Overwhelming Success
Mel Brooks was genuinely blown away by the success the movie raked in. During an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, he said, “I get goosebumps if I see it on a big screen and there’s 2,000 people in the audience, laughing together. What I envisioned, what I dreamed of, would be a joke that worked or a moment that worked, or something touching that worked.”
Overwhelming Success
Freebies
Another interesting tidbit about the movie is that Mel Brooks got some surprising promotional freebies after it was released. You see, Mel mentioned the popular chocolate covered raisin treats, called Raisinets in the film. We’re not sure if this was accidental or a real product placement, but Mel later gave an interview to Playboy in 1975 and said the Raisinets company sends him free Raisinets every month. We only wonder if they still send him these freebies!
Freebies
