon * Elsie Kirk * Nell Harrison * Mary Love == Production == {{rquote|right|I was never crazy about Hitler ... If you stand on a soapbox and trade rhetoric with a dictator you never win ... That's what they do so well: they seduce people. But if you ridicule them, bring them down with laughter, they can't win. You show how crazy they are.|Mel Brooks, in an August 2001 interview<ref>{{cite news| last=Shute | first=Nancy | url= https://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/010820/archive_038235.htm | title=Mel Brooks: His humor brings down Hitler, and the house | work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] | date=August 12, 2001 | access-date= May 4, 2007}}</ref>}} ===Early publicity=== A substantive early ''[[New York Times]]'' account of the property's genesis dates to December 1961: "Edward Padula has acquired a new comedy by Mel Brooks tentatively called 'Springtime for Hitler'. The producer said yesterday that actually 'Hitler is not in the comedy.' 'It's a sort of play-within-a-play. The setting is contemporary England.' Kenneth Williams, rated by Mr. Padula as 'England's new comic discovery' is under consideration for the leading role....Work on the new Brooks comedy will start immediately after the local presentation of 'All American'."<ref>Calta, Louis, "Capitol Records to Issue Album as Partner of Richard Rodgers." New York Times, 27 December 1961, 18</ref> === Writing and development === The title ''Springtime for Hitler'' was first coined by Brooks as a joke during the press conference for ''[[All American (musical)|All American]]'' in 1962. Shortly afterwards, he also decided to relate this title to a character named Leo Bloom, an homage to [[Leopold Bloom]], protagonist of [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]].''<ref name=vf>{{cite web|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2004/01/making-the-producers|title=The Making of ''The Producers''|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=January 2004|first=Sam|last=Kashner|access-date=February 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216024853/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2004/01/making-the-producers|archive-date=February 16, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reused by him years later once he had an idea about "two schnooks on Broadway who set out to produce a flop and swindle the backers".<ref name=pb75 /> The inspiration was some people Brooks met during his early show business days: Benjamin Kutcher, a New York producer who financed his plays by sleeping with elderly women, became the basis for Max Bialystock,<ref>{{cite book|title=It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks|page=52|first=James Robert|last=Parish|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2008|isbn=9780470225264|location=Hoboken}}</ref> and the scheme had origins in two theater producers who had a lavish lifestyle while making various unsuccessful plays. In her 1943 novel ''[[The Fountainhead]]'', [[Ayn Rand]] in fact anticipates Mel Brooks's premise by having a consortium of unscrupulous businessmen sell 200 percent of a planned vacation resort which they intend to be a disaster, to that end hiring the controversial modernist architect Howard Roark, but his buildings are a great success, and the backers are prosecuted.<ref>[[Ayn Rand]], ''[[The Fountainhead]]'', [[Penguin Books|Penguin]] ed., pp.534-5</ref> When imagining what play "would have people packing up and leaving the theatre even before the first act is over", Brooks decided to combine Adolf Hitler and a musical.<ref name=guardian /> Brooks, in a 2001 episode of ''[[60 Minutes]]'', stated that, while serving in the army, he was called "Jew boy", and he lightheartedly admitted that he made ''The Producers'' to "get even" with antisemites, particularly [[Hitler]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Shales|first=Tom|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/04/14/on-60-minutes-springtime-for-mel-brooks/3f3f4d56-ff9c-4fdc-aca8-93197f7bd1e8/|title=On '60 Minutes,' Springtime for Mel Brooks|date=2001-04-14|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2020-04-06|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> In another interview, he further explained his reasoning, stating, {{blockquote|More than anything the great Holocaust by the Nazis is probably the great outrage of the 20th century. There is nothing to compare with it. And ... so what can I do about it? If I get on the soapbox and wax eloquently, it'll be blown away in the wind, but if I do Springtime for Hitler it'll never be forgotten. I think you can bring down totalitarian governments faster by using ridicule than you can with invective.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1978/4/17/interview|title=Interview |date=April 17, 1978|last=Brooks|first=Mel|website=Maclean's |language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref>}} Brooks first envisioned his story as a novel, and changed it to a play when publishers told him it had "too much dialogue. Not enough narrative".{{citation needed|reason=IMDb is [[WP:RS/P|not a reliable source]]|date=March 2022}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Mel |date=September 14, 2017 |title=The Comedy Writer: Mel Brooks |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/podcast/comedy-writer-mel-brooks/ |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=PBS}}</ref><!