Also in the picture are Thorndyke's bumbling chauffeur, Brophy (Ron Carey), and two healthy patients held against their will because they can afford to pay and pay: Zachary Cartwright (Ron Clark), whose neck pains and werewolf fears are artificially induced, and Arthur Brisbane (Charlie Callas), who thinks he's a cocker spaniel. Mel Brooks on Comedy Legends Madeline Kahn and Gene Wilder The 41st recipient of AFI's highest honor opens up about his six-decade career, late wife Anne Bancroft and why he kept working with. Here, Ive waited all my whole life for you and now you dont even want me. W.E.S. His new colleagues include Dr. Montague (Harvey Korman), a shifty physician who thinks he should be the new chief; Prof. Lilloman (Howard Morris), who was once Thorndyke's mentor; and Nurse Diesel (Cloris Leachman), a control freak who deserves the Nobel Prize for nastiness. Most of the names are borrowed from other Hitchcock films. The film also starred Steve Martin, Rita Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia, Garry Shandling, Juliette Lewis, Adam Sandler and Jon Stewart. But High Anxiety sort of gets away with the poorer moments more or less and is really quite enjoyable from the point of view of its Hitchcockian references alone. I would highly recommend High Anxiety for any Mel Brooks fan, it's a funny movie to watch and a guaranteed laugh. Kahn would work with Bogdanovich again in 1976 but, sadly, that would be in At Long Last Love, which starred a singing and dancing Burt Reynolds and Cybil Shepherd. For High Anxiety, it was 'What is a Hitchcock film? A phone call from the producer Leonard Sillman got her out of bed when he cast her as one of the leads in New Faces of 68; one of her co-stars was Robert Klein. Barry Levinson, one of the scriptwriters and the future director of movies like Rain Man (1988) and Wag the Dog (1997), plays the newspaper-wielding bellhop. She was a stellar host on Saturday Night Live and guested on the Carol Burnett Show. She was informed that her part was cut from the play How Now, Dow Jones, backstage, on the night before the show was supposed to open on Broadway, by messenger. THR: Anne Bancroft was your wife and creative partner for 40 years. The climax of High Anxiety is the climax of Vertigo as it would look in a funhouse mirror. Classics 1977 1 hr 34 . How will Dr. Thorndyke handle this loony gang? Dr. Wentworth, - comes up again during the final chase up the stairs. On the other hand, the jokes are strong at times and can be very funny. Mel Brooks and Madeline Kahn in High Anxiety (1977) Close. He checks into the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, where, much to his chagrin as a sufferer of "high anxiety", he is assigned a top floor room, mysteriously changed reservation by "Mr. MacGuffin". Never.. THR: What do you think of the state of comedy today? THR: Youre famous for working with the same actors, including Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn and Cloris Leachman. I dont know how they did it. Later, Thorndyke hears strange noises coming from Diesel's room and he and Brophy go to investigate. Let's face it: lines like "I got it! Mel Brooks is a well known name in comedy and since I also know Alfred Hitchcock movies I thought it would be a good idea to watch this one. Neil Simon, Peter Bogdanovich, Carol Burnett and Bill Cosby all found channels for her comic genius. The only sure thing is that you'll enjoy it most if you're acquainted with the works of Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense to whom Brooks dedicates the movie. Brooks: That was the yardstick for me; that was the gold. We werent even supposed to be rooting for her in Whats Up Doc? This is an excuse to get the whole Brooks' gang dealing with mental institutions and mental illness. Here's your paper! She made a German spectacle of herself as the seductive, saloon-singing spy, Lili von Shtupp in Blazing Saddles, which was co-written by Richard Pryor. Harvey Korman as Doctor Montague. Kahn returned to the stage for the 1989 revival of Born Yesterday where she recreated the role made famous by Judy Holliday. But we go on. This aspect of the movie comes from Hitchcock's 1958 Vertigo, starring James Stewart as a detective whose acrophobia kicks in during a rooftop chase, paralyzing him with terror and touching off a murder scheme. To view this content, please use one of the following compatible browsers: A man must come to terms with his own "high anxiety" in this loving parody of the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Kaye treated the young featured player horribly and she never wanted to do Broadway again, but she continued performing on stage while making movies. Thorndyke also meets Arthur Brisbane, a wealthy industrialist who had a nervous breakdown the year before. Happy now?" Mel Brooks' delirious comedy/thriller is a delight even if you're not already an Alfred Hitchcock fan--but if you *are,* you'll love it even more as you peg specific spoofs/references to such Hitch classics as SPELLBOUND, VERTIGO, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH '56 (Brooks' piano bar rendition of the title song is the movie's highlight) and THE BIRDS. She played Molly Ringwalds mother in the 1990 film Betsys Wedding. When events take a murderous turn, he is accused of the crime and left with a full blown case of "High Anxiety." Kahn played Betty in Yellowbeard, Marty Feldmans last film appearance. Happy now?! Thorndyke is contacted by Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn), "the Cocker's daughter". Whether you share this opinion would depend on your familiarity with all things Hitchcockian. High Anxiety (R4 DVD 1977) Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn AS NEW FREE POST. Victoria barely represses her sexual longings as she gets closer to Brooks Dr. Thorndyke. Later in a cocktail