Lovers of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies are no stranger to anxiety; the Hitchcockian thrillers kept them on the edge of their seats. Mel Brooks, an admirer of Hitchcock’s talent, came up with his tribute to the legendary filmmaker with a humorous spin on Hitchcockian anxiety, namely High Anxiety (1977).
In addition to writing and directing, Brooks is also the acting lead in High Anxiety and plays a psychologist, Dr. Richard Thorndyke, who lives with fear of heights and is sent to replace the head of an institute that offers psychotherapy to treat the mentally unwell. But at the new place, Dr. Thorndyke finds himself among staff that gives the neurotics a run for their lost marbles. Now Dr. Thorndyke seeks to solve the mystery of Dr. Ashley’s unexplained death while staying at the institute on top of the cliff.
The story of High Anxiety is a patchwork of several famous Hitchcock classic including Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest, and others with individual scenes recreated as a parody of the original. Cloris Leachman as Nurse Charlotte Diesel, Harvey Korman as Dr. Charles Montague, and Ron Carey as Brophy all prove themselves great comedic assets to Brooks’ anxiety-filled quest at the institute. Together, they keep you guessing but more so chuckling till the end.
It goes without saying that viewers really need to be familiar with Alfred Hitchcock’s movies to enjoy and appreciate the humor served in Brooks’ work. Hitchcock himself is said to have shown his appreciation of High Anxiety by sending Brooks a case of wine.
