Support. I am a massive Hitchcock fan, and when I heard of High Anxiety, I was intrigued. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. She was a stellar host on Saturday Night Live and guested on the Carol Burnett Show. 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. Surprisingly, however, Brooks' doctor is pretty restrained except for his anxiety shakes. Her first husband had disappeared, but she explains that because he was an illusionist, that was his job. For other uses, see, Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 15:48, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Mel Brooks: 'I'm An EGOT; I Don't Need Any More', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_Anxiety&oldid=1140946726, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 15:48. She almost quit show business. High Anxiety is a 1977 American satirical comedy film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also plays the lead. Mel Brooks on Comedy Legends Madeline Kahn and Gene Wilder Kahn appeared as George C. Scotts sister-in-law for one season on Mister President in 1987 and played a gossip columnist on the TV series New York News. There are no reviews yet. After a Harvard psychiatrist (Brooks) takes over the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, he realizes his predecessor died under suspicious circumstances. Alfred Hitchcock gets the Mel Brooks treatment here with rapid fire parodies of films like "Psycho", "The Birds", "North by Northwest" and "Vertigo", so if you're a Hitchcock fan there's some amusing stuff here. Wentworth wants to leave the institute but Diesel refuses to let him. (Not wanting to sound like she was peeling sour grapes, Kahn said Lucille Ball looked fabulous as Mame. Veteran Brooks ensemble members Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, and Madeline Kahn are also featured. Kahns best work has been in great ensembles. Mel plays it straight which makes him even funnier. 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). THR: Do you leave space in your direction for presumed laughs? "[16], This article is about the film. Penis envy" becomes "pee-pee envy"; the womb is temporarily rechristened "the woo-woo. She insinuates interior and ulterior motives behind double and triple entendre. And satire works best when its target is self-important. THR: Quentin Tarantinos Django Unchained owed a debt to Blazing Saddles. The following day, Thorndyke books a room in the vertigo-inducing Hyatt Regency (hotel of) San Francisco. A real treat for Hitchcock and Brooks fans, for it is by far one of the better spoofs out there. Released in United States Winter January 1, 1977, Re-released in United States on Video January 12, 1994. The Hollywood Reporter: Why do you think Hollywood so rarely acknowledges comedy directing as an awards-worthy endeavor? "[12] Gene Siskel gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that the parodies of Psycho and The Birds "are clever, funny, and recommend the film." which proves useful in clearing Dr. Thorndyke's name. She imbues the most innocent lines with innuendo. Search the history of over 806 billion By what name was High Anxiety (1977) officially released in India in English? You know what theyre capable of, how high they can fly. Mel plays it straight which makes him even funnier. This looks like a failed TV pilot. 1 watched in the last 24 hours. 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. Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke, - She lost her first Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination to her 10-year-old co-star, who was really the lead but was nominated in the supporting category because she was so young. Madeline Kahn debuted in Boston under the name Madeline Gail Wolfson. High Anxiety is Mel Brooks' renowned spoof of over ten Alfred Hitchcock classics, including Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds. [5] It also contains parodies of Michelangelo Antonionis Blowup, and Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, in the camera tracking through walls, and even James Bond films with an assassin who shares a similarity with the Bond villain Jaws, played by Richard Kiel. See production, box office & company info, Very funny Mel Brooks spoof/homage to Hitchcock, Hyatt Regency Hotel - 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, California, USA. Thorndyke also meets Arthur Brisbane, a wealthy industrialist who had a nervous breakdown the year before. 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. Cloris Leachman is hilarious as Nurse Diesel, and her manner is a funny as her costume. After working with Kahn, Brooks always kept a box of handkerchiefs on hand to stuff in the crews mouths. Film Editing: John C. Howard
Mel Brooks (Actor, Director, Producer, Writer), Madeline Kahn (Actor) Rated: PG Format: DVD 2,048 ratings IMDb 6.6/10.0 $2798 Prime Video $3.99 $9.99 Blu-ray $69.97 DVD $27.98 Multi-Format from $10.61 VHS Tape $19.75 Additional DVD options Edition Discs Price New from Used from DVD 1 $13.51 $13.51 DVD September 5, 2006 1 $26.00 $27.00 $6.21 Despite what his driver thinks, Thorndyke's predecessor died of a sudden heart attack leaving the position to be filled. Half the jokes in this movie are things as simple as camera angles, facial expressions, and what people are wearing. He thinks hes Gods prophet and his life parallels Moses. Here is no exception, as he tackles squarely the unmistakable catalog of Sir Alfred Hitchcock. The climax of High Anxiety is the climax of Vertigo as it would look in a funhouse mirror. Madeline Kahn, a retrospective | Den of Geek Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter, 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 the same circle of actors: "You know what they're capable of, how high they can fly.". Apple Inc. It goes on. Diesel is extremely domineering and is soon revealed to be in a BDSM relationship with the submissive Montague. The picture is often rude and crude, but hey, low comedy is better than high anxiety! None of those parodies work. 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. Music: John Morris