lounge, he snaps a microphone cord like a whip and makes Madeline Kahn hyperventilate with passion. High Anxiety is definitely lesser Brooks and wildly uneven, but partisans will embrace it wholeheartedly. They think comedy is frivolous. High Anxiety is a 1977 comedy film directed by (and starring) Mel Brooks. Overall, it's a movie of funny moments, but lacks the consistent absudity of, say, Young Frankenstein (1974). Kahn repeatedly said in interviews that she never thought of herself as a funny person, that it was hard work to be funny, but some of the best judges of funny in show business clamored to cast her. She made bad films good, good films great and great films classic. THR: Do you leave space in your direction for presumed laughs? I thought Louise Fletcher was pretty intense as Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", but Diesel would have given her a run for the money. When events take a murderous turn, he is accused of the crime and left with a full blown case of "High Anxiety." Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman co-star in this hilarious parody. Thorndyke must prove his innocence to the police. Acclaimed funnyman Mel Brooks presents an outrageous overview of history - from a hilarious send-up of 2001 to the Roman Empire, the French Revolution, and the Spanish Inquisition! Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. The movie obviously does not paid psychology very positively as it shows it as sexist and a way to keep patients at the institute beyond their will. "[13] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called it "probably the most coherent of the Brooks movies since The Producers, in the sense of sustaining a tone and story line and characterizations from start to finish. All rights reserved. Kahn played Alice Gold, her husband is a school principal who has a fling with a schoolteacher. Special honors go to Morris, a longtime Brooks associate who puts every muscle of his face and body into his portrayal of Professor Lilloman, who does not like his name pronounced "little-old-man" even though he is a little old man. See production, box office & company info, Very funny Mel Brooks spoof/homage to Hitchcock, Hyatt Regency Hotel - 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, California, USA. Mel Brooks said Madeline Kahn was maybe the single best comedian that ever lived. Hitchcock's suspense melodramas are sparked by his perverse wit; they're satirical to start with. Like all his pictures, it's a hit-or-miss affair, sometimes reaching high hilarity, other times plummeting like the proverbial lead balloon. The Hollywood Reporter: Why do you think Hollywood so rarely acknowledges comedy directing as an awards-worthy endeavor? Nurse Diesel, who thinks she is a witch and tries to fly a broomstick out the tower window, riding it to her death on the rocks far below, cackling maniacally all the while. Released in United States Winter January 1, 1977, Re-released in United States on Video January 12, 1994. Kahn is the Hitchcock blonde whose father is in the asylum. There are also minor allusions to films not directed by Hitchcock, such as The Pink Panther and The Spy Who Loved Me, with characters resembling Jacques Clouseau and Jaws. There's more than a dozen well known films and a hundred well known sequences that Brooks could have parodied. Screenplay: Mel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy DeLuca, Barry Levinson You know what theyre capable of, how high they can fly. Brooks: I thought when Richard Pryor died, that was the end of comedy. He brought production to a standstill when he didnt show up, was almost replaced by Cleavon Little, but finally arrived to balk at playing a scene with a lion by his throne. There's a reprise of the shower scene in Psycho (1960) with a bellhop replacing the killer and a newspaper replacing the knife. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. She was afraid of Barbra Streisand, of winding up on the cutting room floor and of palm trees. High Anxiety is Mel Brooks' renowned spoof of over ten Alfred Hitchcock classics, including Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. The Den of Geek quarterly magazine is packed with exclusive features, interviews, previews and deep dives into geek culture. Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman co-star in this hilarious parody. The Institute apparently could use the money from the Brisbane family, and keeps the real Arthur prisoner. "[15] In addition to parodying Hitchcock films, High Anxiety became noteworthy for frequently mocking popular psychoanalysis theories at the time, with New Statesman journalist Ryan Gilbey stating that "viewers were familiar enough with the babble and buzzwords of psychoanalysis to respond instinctively to the films wittiest sequence, when Brooks speech at a psychiatric conference has to be spontaneously modified so as not to impinge upon the innocence of two young children who have joined the audience. Kahn ends her reminiscences by writing Never. By what name was High Anxiety (1977) officially released in India in English? When he's framed for murder, Dr. Thorndyke must confront his own psychiatric condition, "high anxiety," in order to clear his name. You could almost take it seriously, except that Brooks is no Jimmy Stewart, and his hysterical comic acting doesn't let you forget this for an instant. Copyright 2023 Nurse Diesel. There are no reviews yet. Thorndyke and Brophy travel to San Francisco, where Thorndyke is to speak at a psychiatric convention. The name Richard Thorndyke recalls Roger Thornhill of North by Northwest (1959), and a slaying staged in a crowded lobby resembles that thriller's amazing United Nations murder. High Anxiety is a 1977 American satirical comedy film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also plays the lead.