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:

Danger, Intrigue, Romance... and a Touch of Kinkiness!

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Genres:

Comedy

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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

Numerous male actors in the film are either wearing hair pieces or have comb-overs, especially in the scenes at the institute.

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Goofs

0:11:50 (NTSC) When Dr. Richard Thorndike sees his former professor Dr Lilloman right after first arriving at the institute, Dr Lilloman quizzes him by asking, "a patient comes into your office suffering from Belldon's Hysteria, and he has a seizure right in your office, what do you give him?". Dr Thorndike responds "2 cc's of aqueous Thorazine coupled with Somadiozine". There is no such thing as Belldon's Hysteria, and there is such a thing as Thorazine but it is used for bipolar depression but there is no AQUEOUS Thorazine. There is also no such drug as Somadiozine.

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Quotes

[after an attack by the bellboy]
Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke: That kid gets no tip.

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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

Referenced in Mel and His Movies (2013)

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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.