There is so much in-your-face Jewish humor in “The Producers” as well against the Nazis, portrayed here in a ridicule mode as a crazy bunch of bastards, truths disguised via humor, that most of the new generations of my fellow Jews will miss all of it, esp. at Brandeis Un. and Yeshiva Law School.
A few liberal Jewish fools will even say that he “promoted fascism” but what do they know about history? NOTHING. That is why Brooks movies, including “The History of the World”, “The Producers”, “The Frisco kid”, and esp. “Blazing Saddles”, will be missed re all his open and hidden “yiddishakite” meanings and stories.
Brooks used many very talented Jewish comedians in his movies - Harvey Korman, Madelaine Kahn, Terri Gar, Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel, Cloris Leachman (forgot her real name) and the greatly underrated Kenneth Mars - to add a style of humor that was really from the Golden Age of Vaudeville. He also used Peter Boyle (Irish),a fine actor and other established comedians because they blended in so well with his Jewish slapsticht humor, a little United Nations of comedians if you will.
Brooks was not afraid of shattering “sacred cows”. In fact, he slaughtered them in a way only he could do, yet if another Mel Brooks came along today, he would be “woked”, “shamed”, slandered and smeared as a racist, pro-fascism, anti-black psychopath. My how the world has turned, for the worse, esp. in humor.
Thank God for Mel. He made hundreds of millions of people laugh, not at each other, but with each other. That is the purpose of good humor, and he did it so well.
Thanks for the memories, Mel. My grandchildren love you too!
Brooks had nothing to do with Frisco Kid.
I really enjoyed Dracula Dead and Loving It. “Renfield, you a**hole”!