The Producers

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The Producers

1968

1h 28m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

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75 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Down-and-out producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), who was once the toast of Broadway, trades sexual favors with old ladies for cash contributions. Max's new accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), offhandedly muses that if Max found investors for a new production that turned into a flop, he could legally keep all the extra money. The duo begins to put together the worst play possible, titled "Springtime for Hitler", with a terrible director and a hippie-freak star.

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Critics Consensus

A hilarious satire of the business side of Hollywood, The Producers is one of Mel Brooks' finest, as well as funniest films, featuring standout performances by Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

08/01/2018

5/5

Each time I've watched it - and I've watched it many times - Mel Brooks' The Producers has felt horribly pertinent to the present moment.

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TIME Magazine

08/12/2008

The Producers has many things going for it -- notably a wild, ad-lib energy that explodes in a series of sight gags and punch lines.

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Variety Staff

Variety

08/12/2008

Mel Brooks has turned a funny idea into a slapstick film, thanks to the performers, particularly Zero Mostel.

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Joseph Tomastik

Loud and Clear Reviews

10/05/2024

3/5

The film is far more consistently entertaining in the second half than in the first half, but a lot of the laughs come more from the ideas of what we’re seeing rather than their deliveries.

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John Ferguson

Radio Times

08/30/2024

5/5

While the gags flow freely throughout, it's the jaw-dropping numbers from Springtime for Hitler that cement the film's place in cinema history.

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Tim Dirks

Filmsite

10/12/2022

A+

Writer/director Mel Brooks' debut film and most popular farce was a zany, often brilliant spoof comedy about Broadway productions (and their producers) and the Nazis that many considered shoddy and in very bad taste. The subversive and irreverent film

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Chris H

Feb 26

Wildly funny and full of brilliant performances. An intriguing concept is mined to its fullest and every minute is a joy, even though some of it makes you cringe. There's a brilliant moment (among many) where the play, Springtime for Hitler, opens on Broadway and the audience stares open mouthed; before the camera had cut to the audience, I was already doing that myself. It really is that tasteless and I wonder if the censors might disapprove these days, but of course it's all deliberate and makes its point. Remember too that Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder are/were all Jewish.

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Austin S.

@IAMAVERICK Feb 12

Favorite movie of all time...

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MariofanAlex445

Feb 4

Mel is a GENIUS.

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D P

Jan 24

Kept seeing people talk about this movie, so I finally watched it for myself. Quite interesting. I feel like this movie snuck in a few truths about how things work in Hollywood.

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James H

Jan 12

How did this get made then? haha Love it

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Kevin P

Dec 16

A hilarious and groundbreaking comedy by Mel Brooks that pushed the boundaries of satire and ridiculing the theatrics of the Third Reich. Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel are both really funny and share great chemistry. It's a very funny premise of two producers trying to get rich off of the fundraising money for the worst play imaginable, only for it to become a huge success. All culminating in the absurdity magical number "Springtime for Hitler", which is so funny and absurdist. I have to admit, that opening scene credits scene with the old lady foreplay felt awkward and went on for too long, especially at the start of the film. The movie is very quotable. The stormtroopers pigeon man playwright was a riot. I love the campy play director, the lead actor LSD (who strongly reminds me of Robin Williams), and the ditzy secretary. The audition scene with the giant crowd of Hitler was nuts, only upstaged by the Broadway show's hilariously offensive glory. It's a great satire that holds up.

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Mel Brooks

Director

Zero Mostel

Max Bialystock

Gene Wilder

Leo Bloom

Dick Shawn

Lorenzo St. DuBois

Kenneth Mars

Franz Liebkind

Estelle Winwood

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Synopsis

Down-and-out producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), who was once the toast of Broadway, trades sexual favors with old ladies for cash contributions. Max's new accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), offhandedly muses that if Max found investors for a new production that turned into a flop, he could legally keep all the extra money. The duo begins to put together the worst play possible, titled "Springtime for Hitler", with a terrible director and a hippie-freak star.

Director: Mel Brooks
Producer: Sidney Glazier
Screenwriter: Mel Brooks
Production Co: Crossbow Productions, AVCO Embassy Pictures
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 1968, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 7, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $111.9K
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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