Talk:The Producers (1967 film)

Untitled
I propose taking this film out of Start class, now that it has references, a Reception section, etc. Lexein — Preceding undated comment added 14:16, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Budget
Shouldn't the modern equivalent of the original budget be shown? 77.99.57.229 (talk) 20:25, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

plot clarification
There is no error or irregularity in Max's books. What Leo points out is that Max's last flop actually made a small "profit", simply because he raised several thousand dollars more than the show cost to produce. This leads to the realization that, as no one is likely to audit the books of a flop, etc, etc, etc. I might rewrite this when I have time.

14:04, 16 December 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by WilliamSommerwerck (talk • contribs)

It is some time since I have seen the movie, but from memory the scam involved not only raising more money than the production cost, but inflated shares as well, eg giving 50 people a 30% share each, which I presume is definitely illegal. I can't remember, but did the original 'flop' do this? Wolstan Dixie (talk) 13:42, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Yes, Leo says that they have signed contracts for 25,000% of the profits. No, the original flop just raised a few thousand dollars more than needed, which Max casually misappropriated, instead of using it to pay the show's debts or returning it to the investors. Cptbutton (talk) 18:29, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Roger de Bris
Bris is indeed the Yiddish for circumcision, but the character's last name is an obvious pun on the French word debris, commonly used in English to mean wreckage or rubble. Lexo (talk) 19:28, 23 February 2010 (UTC)
 * It's probably a pun on both: there are all sorts of Yiddish jokes in Brooks' movies. "Bris" is an obvious one, adding the "de" to make it sound like an actual last name, which also puns on "debris", is just icing. I'm pretty sure this is how Brooks' mind works (and thank god for that).  freshacconci  talk talk  18:45, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Hogan's Heroes
Heavily edited, then moved this text from the article to here for discussion:
 * The film was released during the run of the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes. The series thematically lampooned Nazis as inept, found dark humor in an otherwise dead-serious predicaments, and used Jewish actors to portray Nazis. Critics of Hogan's Heroes found that scripts were often very funny, but sometimes terribly inappropriate for the subject matter.  It is possible that Brooks may have been emboldened by the success of the show.

--Lexein (talk) 16:54, 26 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Unless we can find a source which actually compares the two, including this would be WP:OR. Saying that "Brooks may have been emboldened by the success of the show" is a reach: do we know that? has he ever said so? I doubt Brooks needed to be emboldened by anyone, plus films tend to be bolder than TV (at least in the 60s) as they could get away with more (on-screen married couples shared a bed far sooner on film than on TV--we had to wait for The Brady Bunch to see a couple on TV actually sleep in the same bed).  freshacconci  talk talk  18:49, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Set in the 1960s??
The top line says this film is "set in the late 1960s". No, it was made in the late 1960s and set in the present. Mel Brooks did not use a fricking time machine to make this film. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.86.98.188 (talk) 10:54, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * You´re an obvious troll longing to be contradicted: google 'The Monster of Nix' video ( which also includes a reference to the original year 1940 'bookies vs waterloo' movie this movie intends to parody ) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.0.70.77 (talk) 13:30, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
 * There is a shot of a newspaper in the film when the casting call for Hitler goes out. It clearly shows "1967-1968" on the cover. I think this pointless argument can be put to bed. --345th (talk) 04:44, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

Title Doesn't Literally Translate in Sweden
In Sweden, however, the title literally translates as "Springtime For Hitler".

What title is this referring to? The context is missing, since The Producers doesn't literally translate into Springtime for Hitler. Instead I found a reference that they changed the title for the Swedish version based on the play within the film and the theme naming often used in that country.