--<ref name="makingof">{{IMDb title|0425221|The Making of ''The Producers''}}</ref>--> He wrote the script in nine months, with the help of secretary Alfa-Betty Olsen.<ref name=pb75>{{cite news|title=The Playboy Interview: Mel Brooks|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/16/mel-brooks-is-always-funny-and-often-wise-in-this-1975-playboy-interview.html|publisher=[[Playboy]]|access-date=July 11, 2018|last=Belth|first=Alex|date=February 1975|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205184916/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/16/mel-brooks-is-always-funny-and-often-wise-in-this-1975-playboy-interview.html|archive-date=December 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> During the process, he mentioned in an October 1966 interview with ''[[Playboy]]'' that he was working on ''Springtime for Hitler,'' "a play within a play, or a play within a film – I haven't decided yet".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Playboy Interview: Mel Brooks|url=http://www.brookslyn.com/print/PlayboyOct1966/PlayboyOct1966.php|magazine=[[Playboy]]|last=Siegel |first=Larry|date=October 1966|access-date=July 11, 2018}}</ref> Then, it evolved into a screenplay to take advantage of various settings, as "it could go places, it wouldn't have to stay in the office".<ref name=vf /> As Brooks sought backers for his 30-page [[film treatment]], both [[major film studios]] and independent filmmakers rejected ''Springtime for Hitler,'' finding the idea of using Hitler for comedy outrageous and tasteless (with some even stating that they would consider the script if Brooks changed it to ''Springtime for [[Mussolini]]'').<ref name=vf /> This changed as Brooks's agent arranged for him to have a meeting with a friend of his, New York producer [[Sidney Glazier]]. Glazier laughed so much at Brooks's performance of the script, he accepted the project by saying, "We're gonna make it! I don't know how, but we're gonna make this movie!"<ref name=billboard>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA87 |title= 'Producers' Producer: The Man Behind a Classic|newspaper= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|last=White |first=Timothy|date= April 26, 1997|access-date=January 9, 2010|page=87}}</ref> Glazier budgeted the film at $1 million, and sought financiers. Half the money came from philanthropist [[Louis Wolfson]], who liked the idea of laughing at a dictator,<ref name=guardian /> and the remainder, along with the distribution, was arranged by [[Joseph E. Levine]] of [[Embassy Pictures]]. Levine's only condition was to change the title, as he felt many distributors would not carry a picture named ''Springtime for Hitler.''<ref name=billboard /> Brooks renamed it ''The Producers,'' considering it [[ironic]] as "these guys are anything but producers".<ref name="makingof">{{IMDb title|0425221|The Making of ''The Producers''<nowiki/>}}</ref> As Brooks "couldn't think of anybody to direct it", eventually he decided to take the task for himself, even though he himself had only directed one play before.<ref name=pb75 /> While Levine was insecure in having an inexperienced director, Brooks convinced him by saying it would be cost-effective, and he knew how to do physical comedy after being a [[stage manager]] in ''[[Your Show of Shows]].''<ref name=makingof /><ref name=billboard /> === Casting === Brooks wanted [[Zero Mostel]] as Max Bialystock, feeling he was an energetic actor who could convey such an egotistical character.<ref name=makingof /> Glazier sent the script to Mostel's lawyer, but the attorney hated it and never showed it to the actor. Eventually, Brooks had to send the script through Mostel's wife [[Kathryn Harkin]]. While Mostel did not like the prospect of playing "a Jewish producer going to bed with old women on the brink of the grave", his wife liked the script so much, she eventually convinced him to accept the role.<ref name=vf /><ref name=billboard /> [[Gene Wilder]] met Brooks in 1963, as Wilder performed with Brooks's then-girlfriend [[Anne Bancroft]] in a stage adaptation of ''[[Mother Courage and Her Children|Mother Courage]].'' Wilder complained that the audience was laughing at his serious performance, and Brooks replied that Wilder was "a natural comic, you look like [[Harpo Marx]]", and said he would cast him as Leo Bloom once he finished the then-titled ''Springtime for Hitler.''<ref name=billboard /> When production arrived, [[Peter Sellers]] accepted an invitation to play Leo Bloom, but he never contacted again, so Brooks remembered Wilder, who was about to make his film debut in ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]].''<ref name=makingof /> Wilder received the script to ''The Producers'' as Brooks visited him backstage during a performance of ''[[Luv (play)|Luv]]'', and his co-star [[Renée Taylor]] was brought for a brief appearance as the actress playing [[Eva Braun]].