Can he kick his aversion to high places, overturn the hospital's bad reputation, and bring the baddies to justice. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Color-94m. He then takes a shower, during which the bellboy enters and, in a frenzy, mimics stabbing Thorndyke with the paper while screaming, "Here's your paper! 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. 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". They werent asked back again. When she acts, she is always in two places: in the moment with whomever she is talking with, and in her head, somewhere else, calculating, scheming, worrying or just being so close to her menstrual cycle she could scream. Originally cast as Agnes Gooch in the 1974 film Mame, she was fired by comic icon Lucille Ball over artistic differences. Kahn received some of the best reviews of her career her final film, the 1999 independent movie Judy Berlin. As everyone knows, humor is very, very personal. Singing For Hes a Jolly Good Fellow, Kahn also proved she could pull laughs with musical counterpoint. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. I wouldn't be so mean as to call it an insult to his films, but it certainly stands as a major embarrassment to Mel Brooks who can't even demonstrate in his direction that he understands WHY Alfred Hitchcock is "the master of suspense," as he calls him in the kindly dedication. Veteran Brooks ensemble members Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, and Madeline Kahn are also featured. Madeline Kahn 11 of 49. . Kahn starred in ABC Comedy Factory's pilot episode of Chameleon in 1986, but ABC never aired the show. There are a few dud moments sprinkled throughout but it is successfully funny on occasions too. The Den of Geek quarterly magazine is packed with exclusive features, interviews, previews and deep dives into geek culture. But, unfortunately, there is much more good-naturedness that inspiration here. Same thing with Gene Wilder, whether it was sad and touching or whether it was hysterical. The film is a parody of the suspense films of Alfred Hitchcock: Spellbound, Vertigo, Psycho and The Birds. Apple TV & Privacy So before I watched this, I was like is this going to work. Dr Richard Thorndyke is a psychiatrist who, despite himself having a fear of heights, is on his way to become the new chief administrator for the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very Very Nervous. When she sings, its usually in character and her character always has something else up her sleeves or under her derby. With some terrific actors we also recognize from Mel's best film ever, Young Frankenstein, you can tell the cast really enjoyed themselves and had fun with this movie. There's more than a dozen well known films and a hundred well known sequences that Brooks could have parodied. 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Thorndyke is indeed visible in it, but Diesel and Montague capture Brophy and take him to the North Wing. But Hitchcock's movies are already so particular and good-humored that there's scarce room for satire. Production Design: Peter Wooley
Mel Brooks (playing Dr. Richard Harpo Thorndyke) does a great job as the protagonist and Madeline Kahn (playing Victoria Brisbane) does well also. "[10] Vincent Canby of The New York Times agreed, writing that the film "is as witty and as disciplined as Young Frankenstein, though it has one built-in problem: Hitchcock himself is a very funny man. The bird droppings were actually mayonnaise and chopped spinach. I haven't got it!" Harvey Korman (playing Dr. Charles Montague) is good as always but Cloris Leachman (playing Nurse Charlotte Diesel) and Ron Carey (Brophy) are great in their supporting roles. Nurse Diesel. Classics 1977 1 hr 34 . Brooks plays Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke (the H. stands for "Harpo"), who is assigned as the new administrator of the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous. If it was tired or cliched, she let me know in no uncertain terms. And another Brooks favorite, Madeline Kahn, is great as Thorndyke's love interest, although not even she can salvage the scene where she and Brooks do a Borscht Belt-type dialect routine to divert attention at an airport. The best Brooks can do is to place himself in the shower with a fuming bellhop outside the curtain, or scamper through the park with a throng of rancorous birds defecating on his suit. He is taken by his camera-happy driver, Brophy, to the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, where he has been hired to replace Dr. Ashley, who died mysteriously (Brophy suspects foul play). Comedy should never be suddenly au courant. Madeline learned to sing opera to get tips while singing beer songs in a German restaurant, called the Bavarian Manor. 