"The Producers" movie comedy, 1968

After success as a TV writer, on comedy albums and the animated "The Critic," Mel Brooks made his feature film writing-directing debut with "The Producers." Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder brought to bawdy, raucous life the aging theatrical producer Max Bialystock, who is reduced to romancing lustful old ladies to finance his schlock productions, and prone-to-hysterics accountant Leo Bloom.

When Bloom suggests that a person can make more money with a show that closes in one night than with a hit, they team to produce "Springtime for Hitler" -- a "sure-fire" Broadway flop (or so they think). It's written by a zany Nazi who still idolizes Hitler, is directed by a cross-dresser and stars a hippie peacenik (Dick Shawn as Lorenzo St. DuBois -- L.S.D.) in the title role.

Perfect scam? Of course not. But Bialystock and Bloom form a bond that bolsters each of them even behind bars.

Brooks included something to offend everyone -- including critics and audiences, who mostly stayed away when it was released. It has since gained steam and esteem, and, upon its DVD release, Roger Ebert called it "one of the funniest movies ever made."

"The Producers: Deluxe Edition" DVD was released by MGM/UA on Dec. 13.

"The Producers" stage musical, 2001

Brooks couldn't let this one go, and a dozen Tony Awards later, it seems inspired genius to have converted his film to a stage musical.

He collaborated with Thomas Meehan (Brooks' cohort for the film "Spaceballs") and charmed Susan Stroman (Broadway's "Oklahoma," "Contact") to choreograph and direct. The over-the-top sets, the Busby Berkeley-esque hotties and the throw-back musical comedy, plus the magical pairing of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the Mostel/Wilder roles, combined to make this the toughest ticket on Broadway. When it went on the road, the touring company debuted here in Pittsburgh.

A key change from film to stage is the loss of the Dick Shawn character -- the '60s are long gone, and a character named L.S.D. seems dated -- and the determination to "keep it gay, keep it gay, keep it gay." Instead of an effeminate hippie Hitler, we get the openly gay transvestite director stepping into the role. For "Desperate Housewives" fans of the murderous George, Roger Bart kicks up his heels as Carmen Ghia, "common-law" assistant to director Roger De Bris (the eminent Tony winner Gary Beach).

Flop-meisters Bialystock and Bloom would be horrified -- this musical is still going on Broadway and on tour. And Lane and Broderick are still a team, currently in the revival of "The Odd Couple."

The official site of the Broadway show at the St. James Theatre, now starring John Treacy Egan and Hunter Foster, is www.producerson-broadway.com.

"The Producers" movie musical comedy, 2005

		Related coverage Movie Review: 'Producers' stays stagy on silver screen

Now we come to the musical movie of the stage musical of the film.

Brooks and Stroman reunite with Lane, Broderick, Beach and Bart and add some familiar faces for box-office zing: Uma Thurman as the buxom beauty Ulla (Nicole Kidman was originally set for the role but had scheduling conflicts), and Will Ferrell is Golden Globe-nominated as Nazi playwright and pigeon lover Franz Liebkind.

The newest "Producers" hit theaters today, and whether or not it's a hit, Brooks, 79, isn't looking back. He's in the process of creating a stage musical of his monster smash, "Young Frankenstein."

For fans of the first film and stage musical, among the things to listen for this time is a thread that carries from screen to stage to screen, and it's literally pure Mel Brooks. In the "Springtime for Hitler" production number, a stormtrooper-chorus guy opens his mouth, but it's Brooks' voice that says: "Don't be stupid, be a smarty. Come and join the Nazi party." Also: Gone are songs including "The King of Broadway," the stage production's opening number, and Brooks has added the Golden Globe-nominated song, "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway."

-- Sharon Eberson