<ref name=vf /> [[Dustin Hoffman]] was originally cast as Liebkind. According to Brooks, late on the night before shooting began, Hoffman begged Brooks to let him out of his commitment to do the role so he could audition for the starring role in ''[[The Graduate]].'' Brooks was aware of the film, which co-starred his now-wife Bancroft, and, skeptical that Hoffman would get the role, agreed to let him audition. When Hoffman did win the role of Ben Braddock, Brooks called in Kenneth Mars as Liebkind.<ref name=makingof /> Mars was originally invited because Brooks envisioned him as Roger De Bris, given he played a gay psychiatrist on Broadway. Instead, Mars was interested in the Liebkind role, which became his film debut. He remained in character while not filming as a strategy of [[method acting]].<ref name=vf /> De Bris was instead portrayed by [[Christopher Hewett]], the first actor who read for the role.<ref name=makingof /> Recent [[American Academy of Dramatic Arts]] graduate [[Lee Meredith]] was invited to audition as Ulla on condition of being able to do a Swedish accent. She borrowed a book from the AADA library to learn the accent, and won the role with a screen test of the scene in which Ulla dances. Bancroft suggested her friend [[Andréas Voutsinas]] for the role of Carmen Ghia, feeling his thick Greek accent would fit. Brooks thought of [[Dick Shawn]] to play Lorenzo "L.S.D." Saint DuBois, and Shawn accepted because he liked the part and had no other work at the time. Brooks is heard briefly in the film, his voice dubbed over a dancer singing, "Don't be stupid, be a smarty / Come and join the Nazi Party", in the song "[[Springtime for Hitler (song)|Springtime for Hitler]]". His version of the line is also dubbed into each performance of the musical, as well as the 2005 movie version. === 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. == Release == According to Brooks, after the film was completed, Embassy executives refused to release it as being in "bad taste". The film's premiere in [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania, on November 22, 1967,<ref name="tcm">{{TCMDb title|id=87256|title=The Producers}}</ref> was a disaster and the studio considered shelving it. However, relief came when ''[[Pink Panther]]'' star [[Peter Sellers]] saw the film privately and placed an advertisement in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' in support of the film's wide release.<ref name="makingof" /><ref name="dvdjourn" /> Sellers was familiar with the film because, according to Brooks, Sellers "had accepted the role of Bloom and then was never heard from again".<ref name="makingof" /><ref name="dvdjourn">{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/p/producers68_de.shtml |title=The Producers (1968): Deluxe Edition |first=Mark |last=Bourne |work=The DVD Journal |access-date=February 21, 2011}}</ref> The film allegedly was "banned in Germany".<ref>{{cite web |title=Radio Times | date=24–30 November 2001}}</ref> The film was screened in New York City in March 1968.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/19/archives/screen-the-producers-at-fine-arts.html|title=Screen: 'The Producers' at Fine Arts|work=The New York Times|date=March 19, 1968}}</ref> The film's wide release took place on March 18, 1968.<ref name=wided>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016819-producers |title=The Producers |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=June 7, 2021}}</ref> The title of the film for the Swedish release uses the translation of the name of the play within the story, ''Springtime for Hitler''. As a result of its success, most of Mel Brooks's subsequent films in Swedish were given similar titles, despite being otherwise unrelated: ''[[The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)|Springtime for Mother-In-Law]]'', ''[[Blazing Saddles|Springtime for the Sheriff]]'', ''[[Young Frankenstein|Springtime for Frankenstein]]'', ''[[Silent Movie|Springtime for the Silent Movies]]'', ''[[High Anxiety|Springtime for the Lunatics]]'', ''[[History of the World, Part I|Springtime for World History]]'', ''[[Spaceballs|Springtime for Space]]'', and ''[[Life Stinks|Springtime for the Slum]]''.<ref name="Entertainment">{{Cite book|title= The Entertainment Weekly Guide to the Greatest Movies Ever Made I|year=1996|publisher=Warner Books|isbn=9780446670289|page=42|author=Entertainment Weekly|author-link=Entertainment Weekly|location=New York}}</ref> The practice ended by the time ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]'' was released, at Brooks's request. == Reception == When it was first released, the film received a mixed response and garnered some exceptionally harsh reviews, while others considered it a great success. One of the mixed reviews came from [[Renata Adler]], who, writing for ''[[The New York Times]],'' stated: "''The Producers'', which opened yesterday at the Fine Arts Theater, is a violently mixed bag. Some of it is shoddy and gross and cruel; the rest is funny in an entirely unexpected way." About the acting, she writes that Mostel is "overacting grotesquely under the direction of Mel Brooks" and that, in the role of Max Bialystock, he is "as gross and unfunny as only an enormous comedian bearing down too hard on some frail, tasteless routines can be". Co-star Wilder fares better and is called "wonderful", thanks to doing "fine", despite being "forced to be as loud and as fast as Mostel" and "[g]oing through long, infinitely variegated riffs and arpeggios of neuroticism", and playing his part "as though he were [[Dustin Hoffman]] being played by [[Danny Kaye]]". She also puts the movie into the bigger context of "contemporary" comedy and that it has the same "episodic, [[revue]] quality" in the way it is "not building laughter, but stringing it together skit after skit, some vile, some boffo". Her early conclusion, at the end of the first paragraph, is also a comparison to other comedic movies of the time, it reads: "[''The Producers''] is less delicate than [[Lenny Bruce]], less funny than ''[[Dr. Strangelove]],'' but much funnier than ''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]]'' or ''[[What's New Pussycat?]]''"