Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke (Mel Brooks) is a well-known psychiatrist suffering from what his own doctor calls "high anxiety," one of the many recurring references to the titular psychiatric condition in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller VERTIGO. After being appointed as the head of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the
Very, VERY Nervous, he is framed for murder and must face his condition.Even if there was not a title card in the very beginning of the film to tell us so, it would still be clear that this is Mel Brooks's look at Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense. Though the plot pokes fun at VERTIGO, there are many notable sequences that work as spoofs of other films directed by Hitchcock, such as the nonsensical PSYCHO scenes and the scatological parody of THE BIRDS.Music, as always for Brooks, is a key component to this spoof. Remember the scene in PSYCHO when Marion is driving in the rain away from her boss, and we hear the driving violin music? There is a scene from HIGH ANXIETY that is a direct copy, only instead of us hearing the violin music, the radio is turned on. In another scene, we see Brooks's eyes bulge in surprise and hear suspenseful music. At first we actually do believe that Mel Brooks is using Hitchcock's corny suspense methods, but within less than five seconds the chord transitions into pep rally music, and we see Brooks's character turn to look at a bus on the other side of the road, filled with people carrying band instruments.The most important part about HIGH ANXIETY is that if you have not seen Hitchcock or you have not appreciated any of his films, skip it. This film was most likely constructed out of inside jokes for those who understood Alfred Hitchcock. Otherwise, I would highly recommend watching it, as for an overlooked film, it's quite decent.
September 19, 2011