"Theme naming films based on the people involved used to happen somewhat regularly. The best example is arguably Mel Brook‘s filmography. I assume the sentiment was that The Producers was kind of a dull name that translated or not wouldn’t really indicate comedy. The movie was retitled after the play-within-the-film, Det våras för Hitler (Springtime for Hitler). Fair enough, but then they took the Springtime ball and ran with it. The Twelve Chairs became Det våras för svärmor (Springtime for Mother-in-law). Blazing Saddles became Det våras för sheriffen (Springtime for the Sheriff). After that, we got springtimes for Frankenstein, the silent movie, the psychos, the history of the world, Hamlet, space and the slums. The streak was finally broken with Robin Hood: Men in Tights, which got the direct translation Robin Hood: Karlar i trikåer." — Preceding unsigned comment added by HEXdotXXX (talk • contribs) 05:57, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

Outside references and pop culture
This line is in the article "According to critic David Ehrenstein, the film marked the first use of the term "Creative Accounting."[26][27] However, a philandering husband uses the term in the 1962 movie "Boys Night Out" when he makes up the name of a class he is supposedly taking." If the film isn't the first to use the term "creative accounting", why even list it here? -Xcuref1endx (talk) 05:50, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Copy edit tag added
Just added a copy edit tag; the copy in this article really needs some work, as it currently reads like a book report written by a high school student. --345th (talk) 04:42, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

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Infulence..?
A Perry Mason epsiode "The case of the Wary Wildcatter" about a murderous/Blackmailed/Conman who oversells stock in a oil well-which to his shock-pumps oil! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.5.87.37 (talk) 20:59, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

Date consistency
The movie was officially released in 1968. The info box says "1968". The theatrical release was in 1967. The first lede sentence originally called it a "1967" movie (which I changed to 1968). Do we stick with 1968 (1968 movie, released in 1968) and explain the 1967 discrepancy, or do we call it a 1967 movie and maybe change the infobox to match? - Tenebris 66.11.171.90 (talk) 19:55, 9 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Per WP:FILMRELEASE it is a 1967 film so I have corrected the inconsistencies. It was not uncommon for older films to have slow roll-outs or roadshows over a year or two before going to a national release. We should use the date that people started paying to see it. Betty Logan (talk) 12:42, 13 August 2017 (UTC)

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would this scam work?
I've never seen anyone address this. FOARP (talk) 11:55, 4 January 2019 (UTC)


 * FOARP The idea is not original to Mel Brooks, though I don’t know if he thought of it independently or read Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead (1943). In the novel, it was the same scheme run by a housing developer and his cohorts.  I rather suspect the idea was not original to Rand either.  I’d wager it has been attempted previously and/or subsequently; perhaps successfully, perhaps not on one or more occasions, though I have no definite information of such.HistoryBuff14 (talk) 20:38, 14 May 2019 (UTC)
 * A difficult part of such a scheme is finding people to back a bad play. In the movie, Max already knows a large number of lonely rich old women and is a talented con man.

Cptbutton (talk) 15:00, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

I'm remembering incorrectly or a plot hole?
In the article it states that after the fraud the duo will flee to Rio de Janeiro. Is this actually mentioned in the original movie? Although I’ve seen it several times over the years, I haven’t in awhile. I don’t recall such a plan being discussed. If it was, then in retrospect it seems a major plot hole. If the idea is to afterwards run, then why even bother with the expense and work of putting on a play, terrible or otherwise? Just collect the money from the investors and book. For that matter, even after the play turned out to be a most unexpected smash they could have fled to Rio anyway if that was the original plan. I thought the idea was that as long as the investors didn’t put their heads together, the plan would work with no one ever suspecting that a fraud even occurred. I assumed Max collected money from old ladies who didn’t know one another. So is this Rio plan in the original movie? Thanks.HistoryBuff14 (talk)

Yes, Max says that is the plan and even sings briefly about Rio.Cptbutton (talk) 14:27, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

This page is a mess
I'm not sure how the wikiquote links are generated, but it comes off extremely sloppy if visitors have to go looking for it themselves because the date of the film release keeps getting changed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:8720:CDC0:B03E:FA48:2138:F882 (talk) 04:43, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

Title is wrong and appears to have been hacked
The movie came out in the year 1968 and I'm having a great deal of trouble restoring the original title.InsulinRS (talk) 20:17, 8 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Movie premiere was November 1967, even according to the TCM website. Article was moved from 1968 to 1967 title in 2017. Schazjmd   (talk)  20:43, 8 November 2020 (UTC)

"The Producers (1968 film" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect The Producers (1968 film and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 October 27 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Steel1943 (talk) 19:10, 27 October 2022 (UTC)