The Producers (1967 film) replied that Wilder was "a natural comic, you look like Harpo Marx," and said he would cast him as Leo Bloom once he finished the then-titled "Springtime for Hitler." When production arrived, Peter Sellers accepted an invitation to play Leo Bloom, but he never contacted again, so Brooks remembered Wilder, who was about to make his film debut in "Bonnie and Clyde." Wilder received the script to "The Producers" as Brooks visited him backstage during a performance of "Luv," and his co-star Renée Taylor was brought for a brief appearance as Eva Braun. Dustin Hoffman was originally cast as Liebkind.
The Producers (1967 film) consensus reads, "A hilarious satire of the business side of Hollywood, "The Producers" is one of Mel Brooks' finest, as well as funniest films, featuring standout performances by Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 97 out of 100, based on critics, making it one of the highest-rated films on the site, as well as the second-highest-rated comedy (behind "The Wizard of Oz"). In his review decades later, Roger Ebert claimed, "this is one of the funniest movies ever made." Ebert wrote, "I remember finding myself in an elevator with Brooks and