<ref name="nyt68adler">{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/19/archives/screen-the-producers-at-fine-arts.html | title=Screen: 'The Producers' at Fine Arts| date=March 19, 1968 | author-link= Renata Adler |first=Renata |last=Alder | work= [[The New York Times]] | access-date= May 5, 2016}}</ref> The more critical and negative reviews partly targeted the directorial style and broad ethnic humor,<ref name="hoberman">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/movies/film-when-the-nazis-became-nudniks.html?pagewanted=all| title=FILM; When The Nazis Became Nudniks| first=J. |last=Hoberman| date=April 15, 2001| work=[[The New York Times]]| access-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref> but also commonly noted the bad taste and insensitivity of devising a broad comedy about two Jews conspiring to cheat theatrical investors by devising a designed-to-fail tasteless Broadway musical about [[Hitler]] only 23 years after the end of [[World War II]].<ref name="Symons">{{cite journal|title=An audience for Mel Brooks's The Producers: the avant-garde of the masses |first=Alex |last=Symons |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-17530754_ITM |journal=Journal of Popular Film and Television |date=March 22, 2006 |volume=34 |pages=24–32 |doi=10.3200/JPFT.34.1.24-32 |s2cid=194073045 |access-date=February 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153713/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-17530754_ITM |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Among the harshest critics were [[Stanley Kauffmann]] in ''[[The New Republic]],'' who wrote that "the film bloats into sogginess" and "Springtime for Hitler ... doesn't even rise to the level of tastelessness", [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] wrote ''The Producers'' "is a model of how not to make a comedy",<ref>{{cite book |title=Reverse Angle: A Decade of American Film|url=https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo|url-access=registration|last1=Simon|first1=John |publisher=Crown Publishers Inc. |year=1982 |page=[https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo/page/145 145]|isbn=9780517544716}}</ref> and [[Pauline Kael]] who called it "amateurishly crude" in ''[[The New Yorker]]:'' {{blockquote|''The Producers'' isn't basically unconventional; it only seems so because it's so amateurishly crude and because it revels in the kind of show-business Jewish humor that used to be considered too specialized for movies. Screenwriters used to take the Jewish out but now that television comedians exploit themselves as stereotypes, screenwriters are putting the Jewish in.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/03/23/o-pioneer|title=O Pioneer!|last=Kael|first=Pauline|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 16, 1968|language=en|access-date=2020-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620115334/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/03/23/o-pioneer|archive-date=June 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>}} On the other hand, others considered the film to be a great success. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's reviewers wrote that the film was "hilariously funny" but pointed out that "the film is burdened with the kind of plot that demands resolution" but unfortunately "ends in a whimper of sentimentality". Although they labelled it "disjointed and inconsistent", they also praised it as "a wildly funny joy ride", and concluded by saying that "despite its bad moments, [it] is some of the funniest American cinema comedy in years".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837773-1,00.html |title=The Producers (review) |date=January 26, 1968 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=February 2, 2007 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703055433/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837773-1,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The film industry trade paper ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "The film is unmatched in the scenes featuring Mostel and Wilder alone together, and several episodes with other actors are truly rare."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/the-producers-4-1200421497/|title=The Producers (review)|date=December 31, 1967|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref> Over the years, the film has gained in stature. