High Anxiety (1977)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Mel Brooks (written by) &
Ron Clark (written by) ...

Release Date:

1 September 1978 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

The Master of Comedy takes on The Master of Suspense!

Plot:

Dr. Richard Thorndyke arrives as new administrator of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, VERY Nervous to discover some suspicious goings-on...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Directed By Star | Impostor | Hitchcock Spoof | Dominatrix

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes.

Cast

Mel Brooks	...	Richard H. Thorndyke
Madeline Kahn	...	Victoria Brisbane
Cloris Leachman	...	Nurse Diesel
Harvey Korman	...	Dr. Charles Montague
Ron Carey	...	Brophy
Howard Morris	...	Professor Lilloman
Dick Van Patten	...	Dr. Wentworth
Jack Riley	...	The Desk Clerk
Charlie Callas	...	Cocker Spaniel
Ron Clark	...	Zachary Cartwright
Rudy De Luca	...	Killer (as Rudy DeLuca)
Barry Levinson	...	Bellboy
Lee Delano	...	Norton
Richard Stahl	...	Dr. Baxter
Darrell Zwerling	...	Dr. Eckhardt

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Italy:VM14 (original rating) | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG (Approved No. 25032) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In yet another reference to Alfred Hitchcock, Dr. Thorndyke is told that a "Mr. MacGuffin" changed his room reservation. Hitchcock's MacGuffins were objects or devices which drove the plot but which were otherwise inconsequential and could be forgotten once they had served their purpose.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the S&M scene, one of Dr. Charles Montague's handcuffs is not properly closed.

Quotes:

Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke: [ripping duct tape off Brophy's mouth] Where is Brisbane?
Brophy: They took him to - WAAAAAAOWWWWW!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Kate & Allie: High Anxiety (#3.18)" (1986)

Soundtrack:

If you love me baby, tell me loud

hits and misses

I have an idea where this film went wrong humor-wise, but first I'd like to comment on the fact that people said that Brooks didn't spoof enough Hitchcock. Well, I haven't seen too many Hitchcock movies (I have been planning to), but I can read, and I read the "movie connections" section of this movie to find a long list of Hitchcock movies spoofed. Perhaps those people weren't watching this film closely enough.

Anyway, here is my theory as to why this film isn't as funny as it could have been (a dramatization):

(Mel Brooks and two writers, whom we'll call "Bob" and "Jeff", are having a meeting about the script of "High Anxiety.")

Bob: Hilarious script, Mel. One of your funniest works yet.

Jeff: Only problem is, it's too short. This will only turn out to be about an hour long.

Bob: Yeah, you need some way to make it longer.

Mel: (thinking about it) Well, I could develop the plot more, or I could add more jokes, but I'm not gonna do that. I'm just gonna extend some of the jokes. Hell, I figure, if one joke is funny, then if I make it last longer, it'll be funnier, right?

Jeff and Bob: (casting each other nervous glances, but too afraid to tell Mel that this is a bad idea) Um...right.

And that's just it. Some of these jokes are extended until they are no longer funny. Of course, the movie does have its moments of inspired hilarity, but there are also many times when Brooks milked a joke for all it was worth - and it came out boring, e.g. the painful "Fight it!" sequence, which goes on WAY too long.

Note that I didn't say that Brooks built onto the jokes; that could've worked (see any Farrelly Bros. movie, especially the "frank and beans" scene from "There's Something About Mary" for proof). But no, Brooks just extended the jokes. That doesn't work. It's too bad, too, because there are some genuinely funny moments in this movie. This movie should only be for true Brooks fans (like me) - for anyone else looking for a spoof by Mel Brooks, stick to "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein", or "Spaceballs."