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. Mel Brooks - Movies, Age & Blazing Saddles - Biography While Gene Wilder would've been perfect casting as acrophobic psychiatrist Dr. Richard H(arpo). A killer disguised as Thorndyke is exposed when Brophy enlarges a photo negative, as in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 Blow-Up, and the killer's metal-covered teeth must have been suggested by Jaws, the James Bond character who first appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me, released a few months months before High Anxiety. Mel Brooks is an iconic filmmaker known for comedies like 'The Producers,' 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Young Frankenstein,' among other works. Titles . Meanwhile, "Braces" finds Thorndyke at a phone booth calling Victoria, and tries to strangle him; however, Thorndyke kills him with a shard of glass from the booth's broken window. After seeing the movie, Hitchcock sent Brooks a case of expensive 1961 Chteau Haut-Brion wine with a note that said A small token of my pleasure, have no anxiety about this. Madeline Kahn followed the bouncing balls to select an escort for an evenings orgy as Empress Nympho in Mel Brooks History of the World Part 1 (Could you please step on the same foot at the same time. 960 Madeline Kahn Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 960 madeline kahn photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. Of course, it is utter zaniness as Brooks as the hospital director is in a madhouse (no pun intended). 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. Madeline Kahn is never doing just one thing onscreen. With Broadway, vintage horror films, silents and westerns, the range is much broader. High Anxiety | Apple TV It was a caricature of Marlene Dietrichs vampy part in the 1939 classic western, Destry Rides Again. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Apple TV & Privacy . He is trapped in his car, his ears hemorrhage, and he dies from a stroke, aggravated by the loud music. W.E.S. by David Sterritt, - [original research?]. She knew what was really good, what was funny and what was unique and original. High Anxiety (1977) -- (Movie Clip) You're The Cocker's Daughter? "High Anxiety" is certainly not a dislikable film; it's too good-natured for that. She didnt need more than fifteen minutes of screen time to steal a movie. When events take a murderous turn, he is accused of the crime and left with a full blown case of "High Anxiety." Released with the gimmick of having three alternate endings that played in different theaters, Roger Ebert said it didnt matter which ending you saw, they all pretty much sucked. As a movie lover, though, I like Brooks's habit of poking fun at other movies - westerns in 1974's Blazing Saddles, horror pictures in 1974's Young Frankenstein, silent movies in 1976's Silent Movie, and so on - and his acting makes up in lunacy what it lacks in finesse. Kahn started in musical theater. High Anxiety is a 1977 American satirical comedy film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also plays the lead. He currently thinks he is a cocker spaniel. Victoria is reunited with her father, marries Thorndyke, and they embark on their honeymoon. With really well done comedies like "Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers" we see his genius with good scripting and characters filling out the fabric of the film. Cloris Leachman and Harvy Korman are fellow doctors at the asylum, and watch over the institute when Mel must attend a conference. "[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. Brooks thinks he is so cute, both women AND men want him! When events take a murderous turn, he is accused of the crime and left with a full blown case of "High Anxiety." Gene Wilder was originally considered for the part of Dr. Richard Thorndyke, but scheduling forced Wilder to turn the role down. Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman. 2023 Turner Classic Movies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [8] After viewing the film himself, Alfred Hitchcock sent Brooks a case of six magnums of 1961 Chteau Haut-Brion wine with a note that read, "A small token of my pleasure, have no anxiety about this. is less interested in curing its rich clientele than in keeping them indefinitely and thus getting more of their money, Braces broke that glass himself trying to kill Thorndyke, UsefulNotes/Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy Film, UsefulNotes/Parental Guidance Suggested Rating. She agrees after an argument. Jeans? Like all his pictures, it's a hit-or-miss affair, sometimes reaching high hilarity, other times plummeting like the proverbial lead balloon. Do go on, I do believe you were discussing my cherry., Although best known as a comedian, Kahn had originated dramatic roles on stage in 1974s In the Boom Boom Room and 1977s Marco Polo Sings a Solo. So give your brain a night off, brush up on your Hitchcock, and settle in for a potpourri of laughs, groans, dull spots, and inspired spots. 5/10. And the concept of this film, a spoof of Hitchcock films, seems like gold. She was afraid of Barbra Streisand, of winding up on the cutting room floor and of palm trees. 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. . 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. And did I mention that Thorndyke's middle name is Harpo? Obscene phone call - Madeline Kahn - High Anxiety 1977 - YouTube Madeline Kahn's obscene phone call scene from High Anxiety Madeline Kahn's obscene phone call scene from High. She won a Daytime Emmy in 1987 for playing in the ABC Afterschool Special, Wanted: The. Upon his arrival, Thorndyke is greeted by the staff, Dr. Philip Wentworth, Dr. Charles Montague, and Nurse Charlotte Diesel. At the beginning of "High Anxiety", Mel Brooks arrives at Los Angeles Airport and is lead into the men's restroom by a man who turns out to be a lisping flasher (an excruciating moment). Remove Ads Cast Crew And, oh yes, there's an outrageous bit by Charlie Callas as a guy you might find at the local dog shelter.