High Anxiety (1977)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1977
Running Times: 94 mins
Length: 2590 metres
Format: colour     35mm
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox presents a Mel Brooks film~
A production of Crossbow Productions, Inc
Released by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Copyright: © 1977 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Produced by: Mel Brooks
Production Manager: Ernest Wehmeyer

SCRIPT
Written by: Mel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy DeLuca, Barry Levinson

DIRECTION
Directed by: Mel Brooks
Assistant Director: Jonathan Sanger
2nd Assistant Directors: Mark Johnson, David Sosna

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Paul Lohmann
Camera Operator: Ed Koons
Gaffer: Michael J. Marlett
Key Grip: Guy Polzel
Still Photographer: Elliott Marks
Filmed with Panavision equipment
Colour by: De Luxe

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Edited by: John C. Howard
Assistant Editor: Mary Scott
Apprentice Editor: Thomas G. Jingles

MUSIC
Music: John Morris
Original Music Copyright © 1977 Twentieth Century Music Corp.
Orchestrations by: Jack Hayes, John Morris, Nathan Scott, Ralph Burns
Scoring Mixer: Danny Wallin
Music Editor: John R. Harris

SONGS AND ADDITIONAL MUSIC
Title Song:
"High Anxiety"
Music and lyrics by Mel Brooks
Original Music and Lyrics Copyright © 1977 Fox Fanfare Music Inc.
Sung by Mel Brooks

SOUND
Production Mixer: Gene Cantamessa
Sound Effects: William Hartman, Richard Sperber
Rerecording Mixer: Richard Portman

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Costume Designed by: Patricia Norris
Costumers: Jered Green, Nancy Martinelli, Wally Harton
Makeup: Tom Tuttle, Terry Miles
Hairdressers: Sugar Blymyer, Linda Trainoff

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Jack Monroe

VISUAL EFFECTS
Special Visual Effects by: Albert J. Whitlock
Titles and Opticals: Pacific Titles & Optical

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Peter Wooley
Assistant Art Director: Edward Richardson
Set Decorators: Richard Kent, Anne MacCauley
Property Master: Bill MacSems
Construction Coordinator: Hendrik Wynands

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Supervisor: Marie Kenney
Continuity Sequences by: Harold Michelson
Production Accountant: Abe Glazer
Production Consultant: Ron Clark
Assistant to Mr Brooks: Roslyn Chaitoff
Assistant to Producer: Stuart Cornfeld
Transportation: Transcord

LOCATIONS
Locations: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, USA; Hyatt Regency Hotel, San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, USA; Mount St Mary's College, Los Angeles, California, USA; San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco, California, USA

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This film is dedicated to the Master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock

CASTING
Casting: Melnick / Holstra

CAST
Mel Brooks (Dr Richard H. Thorndyke)
Madeline Kahn (Victoria Brisbane)
Cloris Leachman (Nurse Charlotte Diesel)
Harvey Korman (Dr Charles Montague)

also starring
Ron Carey (Brophy)
Howard Morris (Professor Lilloman)
Dick Van Patten (Dr Philip Wentworth)
Jack Riley (desk clerk at Hyatt Regency)
Charlie Callas (Cocker Spaniel)
Ron Clark (Zachary Cartwright III)
Rudy DeLuca (Braces)
Barry Levinson (Dennis the bellboy)
Lee Delano (Norton)
Bob Ridgely (flasher at LAX)
Richard Stahl (Dr Baxter)
Albert J. Whitlock (Arthur Brisbane)
Darrell Zwerling (Dr Eckhardt)
Pearl Shear (screaming woman at airport gate)
Murphy Dunne (piano player at Hyatt Regency)
Arnold Soboloff (Dr Colburn)
Al Hopson (man who is shot)
Eddie Ryder (doctor at convention)
Sandy Helberg (airport attendant)
Ira Miller (psychiatrist with children)
Frederic Franklyn (man)
Jimmy Martinez (waiter)
Deborah Dawes (stewardess)
Beatrice Colen (maid at Hyatt Regency)
Robert Manuel (policeman at airport)
Hunter von Leer (policemen at airport)
Bernie Kuby (Dr Wilson)
John Dennis (orderly)
Billy Sands (customer)
Robin Menken (cocktail waitress)
Frank Campanella (bartender)

Henry Kaiser (new groom)
Bullets Durgom (man in phone booth)
Joe Bellan (male attendant)
Mitchell Bock (bar patron)
Jay Burton (patient)
Bryan Englund (orderly #2)
Anne Macey (screaming woman)
Alan U. Schwartz (psychiatrist)

PLOT SUMMARY

Dr Richard Thorndyke takes over the running of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous and finds that there is more going on there than meets the eye. He's soon framed for murder and has to battle his own "high anxiety" in order to clear his name.

AVAILABILITY

Brazil
Video Distributors: Abril Vídeo
DVD Distributors: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Germany
DVD Distributors: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

USA
Theatrical Distributors: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Video Distributors: Fox Video; Key Video

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Argentina
Rating: 13

Australia
Rating: PG

Finland
Rating: K-16

Iceland
Rating: L

Norway
Rating: 16 (original rating); 15 (re-rating)

Singapore
Rating: PG

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 15

USA
Rating: PG

AWARDS

1978
Golden Globes, USA
Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy - nominated
Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy (Mel Brooks) - nominated

TIMELINE

1977
December
25: USA - theatrical release

1978
September
1: Sweden - theatrical release
14: West Germany - theatrical release
29: Finland - theatrical release

December
20: Spain - theatrical release

1984
September
11: UK - television broadcast (on BBC2)

1989
January
8: UK - television broadcast (on BBC2)

1992
July
28: UK - television broadcast (on BBC1)

1994
February
6: UK - television broadcast (on BBC1)

1998
February
24: UK - television broadcast (on Channel 4)

2003
July
5: Germany - DVD release (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)

2005
October
1: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 1)
3: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 2)
18: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 1 / Sky Cinema 2)
19: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 2)

November
20: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 2)
31: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 1)

2006
January
1: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 2)

February
24: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 1 / Sky Cinema 2)

March
21: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 1)
22: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 2)

May
4: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 1)
5: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 2)

June
3: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 1)
5: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema 2)

POSTER TAGS

A Psycho-Comedy

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

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

Alta Ansiedade - Brazilian title
Alta tensione - Italian title
Las angustias del Dr Mel Brooks - Argentinean title
Det våras för galningarna - Swedish title
Le grand frisson - French title
Höhenkoller - West German title
Høj skræk - Danish title
Korkeuskammo - Finnish title
Lek wysokosci - Polish title
Máxima ansiedad - Spanish title
Mel Brooks Höhenkoller - West German title

LINKS

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000)

SEE ALSO
The Birds (1963)
Frenzy (1972)
Psycho (1960)
Spellbound (1945)
Vertigo (1958)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)

REFERENCES

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

acrophobia, airports, birds, bridges, chauffeurs, elevators, hotels, the ocean, psychiatric hospitals, psychics, showers, spoofs

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008