109. The Producers (1968) (with Harry Marks)

It's Springtime for Laci and Matt as film historian Harry Marks (@lobbyintros on TikTok) joins the show to go over Mel Brooks's first movie: the classic comedy The Producers (1968). Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder give two of the funniest performances ever… but what about the rest of the movie? Is it laugh-out-loud-funny in 2024? Or is it hopelessly dated? Or is there possibly a third option? Harry's making great videos about classic films on his TikTok. We'd like to point you specifically to his movie intros (https://bit.ly/3TB6KVV), his series on the Hollywood Blacklist (https://bit.ly/43EsswF), and his series on the WGA strike of 1960 (https://bit.ly/3TYksDP).  Next week: We're taking a week off. We'll be back on April 12, 2024 with an episode about Overboard (1987). Watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oONRODqNHxY   Time stamps: 00:12:25 — Our personal histories with The Producers and Mel Brooks 00:20:30 — Pre-movie predictions 00:24:47 — History segment: Career overviews of Mel Brooks and Zero Mostel; development and legacy of The Producers 00:42:10 — In-depth movie discussion 01:23:10 — Final thoughts and star ratings   Artwork by Laci Roth.   Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).   Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:  "Winston-Salem" - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM "Snake Drama" - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg "The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet" - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ   Sources: All About Me by Mel Brooks - https://amzn.to/49l2i3o  Kiss Me Like a Stranger by Gene Wilder - https://amzn.to/3TV8Wcb