 The reason the film got released at all was due to the intervention  of Peter Sellers (qv). After Brooks completed the picture, he was  told by Executive Producer Joseph E. Levine (qv) that the film,  which was then called "Springtime for Hitler", would not be  released; Levine thought it was in poor taste and not very funny.  While Sellers was in Hollywood making  _I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968)_ (qv), he liked to have films  screened for his friends and himself for entertainment. One night  this film was screened and Sellers loved it. When he heard it would  not be released he began calling Levine and eventually convinced him  to release it, the only compromise being that the title of the film  be changed to "The Producers".