Young Frankenstein
Mel Brooks is responsible for two of the greatest comedy pictures of all time: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. I had the distinct pleasure of watching these films back-to-back recently and am still writhing with fits and giggles as I write this review of 1974’s classic Young Frankenstein. There are so many jokes and so many brilliant moments to this monster movie parody that it’s almost impossible to write about it with any meaning, but I’ll give it a shot anyway.
Young Frankenstein came out of a Gene Wilder script, of course, and uses countless references from the various film adaptations of Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is a hilarious send-up of all of those great 30s horror flicks from Universal, especially, and scores extra points for using Kenneth Strickfaden’s props from the 1931 Frankenstein motion picture. Brooks’ decision to put the thing in black and white (no offense!) furthers the mystique and, consequently, the gags.
Wilder stars as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, a lecturer at an American medical school and a relative of a famed mad scientist everyone seems to have heard of. Frederick isn’t too pleased about the constant links to his family relation, of course, and tries to shovel it under the rug every chance he gets, even altering the pronunciation of his name in shame. One day a solicitor informs the good doctor that he has inherited his family’s estate, so Dr. Frankenstein makes his way to, where else, Transylvania to check on things.
Once there, Frankenstein meets his new lab assistant Inga (Teri Garr) and Igor (Marty Feldman). They take him to the estate and Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman) shows them around. It isn’t long before Frankenstein discovers his grandfather’s secret personal library and his work. He becomes inspired to recreate what the mad scientist did and, before he knows it, is stealing a corpse to reanimate it. Of course, there are a few mix-ups and mistakes and the monster (Peter Boyle) spreads havoc.
The cast of Young Frankenstein is tremendous. Feldman is especially hilarious as Igor (or Eye-gor, of course) and his use of ad-libbing draws out some of the best gags in the movie. Madeline Kahn, a favourite of Brooks’, is really funny as Elizabeth, the uptight fiancée of Frankenstein. And don’t forget to look for Gene Hackman as Harold, a man of God with a desire for companionship and espresso.
Of course, no assessment of Young Frankenstein would be complete without a pile of unadulterated praise for Peter Boyle. As the monster, he is sweet perfection. It’s hard to imagine anything funnier than his performance of “Puttin’ on the Ritz” alongside Wilder’s Frankenstein. His clunky movements and bold assertions of the song should be considered in comedy classes and his overall approach to the character is magical, sweet and gut-busting.
Amazingly enough, even with the seemingly anarchic nature of the performances and zaniness of the overall picture, Young Frankenstein is probably the most ordered and thorough of Brooks’ movies. It doesn’t have the panting, offensive merriment of Blazing Saddles, my favourite Mel Brooks comedy, but it remains a classic because it demonstrates the cast and director as having a sense of control to go along the natural pandemonium.
In short, if you’re one of the few who hasn’t seen Young Frankenstein, make sure you get to it as soon as possible. It might even make a good (but weird) choice for a holiday picture this year, as its hilarity, merriment and mirth can’t be beat. Plus it tells a good little story about love and schwanstuker.
Trailer:
