The reason the film got released at all was due to the intervention of
Peter Sellers. After Brooks completed the picture, he was told by Executive Producer
Joseph E. Levine that the film, which was then called "Springtime for Hitler", would not be released; Levine thought it was in poor taste and not very funny. While Sellers was in Hollywood making
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968), he liked to have films screened for his friends and himself for entertainment. One night this film was screened and Sellers loved it. When he heard it would not be released he began calling Levine and eventually convinced him to release it, the only compromise being that the title of the film be changed to "The Producers".
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