Quotes from Mel's Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dracula: Dead and Loving it

Harvey Korman as Dr. John Seward says this (incredulously and accurately) to Peter MacNicol as Renfield. It also stars Leslie Nielsen as Dracula, and Brooks himself plays Van Helsing; released in 1995, it seems to be his final feature-length directorial effort, having accrued an impressive filmography as a producer in the time since. "Dead and Loving It", at risk of understatement, doesn't tend to receive the same acclaim as his earlier efforts, which may explain the career shift afterwards.

Answer: Spaceballs

Dot Matrix, a droid voiced by Joan Rivers, says this to John Candy as Barf, a half-man, half-dog (called a "Mog") as he introduces himself through the sunroof (star roof?) of a small spacecraft. "Spaceballs," a parody of what we would now call the "Star Wars" original trilogy, released in 1987 and also starred Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Rick Moranis, and - of course - Mel Brooks in a dual role: President Skroob of the planet Druidia, whose supply of air is threatened by the titular Spaceballs; and Yogurt, merchandiser extraordinaire and master of the Schwartz (like the Force, but sillier). George Lucas allegedly loved the film, though he would not allow any real merchandise to be made, just in case somebody might have confused it with the real thing.

Answer: The Producers

Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock says this to Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom. "The Producers" was Mel Brooks' first directorial effort, and while its subject matter prevented it from getting a real theatrical run, it won Brooks the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and something equally challenging and lucrative: a successful Broadway adaptation, which starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick as Bialystock and Bloom, respectively. The film concerns a womanizing producer (Bialystock) and meek accountant (Bloom) who seek to make a fortune by defrauding investors with a deliberately horrible stage musical. The film also featured Dick Shawn as Lorenzo St. DuBois, the unreliable and flamboyant star of "Springtime for Hitler," and Kenneth Mars as Franz Liebkind, playwright of questionable mental state and highly disagreeable views.

One more note - while Gene Wilder went on to famously work with Brooks on such films as "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein," he only made one other film with Zero Mostel: a 1973 adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's "Rhinoceros," part of the American Film Theatre series of films based on plays. It was one of only two films directed by Tom O'Horgan, better known for his directorial efforts on Broadway (maybe you've heard of "Hair" or "Jesus Christ Superstar"), and was not well received.

Answer: Silent Movie

"Silent Movie" is precisely what it claims to be, with action performed silently (apart from score and sound effects) and dialogue presented as text onscreen. The exception to the rule is a single word, spoken in French by Marcel Marceau as himself; not only is it the only spoken word in the film, it's the only word Marceau said onscreen in his entire career.

Released in 1976, "Silent Movie" stars Brooks as Mel Funn, a film producer who, along with his cohorts Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman, also in "Young Frankenstein") and Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise, also in, gosh, at least five other Brooks films), seeks to do the unthinkable and make a totally silent comedy in 1970s Hollywood. The film serves as an "affectionate parody" of the silent era and features numerous celebrities as fictionalized versions of themselves, who are recruited into the production in many very silly ways.

Answer: History of the World: Part One

Cloris Leachman as Madame DeFarge says this in the French Revolution portion of the film as part of her rationale to instigate the... well, the French Revolution. The character is taken directly from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" rather than actual history (not that the rest of the film is terribly concerned with veracity, either). Brooks, who also wrote, produced, and directed the film, plays five different characters, including (but not limited to) a Roman stand-up comic and the leader of the Spanish Inquisition.

While there wasn't originally a plan for a sequel - the title is taken from a famously unfinished work by Sir Walter Raleigh - one was produced for Hulu in 2023 as a miniseries.

Answer: Blazing Saddles

Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart says this to the people of Rock Ridge and the builders of the nearby railroad, convincing them with great success to help him try to save the town. "Blazing Saddles," released in 1974, was a lucky success for Brooks, who had feared the end of his career after the under-performance of his second film, "The Twelve Chairs." The film starred Tony-winner Little as the Black sheriff of a frontier town, Gene Wilder as his once-legendary sidekick (replacing Gig Young, who collapsed on set on the first day of filming), Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, Alex Karras, Madeline Kahn, and Brooks himself in two roles: Governor William J. LePetomane and a Native American chief (who speaks Yiddish, in a commentary on a long-standing Hollywood casting habit).

The movie was also adapted into a short-lived sitcom called "Black Bart," which retained one writer and none of the film's cast, whose pilot episode aired only once. It's also been regarded as one of the greatest film satires ever made, so there's that, too.

Answer: Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Cary Elwes says this as Robin Hood himself during an archery contest; the script indicates that he gets another shot! "Men in Tights" was released in 1993 and loosely based on a number of earlier Robin Hood works, particularly "Prince of Thieves" - Brooks is featured as Rabbi Tuckman, based on Friar Tuck.

While "Men in Tights" wasn't as critically acclaimed as Brooks' earlier parodies, it's still considered a cult classic and performed wonderfully at the box office. It also starred Richard Lewis and Roger Rees, and marked the film debut of Dave Chappelle.

Answer: Young Frankenstein

If you're wondering why this, of all things, is the quote included from a film as funny as "Young Frankenstein," wonder no longer - it's where Aerosmith got the title of one of their best known songs.

"Young Frankenstein," released in 1974, was a close collaboration between Brooks and Gene Wilder, partly as thanks for the latter's involvement in "Blazing Saddles." The movie was Wilder's idea and starred him as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, Marty Feldman as Igor, and Peter Boyle as the monster - it also featured Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, and Kenneth Mars, among others. Notably, Brooks doesn't play a named character in the film, which was one of Wilder's conditions to stick with the project, though he's briefly seen in a mob and heard as the recorded voice of Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

Answer: High Anxiety

Brooks himself says this as Dr. Richard Thorndyke, addressing Howard Morris as Dr. Vicktor Lillolman, his mentor in psychiatry. Dr. Thorndyke, the new head of a psychiatric institute, juggles the investigation of his unscrupulous coworkers' crimes with an investigation into his own psyche to resolve his own... "High Anxiety!" A parody of the works of Alfred Hitchcock (especially "Vertigo" and "Spellbound"), the film was released in 1977 to mixed reception, mostly on the basis that it's difficult to parody someone like Hitchcock who, despite his reputation for dramatic and serious works, didn't shy away from humor. "High Anxiety" is noted for its careful technical approach, imitating as closely as its crew could manage the look and feel of Hitchcock's work down to the editing, and for the fact that Hitchcock himself quite liked it.

Answer: Life Stinks

Brooks says this as Goddard Bolt, an extremely wealthy man living secretly in a slum as a wager over its property rights - he says this in an argument with a homeless man claiming to be John Paul Getty over which of them is richer. 1991's "Life Stinks" is unique in Brooks' directorial filmography in that it's an original work that isn't about show business, and it aims at a warm message about the important things in life.

It's not regarded as one of his better films overall, though Brooks has called it his favorite of his own onscreen performances; it also stars Jeffrey Tambor and Lesley Ann Warren.