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 74 reviews with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A hilarious satire of the business side of Hollywood, ''The Producers'' is one of Mel Brooks's finest, as well as funniest films, featuring standout performances by Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016819_producers|title=The Producers (1967)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=1 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115081211/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016819-producers|archive-date=15 January 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film received a score of 96 based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-producers-1968|title=The Producers (1967)|work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=1 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701074523/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-producers-1968|archive-date=1 July 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> In his review decades later, [[Roger Ebert]] claimed, "this is one of the funniest movies ever made".<ref>{{cite news| title= Great Movie: The Producers| url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-producers-1968| date= July 23, 2000| author-link= Roger Ebert| first= Roger| last= Ebert| work= RogerEbert.com| publisher= Ebert Digital LLC| access-date= February 21, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130427000012/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-producers-1968| archive-date= April 27, 2013| url-status= live}}</ref> Ebert wrote, "I remember finding myself in an elevator with Brooks and his wife, actress [[Anne Bancroft]], in New York City a few months after ''The Producers'' was released. A woman got onto the elevator, recognized him and said, 'I have to tell you, Mr. Brooks, that your movie is vulgar.' Brooks smiled benevolently. 'Lady,' he said, 'it rose below vulgarity.{{'"}} The film was a [[sleeper hit]] at the U.S. box office;<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 15, 1968|page=17|title=Glazier-Brooks Re-Team}}</ref> But Embassy Pictures deemed its initial theatrical run a flop -- considering the additional costs to market and distribute, it barely broke even at the box-office. ===Accolades=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! Award ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result ! Ref. |- | rowspan="2"| [[41st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]] | [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] | [[Gene Wilder]] | {{nom}} | align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969 |title=The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |date=December 21, 2014 |access-date=August 25, 2011}}</ref> |- | [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen]] | [[Mel Brooks]] | {{won}} |- | rowspan="2"| [[26th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]] | [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]] | [[Zero Mostel]] | {{nom}} | align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://goldenglobes.com/film/producers-the-1967/ |title=The Producers (1967) |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=October 29, 2024}}</ref> |- | [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]] | Mel Brooks | {{nom}} |- | [[National Film Preservation Board]] | colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]] | {{won|Inducted}} | align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref> |- | [[7th Golden Satellite Awards|Satellite Awards]] | colspan="2"| [[Satellite Award for Best DVD Extras|Best DVD Extras]] | {{nom}} | align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2003.shtml |title=International Press Academy website – 2003 7th Annual SATELLITE Awards |publisher=[[International Press Academy]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201175700/http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2003.shtml |archive-date=February 1, 2008}}</ref> |- | rowspan="2"| [[21st Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]] | [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy|Best Written American Comedy]] | rowspan="2"| Mel Brooks | {{nom}} | align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref> |- | [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Written American Original Screenplay]] | {{won}} |} In 1996, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Stern|first1=Christopher|date=1996-12-03|title=National Film Registry taps 25 more pix|url=https://variety.com/1996/scene/vpage/national-film-registry-taps-25-more-pix-1117466310/|access-date=2020-08-04|website=Variety|language=en}}</ref> The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in these lists: * 2000: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] – #11<ref>{{cite web |work=[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] |title=America's Funniest Movies |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |date=2002 |access-date=July 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316140859/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |archive-date=March 16, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> * 2004: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs]]: ** "[[Springtime for Hitler (song)|Springtime for Hitler]]" – #80<ref>{{cite web |work=[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs]] |title=America's Greatest Music in the Movies |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |date=2002 |access-date=July 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313151657/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs100.