High Anxiety (1977)

Mel Brooks' parody of Alfred Hitchcock films.

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Mel Brooks, Ron Clark

Stars:

Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Dr. Richard Thorndyke arrives as new administrator of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, VERY Nervous to discover some suspicious goings-on. When he's framed for murder, Dr. Thorndyke must confront his own psychiatric condition, "high anxiety," in order to clear his name. An homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock; contains many parodies of famous Hitchcock scenes from THE BIRDS, PSYCHO, and VERTIGO.

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper | framed for murder | los angeles california | photograph | elevator | 

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Taglines:

A Psycho-Comedy

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alta Ansiedade

Filming Locations:

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,015,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$31,063,038

Company Credits

Production Co:

Crossbow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alfred Hitchcock films that are homaged in this movie include: Dial M for Murder (1954), Family Plot (1976), Frenzy (1972), North by Northwest (1959), Notorious (1946), Psycho (1960), Rebecca (1940), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Spellbound (1945), Suspicion (1941), The Birds, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), The Ring (1927), The 39 Steps (1935), Torn Curtain (1966), Under Capricorn (1949), Vertigo (1958), and The Wrong Man (1956).

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Goofs

Toward the end of the "BIRDS" scene when Dr. Thorndyke is sitting in the gardener's shed being showered by the pigeons above him, one gob of the 'mayonnaise and spinach' mixture enters the picture from the left and strikes him on his left shoulder. Who launched this horizontal projectile?

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Quotes

[Dr. Thorndyke brushes his teeth]
Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke: [starts off slow] Up and down. Up and down. Side, side, side, side, side. In and out. In and out. Side, side, side, side, side.
[quicker, now]
Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke: Up and down. Up and down. Side, side, side, side, side. In and out. In and out.
[very deliberate for the finish]
Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke: Side, side, side, side, side.

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Crazy Credits

Opening dedication: This film is dedicated to the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock

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Alternate Versions

Extra footage added for network versions.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Gabriel Kaplan/Cloris Leachman/Marcel Marceau (1978)

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Soundtracks

If You Love Me Baby, Tell Me Loud
(1977) (uncredited)
Written by Mel Brooks
Courtesy of Fanfare Music Inc.

User Reviews

Fast and furious gags in monumental spoof tribute to Hitchcock...

HIGH ANXIETY suffers only by comparison to Mel's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, but it stands by itself as a frisky, very funny screwball spoof of the works of Alfred Hitchcock.

I do agree with others who complain that Mel should have given the Dr. Thorndyke role to someone like Gene Wilder since Brooks does lack the charisma needed to carry this sort of thing. But the other pros in the cast more than made up for this handicap--especially HARVEY KORMAN, CLORIS LEACHMAN, MADELINE KAHN and HOWARD MORRIS.

Cloris Leachman is hilarious as Nurse Diesel (practically repeating her formidable character in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) and Madeline Kahn is equally funny as the blonde femme fatale who finds herself in one ditzy situation after another as she tries to reach her father inside the asylum--here called "Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous." Nothing subtle here. The gags are touch and go, some funny, some painfully unfunny--so it's strictly a mixed bag.

But if you know MEL BROOKS and his kind of satire, this has enough gags to keep you satisfied. Just don't expect anything on the level of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.