High Anxiety
1977
****
Director: Mel Brooks
Cast: Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman, Dick Van Patten, Ron Carey, Howard Morris, Jack Riley, Charlie Callas, Rudy De Luca, Barry Levinson
Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke is hired to run the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous in Los Angeles. To solve the mysterious events at the institute, Thorndyke must first overcome his own traumas. Mel Brooks' lovingly made parody pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock's best known thrillers: Psycho, Birds, Vertigo, and many others. This funny and understated comedy features wonderfully drawn characters and it relies less on smutty jokes than some of the director's more famous works.
