Remove Ads Cast Crew Cinematographer: Paul Lohmann The film was dedicated to Hitchcock, and Brooks consulted Hitchcock when writing the screenplay. A little Madeline Kahn goes a long way. Neil Simon, Peter Bogdanovich, Carol Burnett and Bill Cosby all found channels for her comic genius. She got Cleavon Little to loosen his bullets and prove wumours of the gifts of his people was twoo. She got another supporting actress nomination for her work alongside Harvey Korman, Gene Wilder and Slim Pickins. "[9], Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "One of the problems with Mel Brooks' High Anxiety is that it picks a tricky target: It's a spoof of the work of Alfred Hitchcock, but Hitchcock's films are often funny themselves. Nurse Diesel. I would highly recommend High Anxiety for any Mel Brooks fan, it's a funny movie to watch and a guaranteed laugh. Veteran Brooks ensemble members Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, and Madeline Kahn are also featured. Originally cast as Agnes Gooch in the 1974 film Mame, she was fired by comic icon Lucille Ball over artistic differences. And as everyone also knows, this movie's actor-director-writer-producer is not to everyone's taste; among the great Jewish-American comic filmmakers, I'll take Woody Allen or Albert Brooks over Mel Brooks any day. The script is plot-heavy, yet it fails to contrive an amusing plot from Hitchcock sources. In another Hitchcock reference, the location where Dr. Thorndyke is attacked in the phone booth beneath the Golden Gate Bridge is Fort Point, where the crucial water rescue scene takes place in Vertigo (1958). THR: A lot of the jokes in Blazing Saddles now would be perceived as politically incorrect. 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. (Madeline Kahn), a patient's wealthy daughter, and he was attacked from behind by assassin "Braces" (Rudy DeLuca) (a take-off on Bond's "Jaws"); with the cord wrapped around his throat to strangle him . High Anxiety 1977 Trailer HD | Mel Brooks | Madeline Kahn It's a comedy to go crazy over! Cloris Leachman gives a performance of tremendous skill and total commitment and creates another memorable character; unfortunately, much of what she and Harvey Korman are called upon to do, while daring in 1977, is a little embarrassing today. by David Sterritt, - Surprisingly, however, Brooks' doctor is pretty restrained except for his anxiety shakes. His films, even at their most terrifying and most suspenseful, are full of jokes shared with the audience. "High Anxiety" is certainly not a dislikable film; it's too good-natured for that. Sign Up now to stay up to date with all of the latest news from TCM. Like all of Brooks' best movies, the plot would work . THR: What do you think of the state of comedy today? He does so and discovers that his patient may not be the actual Brisbane. Most of the story takes place at the fictional Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, with exteriors filmed at Mount St. Mary's University in Los Angeles. As an homage, it is both knowing and reverential. The film is offensive visually and verbally--what happened to the style he gave pictures like "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles"? Theyre always coming and going and going and coming, and always too soon. When events take a murderous turn, he is accused of the crime and left with a full blown case of "High Anxiety." Her characters had some of the best names in film: Empress Nympho, Lili Von Schtupp, Trixie Delight. Kahn played Betty in Yellowbeard, Marty Feldmans last film appearance. Kahn is just as funny singing a joke as she is telling it. Mel plays it straight which makes him even funnier. Both of them are a riot. She and a friend were picked to sing Cool Water on Horn and Hardarts TV show Childrens Hour. During their second performance, Madeline got upset watching a bunch of kids acting like little savages in the theater wings and started crying on camera. Mel Brooks arrives at the "Institute" to find suspicious goings on, and tries to find out what's going on and who is behind it. There's more plot here than expected from a Brooks' movie. She imbues the most innocent lines with innuendo. Thorndyke and Victoria head back to LA where they rescue Brophy and see Montague and Diesel taking the real Arthur Brisbane to a tower to kill him. . Jeans? Mel Brooks, if nothing else, is spectacular at collecting up the clichs, the stereotypes, the conventions, the seriousness, and at the same time the joy and entertainment that comes in the different works he has made fun of over his career (countless westerns with Blazing Saddles, historical epics with History of the World part 1, the sci-fi boom of Star Wars/Trek with Spaceballs, silent films with Silent Movie). "[11] Pauline Kael of The New Yorker shared the same objection, writing that "Brooks seems to be under the impression that he's adding a satirical point of view, but it's a child's idea of satire; imitation, with a funny hat and a leer. High Anxiety is definitely lesser Brooks and wildly uneven, but partisans will embrace it wholeheartedly. To give you an idea of this place where the lunatics have definitely taken over - Cloris Leachman plays a nurse who's into S&M with Harvey Korman. This is Brooks' first film as a producer and first speaking lead role (his first lead role was in Silent Movie). We loved even her most cloying portrayals, her most annoying attitudes. Dr. Richard Thorndyke arrives