Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden is a fictional musical play within a play in Mel Brooks' 1967 film The Producers, as well as the stage musical adaptation of the movie and the 2005 movie adaptation of the musical. It is a musical about Adolf Hitler, written by Franz Liebkind, an unbalanced former Nazi soldier originally played by Kenneth Mars (and later by Brad Oscar and Will Ferrell in the stage musical and the 2005 film, respectively). According to Dick Cavett, the title was inspired by the 1931 play Springtime for Henry.
In the original film, the play is chosen by the producer Max Bialystock and his accountant Leo Bloom in their fraudulent scheme to raise substantial funding by selling 25,000% of a play, then causing it to fail, and finally keeping all of the remaining money for themselves. To ensure that the play is a total failure, Max selects the script for Springtime for Hitler, described as a genuine "love letter" to Adolf Hitler, and hires the worst director he can find: Roger DeBris, a stereotypical homosexual and transvestite caricature. He casts an out-of-control hippie named Lorenzo St. Dubois, also known by his initials "L.S.D.", in the role of Hitler after he had wandered into the wrong theater by mistake during the casting call.
Original film scene
The play starts with the overture "Springtime for Hitler", featuring dancing stormtroopers, who at one point form a Busby Berkeley–style swastika.. Author Liebkind is originally chosen by Max to play Hitler but, due to an unfortunate accident, he breaks his leg (ironic as the term "break a leg" is used to mean "good luck" in the theater world) and Max then asks DeBris to play Hitler. The swastika choreography at the end is displayed to the audience via a large mirror that is raised, à la A Chorus Line.