Review of 20, 000 Cheers for the Chain Gang

. . . will strike many as being in poor taste. Some have said that the "Springtime for Hitler" portion of Mel Brooks' THE PRODUCERS crosses a line by indirectly lampooning SCHINDLER'S LIST. Since CHAIN GANG gave Adolf Eichmann and his Nazi cronies many tips from the government of Georgia (the U.S. Southern state--NOT the former part of the U.S.S.R.) for the planning of Auschwitz and the other Death Camps a few years later, this Vitaphone live action short--which segues from actual CHAIN GANG footage into the most gonzo-style mocking of America's Fascist Past--is akin to lampooning Kiddie Porn. Adults should be smart enough to know that you just don't do it! The only useful purpose to which 20,000 CHEERS FOR THE CHAIN GANG can be put in a 21st Century World is to help separate the sheep from the goats (as in the middle portion of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE). After suspects have had their eyes taped open, they would be forced to watch the Paul Muni feature first. That would be followed by this travesty of bad humor. Any suspect who emitted a single snicker, titter, or chuckle during CHEERS would then be locked up for life. Society must rid itself of such Sociopaths!