Set in New York in 1959, Theatre Producer Max Bialystock was once the king of Broadway, but recently all his shows have closed on opening night.  Max's life looks as though  it will turn around when he's visited by the downtrodden accountant Leo Bloom, who proposes a scheme tailor made for Producers who can only make flops - raise lots more money than you need and then make sure that the show is despised.  No one will be interested in it, so they can pocket the surplus.

The plot develops to this end, when Max and Leo produce a Broadway musical called "Springtime For Hitler" written by escaped Nazi Franz Liebken.  Then they get the insanely flamboyant Roger De Bris to direct.  Finally, they hire as lead actress the loopy Sweedish bombshell Ulla (whose surname has over 15 syllables!).  As opening night draws near, what can go wrong?  Well, there's no accounting for taste ...