History of the World: Part I
A mischievous comic leads an eclectic troupe through wildly irreverent vignettes that lampoon humanity’s grandest epochs, daring to rewrite history for laughs while courting outrage.
“Ten million years in the making. The truth, the whole truth, and everything, but the truth!”
Synopsis
An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 134+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by John C HowardShot by Woody OmensScored by John MorrisDesigned by Harold Michelson
Box Office
1981 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 3.2× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$31.7M
Opening weekend: $4.8M — 15% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Peak 484 theaters
Also known as
- Mel Brooks – Die verrückte Geschichte der Weltde
- La loca historia del Mundoes
- La Folle Histoire du mondefr
- La pazza storia del mondoit
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Cast & Crew
134 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Mel Brooks
as Torquemada
Gregory Hines
as Josephus
Dom Deluise
as Emperor Nero
Madeline Kahn
as Empress Nympho
Harvey Korman
as Count de Monet
Cloris Leachman
as Madame Defarge
Ron Carey
as Swiftus
Pamela Stephenson
as Mademoiselle Rimbaud
Shecky Greene
as Marcus Vindictus
Sid Caesar
as Chief Caveman
Ted White
as Roman Officer (uncredited)
Albert Whitlock
as Used Chariot Salesman (uncredited)
Supporting cast
114Tom Willett
as Roman Senator (uncredited)
Fred Wood
as Revolutionary Peasant (uncredited)
Sheb Wooley
as Screaming Peasants (archive sound) (uncredited)
Mary Margaret Humes
as Miriam
Orson Welles
as Narrator (voice)
Rudy De Luca
as Prehistoric Man / Captain Mucus - The Roman Empire
Leigh French
as Prehistoric Woman
Richard Karron
as Prehistoric Man
Susette Carroll
as Prehistoric Man
Sammy Shore
as Prehistoric Man
J J Barry
as Prehistoric Man
Earl Finn
as Prehistoric Man / Disciple - The Roman Empire
Suzanne Kent
as Prehistoric Man
Michael Champion
as Prehistoric Man
Howard Morris
as Court Spokesman - The Roman Empire
Charlie Callas
as Soothsayer - The Roman Empire
Dena Dietrich
as Competence - The Roman Empire
Paul Mazursky
as Roman Officer - The Roman Empire
Ron Clark
as Stoned Soldier #1 - The Roman Empire
Jack Riley
as Stoned Soldier #2 - The Roman Empire
Art Metrano
as Leonardo DaVinci - The Roman Empire
Diane Day
as Caladonia - The Roman Empire
Henny Youngman
as Chemist - The Roman Empire
Hunter Von Leer
as Lt. Bob - The Roman Empire
Fritz Feld
as Maitre 'D - The Roman Empire
Hugh Hefner
as Entrepreneur - The Roman Empire
Pat Mccormick
as Plumbing Salesman - The Roman Empire
Barry Levinson
as Column Salesman - The Roman Empire
Sid Gould
as Barber-Bloodletter - The Roman Empire
Ronny Graham
as Oedipus - The Roman Empire / Jew #2 - The Spanish Inquisition
Jim Steck
as Gladiator - The Roman Empire
John Myhers
as Leader of Senate - The Roman Empire
Lee Delano
as Wagon Driver - The Roman Empire
Robert Goldberg
as Senator #1 - The Roman Empire
Alan U Schwartz
as Senator #2 - The Roman Empire
Jay Burton
as Senator #3 - The Roman Empire
Ira Miller
as Roman Citizen - The Roman Empire
Johnny Silver
as Small Liar - The Roman Empire
Charles Thomas Murphy
as Auctioneer - The Roman Empire
Rod Haase
as Roman Officer - The Roman Empire
Eileen Saki
as Slave - The Roman Empire
John Hurt
as Jesus - The Roman Empire
Henry Kaiser
as Disciple - The Roman Empire
Zale Kessler
as Disciple - The Roman Empire
Anthony J Messina
as Disciple - The Roman Empire
Howard Mann
as Disciple - The Roman Empire
Sandy Helberg
as Disciple - The Roman Empire
Mitchell Bock
as Disciple - The Roman Empire
Molly Basler
as Game Show Girl - The Roman Empire
Deborah Dawes
as Game Show Girl - The Roman Empire
Christine Dickinson
as Game Show Girl - The Roman Empire
Lisa Sohm
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Michele Drake
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Jeana Keough
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Lisa Welch
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Janis Schmitt
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Heidi Sorenson
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Lori Sutton
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Lou Mulford
as Vestal Virgin - The Roman Empire
Jackie Mason
as Jew #1 - The Spanish Inquisition
Phil Leeds
as Chief Monk - The Spanish Inquisition
Jack Carter
as Rat Vendor - The French Revolution
Jan Murray
as Nothing Vendor - The French Revolution
Andreas Voutsinas
as Bearnaise - The French Revolution
Spike Milligan
as Monsieur Rimbaud - The French Revolution
John Hillerman
as Rich Man - The French Revolution
Sydney Lassick
as Applecore Vendor - The French Revolution
Jonathan Cecil
as Poppinjay - The French Revolution
Andrew Sachs
as Gerard - The French Revolution
Fiona Richmond
as Queen - The French Revolution
Nigel Hawthorne
as Citizen Official - The French Revolution
Bella Emberg
as Baguette - The French Revolution
Geoffrey Larder
as Footman - The French Revolution
George Lane Cooper
as Executioner - The French Revolution
Stephanie Marrian
as Lady Marie - The French Revolution
Royce Mills
as Duke D'Honnefleur - The French Revolution
Mike Cottrell
as Tartuffe - The French Revolution
Gerald Staddon
as Le Fevre - The French Revolution
John Ghavan
as Marche - The French Revolution
Rusty Goffe
as Le Muff - The French Revolution
Scott Henderson
as Coming Attractions
Michael Miller
as Coming Attractions
Royce D Applegate
as Coming Attractions
Phil Adams
as Jew (uncredited)
Bea Arthur
as Dole office clerk (uncredited)
Cindy Ashley
as Swimmer (uncredited)
Benjie Bancroft
as Roman (uncredited)
Sean Barry Weske
as Insolent Flunky (uncredited)
Ray Bickel
as Jew (uncredited)
Russell Brook
as Peasant (uncredited)
Ava Cadell
as Bit Part (uncredited)
David Chavez
as Torturer (uncredited)
Gilbert B Combs
as Jew (uncredited)
Dick Durock
as Roman Guard (uncredited)
Harry Fielder
as Prison Guard (uncredited)
Sandra Gray
as Nun / Synchronized Swimmer Dancer (uncredited)
Sandy Gray
as Swimmer (uncredited)
Raven Grey Eagle
as Minor Role (uncredited)
Sandi Gross
as Swimmer (uncredited)
Edward J Heim
as Torturer (uncredited)
Walter Henry
as King Louis XVI's Servant (uncredited)
Lars Hensen
as Roman (uncredited)
Stan Mazin
as Dancer (uncredited)
Denise Mckenna
as Nun (uncredited)
Dennon Rawles
as Torturer (uncredited)
Carl Reiner
as Voice of God speaking to Moses (uncredited)
Cleo Rocos
as French Girl (uncredited)
Philip Romano
as Jew (uncredited)
Peter Ross Murray
as French Revolutionary (uncredited)
Dom Salinaro
as Dancer (uncredited)
Cha Cha Sandoval Mcmahon
as Swimmer (uncredited)
Ted Sprague
as Dancer (uncredited)
Judy Susman
as Swimmer (uncredited)
Jack Tyree
as Jew (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
2Other crew
8Parents Guide
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