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> == Re-releases and adaptations == In 2002, ''The Producers'' was re-released in three theaters by [[Rialto Pictures]] and earned $111,866<ref>{{cite web| url=http://imdb.com/title/tt0063462/business| title=The Producers (1968): Business| website=[[IMDb]]| access-date=February 2, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050419162425/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063462/business| archive-date=April 19, 2005| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=producers02.htm| title=The Producers (re-issue)| work=[[Box Office Mojo]]| publisher=[[IMDb]]| access-date=February 2, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324233040/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=producers02.htm| archive-date=March 24, 2007| url-status=live}}</ref> at the box office. As of 2007, the film continues to be distributed to art-film and repertory cinemas by Rialto.{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} [[Mel Brooks]] has adapted the story twice more, as a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical (''[[The Producers (musical)|The Producers]],'' 2001) and a film based on the musical (''[[The Producers (2005 film)|The Producers]],'' 2005). He did not direct the latter, but served as a producer. Unlike the original film, it was not commercially successful. This film has spawned several home media releases on VHS, Laserdisc, CED, and VCD from companies such as [[Magnetic Video]], [[Embassy Home Entertainment]], [[PolyGram Video]], Speedy, and Lumiere Video. A 1997 letterbox edition Laserdisc was released by PolyGram Video, which served as the basis for the extremely rare 1998 PolyGram DVD release. [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], which owns video rights to select Embassy Pictures titles that ended up with Nelson Entertainment and Polygram, released ''The Producers'' on Region 1 DVD in 2002 and reissued in 2005 to coincide with the remake released that year. In 2013, MGM licensed the title to [[Shout! Factory]] to release a DVD and Blu-ray combo pack with a new HD transfer and newly produced bonus materials. StudioCanal, worldwide rights holder to all of the Embassy Pictures library, has also released several R2 DVD editions using a transfer slightly different from the North American DVD and Blu-Ray releases. In 2018, StudioCanal gave the film its European Blu-Ray debut in the UK, Germany, and Australia. The StudioCanal releases included most extras from the Shout! Factory release as well as a new 4K restoration for a 50th anniversary Blu-ray edition. == See also == {{portal|Film}} * ''[[The Butter and Egg Man]]'' * ''[[Jojo Rabbit]]'' * ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' * {{section link|List of Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes|Season 4 (2004)|display=List of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' episodes}} * [[List of American films of 1967]] * [[List of cult films]] * [[Setting up to fail]] * [[The Producers (2005 film)]] == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == {{Wikiquote}} * [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/producers.pdf ''The Producers'' essay] by Brian Scott Mednick at [[National Film Registry]] *{{AFI film|19896}} * {{IMDb title|0063462}} * [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-producers-am10883 ''The Producers'' at AllMovie] * {{TCMDb title|87256}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|1016819-producers}} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''The Producers'' essay] by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}} {{Mel Brooks}} {{The Producers}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Producers}} [[Category:1967 black comedy films]] [[Category:1967 directorial debut films]] [[Category:1967 LGBTQ-related films]] [[Category:1960s American films]] [[Category:1960s English-language films]] [[Category:1960s satirical films]] [[Category:American black comedy films]] [[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]] [[Category:American satirical films]] [[Category:Censored films]] [[Category:Films about Adolf Hitler]] [[Category:Embassy Pictures films]] [[Category:Films about accountants]] [[Category:Films about con artists]] [[Category:Films about entertainers]] [[Category:Films about fraud]] [[Category:Films about Jews and Judaism]] [[Category:Films about musical theatre]] [[Category:Films about Nazis]] [[Category:Films adapted into plays]] [[Category:Films directed by Mel Brooks]] [[Category:Films scored by John Morris]] [[Category:Films set in 1967]] [[Category:Films set in New York City]] [[Category:Films shot in New York City]] [[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Mel Brooks]] [[Category:Jewish comedy and humor]] [[Category:LGBTQ-related black comedy films]] [[Category:LGBTQ-related controversies in film]] [[Category:United States National Film Registry films]] [[Category:Cross-dressing in American films]] [[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
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