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 |
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. Written by Scott Renshaw <as.idc@forsythe.stanford.edu>
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.