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:

Richard H. Thorndike is hesitant to reveal his middle name (Harpo) to Madeline Kahn. In Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959), Cary Grant's Roger O. Thornhill never reveals his middle name.

Goofs:

Continuity: External images of the aircraft landing in the beginning of the film are of a Boeing 747. The flight deck shots of what is supposed to be the same aircraft are of a Douglas DC-8 (note the center window).

Quotes:

Nurse Diesel: Those who are tardy do not get fruit cup.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Call Northside 777 (1948)

Soundtrack:

If you love me baby, tell me loud

another Mel Brooks zany

Mel Brooks arrives at the "Institute" to find suspicious goings on, and tries to find out what's going on and who is behind it. Cloris Leachman and Harvy Korman are fellow doctors at the asylum, and watch over the institute when Mel must attend a conference. Watch for Barry Levinson (writer, director, producer) as he plays the bellboy. Ron Carey from Barny Miller plays the chauffeur who tries to help Mel when he runs into trouble with the always funny Madeline Kahn. The references to all of Hitchcocks films are many and great, and Mel even sings a song in the movie. His speech given for fellow doctors at the conference goes on a little long, but can be forgiven as it is offset by the quick action for most of the movie. Cloris Leachman is hilarious as Nurse Diesel, and her manner is a funny as her costume. Half the jokes in this movie are things as simple as camera angles, facial expressions, and what people are wearing.