Movie Review – The Producers (1968)

What if it paid to be a failure?

What if you could get away with it, too?

That’s the premise behind today’s movie review, the 1968 classic comedy film, The Producers.

Written and directed by comedic legend Mel Brooks, The Producers tells a tale of a failing Broadway producer who, with the help of his account, figures out a way to scam investors by creating a show that’s bound to fail on opening night.  The only problem is that the play that they think will fail miserable, instead turns out to be a smash hit.  Can the two producers scramble and find a way to pay back their investors, or will they be sent to prison for their crimes?

As it was mentioned, The Producers was both written and directed by Mel Brooks.  This was the first film that he directed.  Starring in The Producers is Zero Mostel in the role of failed Broadway producer Max Bialystock.  Co-starring in the film are Gene Wilder as accountant Leopold Bloom, and Dick Shawn as Lorenzo St. DuBois.

The Producers begins with aging and washed out Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) womanizing wealthy old ladies and trying to swindle money out of them.  Although Max has found success in the past, these days he’s down on his luck, miserable, and he’s also behind on his rent.

One day Max is visited by his accountant, Leopold “Leo” Bloom (Gene Wilder), to go through his books and put his money in order.  Leo soon discovers that there is an overcharge of $2,000 from Max’s last play.  He had raised more money than he could repay by accidentally selling more than 100% of the shares.  This is a small oversight and Leo is able to disguise the $2,000 in other parts of Max’s business.  Leo makes a comment that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) isn’t interested in a show that flops.

It dawns on Leo that under the right circumstances, a producer can make more money with a flop than with a play that’s a hit.  Since the IRS doesn’t pay attention at shows that fail, if a producer knows that his show will fail, then he can make a fortune by cheating the investors.  The only catch is that if the play is a hit, then the producer has to pay back all of the investors, otherwise it’s fraud and the producer will go to prison.

Max is immediately sold on the idea of producing a terrible film that is sure to fail, and then skipping out of town with the rest of the investors’ money.  Leo is uncertain of joining him as a fellow producer, but Max talks him into it.  Now it’s just a matter of finding a play that is sure to bomb on Broadway and close on opening night.

Max and Leo read through many plays until Max finds his “golden ticket,” a play called Springtime for Hitler:  A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden.  The two of them pay a visit to the play’s writer, ex-Nazi Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), and eventually convince him to sign over the stage rights.  Max convinces him that the play will show the world the true, loving Hitler that Franz knew, and not the evil Hitler portrayed in the news media.

After they purchase the play, Max and Leo hire Roger De Bris (Christopher Hewett) to direct it.  De Bris was chosen because his methods are so terrible that his plays tend to close on the first night of rehearsal, let alone the opening night for the public.

Now it’s time to cast the actors.  Hundreds of people audition for the singing role of Adolf Hitler, but they’re all too good for the play.  In walks actor Lorenzo St. DuBois, a.k.a. L.S.D. (Dick Shawn), a person so out of touch with reality that he accidentally walked into the wrong audition, and he can barely remember his name.  L.S.D. still auditions and sings for the producers.  It’s clear that he has talent, and it’s also clear to the producers that L.S.D.’s semi-coherent ways should help guarantee the play’s failure.

Max then heads out and swindles as many people as he can into investing in his play.  In no time he ends up selling 25,000% of the play to wealthy, little old ladies.  He rakes in a small fortune and Max and Leo are confident that they’ll be on the next plane to Rio de Janeiro to live out their early retirement.

Opening night arrives and it’s a full theater for Max and Leo’s play.  The play begins and the audience seems to be stunned with “Springtime for Hitler,” the opening song which celebrates Nazi Germany defeating Europe.  After seeing the audience’s seemingly disbelief, Max and Leo slip away and begin celebrating their “success” at a bar across the street.  What Max and Leo don’t realize is that L.S.D.’s mental issues present him and the play as being satire of Adolf Hitler, and the audience is loving it.

The play halts for intermission, and some of the audience heads across the street to the same bar with Max and Leo.  The two of them initially think that the audience is upset and looking for blood, but their assumption quickly changes to horror as they realise that the audience is loving their play.  It cannot be true!  Max and Leo rush back across the street and watch the second half of the play themselves.

The play resumes and L.S.D. continues with his alternative version of the play.  The audience is loving it but Franz Liebkind, the play’s writer, is horrified at what the producers did to his beloved play.  Franz goes on stage and tries to stop the production, ranting to the audience that his original play has been ruined, but he’s knocked out by a cast member and dragged off stage.  The audience thinks that Franz was part of the act, and they love the play even more.

Springtime For Hitler is declared to be a smash hit.  Max and Leo are horrified that their sure-fire plan has failed and that the two of them will be sent to prison.  Leo wants to take all of the evidence to the police and hope for a lighter sentence, but Max stops him from leaving.  Suddenly Franz appears in the office and he starts shooting a pistol at Max and Leo.  Franz misses the two of them, and he tries to shoot himself with his last bullet, but he also fails.

Max then convinces Franz to go back to the theater and shoot all of the actors instead.  Franz considers it but is stopped by Leo.  The three of them think about their situation and decide to just blow up the theater to end the production of the show.  Of course, their execution of the bombing of the theater goes wrong, and the three of them are injured, arrested, and tried in court for their crimes.  A jury finds the three of them “incredibly guilty.”  Before the judge sentences them, Leo makes a speech praising Max and how he was his one true friend.

The Producers ends with Max, Leo and Franz all in prison.  The three of them have put together a play called Prisoners of Love, and Max and Leo pick up their old habit of overselling shares of the show to both the prisoners and the guards.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Is 1968’s The Producers a good movie?

That’s going to depend on whether or not you enjoy Mel Brooks’ works along with comedies that focus more on satire rather than slapstick or gross-out moments.  It will also help if you have more of an appreciation for the older films as the 1968 version of The Producers will definitely seem very tame for today’s audiences.

I enjoyed this movie very much.  I’ve been a lifelong fan of Mel Brooks’ work, but I’ve never gotten around to seeing the 1968 version of The Producers (it was later remade in 2005) until just recently.  Even though this film was made in the 1960s, it’s still clear that this is a Mel Brooks film, and all of the satire humor that goes along with it.

If you’re expecting to see a Mel Brooks film like Blazing Saddles, History of the World, Part 1, or even Spaceballs, then you’re probably going to be disappointed.  The Producers has a slightly different style of humor, and not everybody is going to appreciate it like some of Brooks’ other, more popular films.  Perhaps that’s why The Producers has risen to the status of cult classic.

Also, unlike most of his other films, you will NOT see Mel Brooks playing any role in The Producers.  However, if you listen to one of the singers in the song “Springtime for Hitler,” you’ll hear Brooks’ very recognizable voice for a brief moment.

The Producers (1968) – movie trailer

The Producers has a great concept and story.  The film won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and it was successfully converted into an acclaimed Broadway production.  Those are strong indicators that, if you’re willing, then The Producers is worth your time.  Don’t expect Blazing Saddles or High Anxiety, but do anticipate enjoying a charming comedy that takes a look at the dark side of producing a Broadway play.

[Searching for the sure-fire flop]
Max Bialystock – ” ‘Gregor Samsa awoke one morning to discover that he had been transformed into a giant cockroach.’ Nah, it’s too good.”

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singer (voiced by Mel Brooks) during the song “Springtime for Hitler” – “Don’t be stupid, be a smarty.  Come and join the Nazi party.”