High Anxiety
| Year: | 1977 |
| Production Co: | Crossbow Films |
| Studio: | 20th Century Fox |
| Director: | Mel Brooks |
| Writer: | Mel Brooks |
| Cast: | Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Dick Van Patten, Barry Levinson |
Back when Mel Brooks was the King of Comedy, he made some of the best funny movies ever. High Anxiety is his love letter to Hitchcock films, humour swinging between broad and subtle. Looking back, Brooks was from the same school as the early Zucker brothers, he just had a little more refinement.
He's psychoanalyst Richard Thorndyke, assigned to an out-of-the-way mental hospital (the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous) where he'll be joined by his former mentor Professor Liloldman to do battle with Nurse Diesel (Leachman) and Charles Montague (Korman) when he uncovers a terrible conspiracy. The only thing stopping Thorndyke is his inexplicable fear of heights, the only thing spurring him on his love for the beautiful daughter of a patient, Madeline Kahn
Like early Zucker Brothers' work, there are too many classic lines, scenes and characters to list. With his regular cast of collaborators around him, Brooks shines, managing to edge in broad nods to The Birds, Vertigo, Psycho , Rear Window and too many others to mention.
He's psychoanalyst Richard Thorndyke, assigned to an out-of-the-way mental hospital (the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous) where he'll be joined by his former mentor Professor Liloldman to do battle with Nurse Diesel (Leachman) and Charles Montague (Korman) when he uncovers a terrible conspiracy. The only thing stopping Thorndyke is his inexplicable fear of heights, the only thing spurring him on his love for the beautiful daughter of a patient, Madeline Kahn
Like early Zucker Brothers' work, there are too many classic lines, scenes and characters to list. With his regular cast of collaborators around him, Brooks shines, managing to edge in broad nods to The Birds, Vertigo, Psycho , Rear Window and too many others to mention.