Though not as well known as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, or Spaceballs, 1977's High Anxiety is actually one of my favorite Mel Brooks films. The movie stars Brooks movie regulars Madeline Khan, Harvey Korman, and Cloris Leachman, as well as Mel Brooks himself. It is a parody of suspense films, particularly those of Alfred Hitchcock and most notably the 1958 classic Vertigo.
(watching these two back-to-back works as a solid double-feature)
In the film Mel Brooks plays Dr. Richard Thorndyke, a psychiatrist that suffers from a condition known as 'High Anxiety' and who has just accepted a job as the new Director at the 'Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous'. The previous Director, Dr. Ashley had recently died, and there are some suspicious goings on at the institute. For example; there is one patient whose family is paying $12,000 a month for his recovery, and yet his file shows that each time he shows signs of getting better he conveniently suffers another psychotic breakdown. Once Thorndyke starts to suspect that Nurse Diesel (played by Cloris Leachman) and Dr. Montague (played by Harvey Korman) are exaggerating the illnesses of wealthy patients to keep them institutionalized longer, the two hatch a scheme to frame him for murder.
There are a ton of great gags and memorable scenes in this film. All of the actors are on top of their game and each one gets some great lines. Mel Brooks and Alfred Hitchcock are two of my all-time favorite filmmakers so this is a movie that hits the mark for me and it's one I come back to time and time again.
Overall, while I don't think anyone will consider this one Mel Brooks' best, I definitely recommend it.
5 out of 5
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