as new administrator of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, VERY Nervous to discover some suspicious goings-on. Can he kick his aversion to high places, overturn the hospital's bad reputation, and bring the baddies to justice. Last night I watched this film again. That's a lot to coordinate into 90-minutes of intended laughs. The heroine of The Birds (1963) undergoes horrible bird attacks, and the hero of High Anxiety undergoes horrible bird droppings. Happy?" I know how crazy I can go, and shes gonna nail it. As others have noted, Mel Brooks himself might not have been the best choice for Thorndyke, and the parodies are mostly way over the top (The Bird droppings are particularly gross), but it's what you've come to expect from the comic director. It goes on. Charlie Callas must have been the MacGuffin in this picture, after we see him the first time he doesn't show up again. Her world famous wendition of Im So Tired (Im tired, so tired. Let's face it: lines like "I got it! Thorndyke must prove his innocence to the police. Very very funny Hitchcock spoof with some adult humor. You know what theyre capable of, how high they can fly. 11 of 49. These are fun, but some of the stuff isn't and draws attention outward. Arriving at LAX, Dr. Richard Thorndyke has several odd encounters (such as a flasher impersonating a police officer, and a passing bus with a full orchestra playing). on the Internet. The pacing is slack and lazy; an early Woody Allen comedy, like "Play It Again, Sam" or "Bananas", is about ten times faster - and funnier. But then his character has to carry the plot. 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And I know I have Madeline Kahn. Thorndyke's high anxiety prevents him from climbing the tower's steep stairs to help Brisbane, but with Lillolman's help, he overcomes his phobia. Amazon.com: History of the World, Part I : Mel Brooks, Mel Brooks, Mel A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are wil A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep. Youre not writing in the dark and then casting. Madeline Kahn gave a deeply nuanced performance in the brief role of Martha Mitchell in Oliver Stones Nixon from 1995. Upon his arrival, Thorndyke is greeted by the staff, Dr. Philip Wentworth, Dr. Charles Montague, and Nurse Charlotte Diesel. To stop Thorndyke, Diesel and Montague hire "Braces", the silver-toothed man behind the Ashley and Wentworth murders, to impersonate him and shoot a man in the lobby. The basic setup of High Anxiety echoes Spellbound, the classic psychological thriller that Hitchcock made in 1945 with Ingrid Bergman as a psychoanalyst, Leo G. Carroll as a chief psychiatrist being pushed into retirement, and Gregory Peck as an amnesia patient posing as an eminent psychiatrist he may have murdered. Mel riffs on Hitchcock, right down to Madeline Kahn's gray suit a la Kim Novak in Vertigo. Montague appears from the shadows and gives up before being accidentally knocked unconscious by a trapdoor being opened. Never as good as my stuff, but pretty damn good. Being so self-aware, Hitchcock's films deny an easy purchase to the parodist, especially one who admires his subject the way Mr. Brooks does. As a kid, Madeline liked to perform, but not in front of people. A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep. High Anxiety - Wikipedia I cut to the campfire; I cut to the plate of beans; I cut to Slim Pickens; I cut to the horses. We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us! CookiePolicy Here is no exception, as he tackles squarely the unmistakable catalog of Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Mentions of new drapes at the institute remind me of The Cobweb, a 1955 Vincente Minnelli picture also set in a mental-health clinic. They start with Byron and Shelley and jump on your belly and bust your balloon. Kahn moved next door to Bill Cosby when he cast her as the slightly eccentric Pauline Fox on his sitcom Cosby starting in 1996. But Hitchcock's movies are already so particular and good-humored that there's scarce room for satire. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Movie High Anxiety (1977 Movie) 8 x 10 black & white Advertising Still / Lobby Card, featuring Madeline Kahn. Richard has to clear his name before resolving the case. Kahn continued to take direction from Mel Brooks in High Anxiety in 1977 and in 1981 with History of the World, Part I. High Anxiety (R4 DVD 1977) Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn AS NEW FREE POST . Her mother pushed her to study music and drama at Hofstra University, but she majored in speech therapy, if only to better duet with Gilda Radners Baba Wawa on Saturday Night Live. Copyright 2023 Ive had thousands of men again and again. Meanwhile, Barry Levinson has a funny bit as a bellboy with a screeching sound and homicidal urges. Kahn is the Hitchcock blonde whose father is in the asylum. It was love at first woof, as she streaked her hair to settles down with the man with the knobs to become Mrs. Zipperneck, freeing Dr. Frankenstein to marry Inga, the assistant with fabulous knockers, played by Teri Garr. in 1972. As a Hitchcock parody, it includes some excellent visual touches, such as skewed camera angles, use of "caged" shadow motifs, Madeline Kahn's icy blond wig, and especially the Psycho shower scene, here staged with Brooks the victim of a crazed bellhop with a newspaper.
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