Young Frankenstein

 

This is my entry in the CMBA Make 'Em Laugh Blogathon.

 

 

Note: As I am writing this, just around the corner, we are going to be celebrating the 100th birthday of Mel Brooks. He will be joining David Attenborough, Gene Shalit and Bambi Linn (from Oklahoma!) for 2026, as well as Dick Van Dyke and Lee Grant, from 2025, to hit that centenary mark (and June Lockhart, who hit 100 before she passed away late last year).. I think, therefore, it is fitting that this review comes out at this point. Happy birthday, Mel!

 

It's no secret that two of my top five all time favorite comedies are ones that were directed by Mel Brooks. Mel Brooks had a sensitivity for what makes people laugh. Of course, he often had a cast of great actors to help him pull it off, not to mention several great writers (besides himself) that helped him create a few of them. Blazing Saddles, which ranks as my favorite comedy, had the help of Richard Pryor and Andrew Bergman, and today's movie was credited with the help of the star, Gene Wilder.

Mel Brooks, surprisingly, only has 11 movies to his credit, as a director, but with the exception of Life Stinks, I think all of them are comedic gems. In addition to the ones I've already mentioned, he directed the first The Producers, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, plus a few others that are fondly remembered.   

Mel Brooks got his start pairing with Sid Caesar, with whom he created some classic gems of early TV on Caesar's Your Show of Shows. Later he worked with Carl Reiner, father of Rob Reiner, in creating a series of comedy albums featuring The 2,000 Year Old Man, a couple of which managed to be nominated for Grammy for Best Comedy Albums. He also helped get the classic Get Smart, featuring a bumbling spy in the vein of James Bond on the air.  

In Young Frankenstein, Brooks and Wilder hit comedy gold, a well-received follow up to his/their previous work in Blazing Saddles. The film was the brainchild of Wilder who brought the idea to Brooks while on the set of Blazing Saddles. Initially Brooks was not overly enthusiastic. He was quoted as responding to Wilder's idea of another Frankenstein film with "Not another! We've had the son of, the cousin of, the brother-in-law. We don't need another Frankenstein." But when Wilder suggested the idea of a guy who was dismissive of his family as kooks, Brooks admitted the idea had some funny potential.

When it came time to cast the film one of Wilder's stipulations for doing the film was that Brooks had to excuse himself from his usual cameo (or significant) role. Wilder expressed some concern that Brooks tended to break down the forth wall when he was in the scene.  Of course, if you've seen the film you know that fourth wall was actually breached a couple of times anyway, by Marty Feldman. Feldman, by the way, made his first American movie appearance in this film, and is one of the many highlights of the film.

In addition, coming back for another role in a brooks film was Madeline Kahn, who had such an influence in the previous film.  Teri Garr, who had up to this point been mostly cast in uncredited roles in film and TV, also has some great scenes. She had originally auditioned for the role that eventually went to Kahn, but Brooks kept her, and his decision made the role of Inga a memorable one. And of course we can't forget Peter Boyle, who as the monster, gets one of the most iconic scenes of the movie, that of performing a soft shoe and duet with Wilder singing "Puttin' on the Ritz". Boyle had recently come off of what I consider a virtuoso performance as the lead character in an obscure movie called Joe (a movie I though I had reviewed for The Midnite Drive-In, but apparently that was for the previous incarnation of my movie reviewing blog... Gotta rectify that soon.)

They decided to film the movie in black and white, as opposed to color. The decision met with some resistance from the brass, who suggested a compromise, film the opening in black and white but the bulk of it in color, but Brooks remained firm in his decision. He wanted to stay true to the visual style, the way the old Universal Studios horror movies they were paying homage to were filmed. In that respect of staying true to the older films they even managed to get the permission of Kenneth Strickland, the creator of the original lab equipment which Strickland owned. And I'm not sure if he was paid money, but one of the stipulations that Strickland had for granting the use of the equipment was that he received a credit in the movie for it. I like that. He just wanted his name recognized more than anything else. (I feel an affinity for that sentiment. I, too, have had pieces I have written published in magazines, (under my real name), not wanting the money so much as having my name in print...)

The Oscars for 1974 were pretty much dominated by The Godfather, Part II, but Young Frankenstein did manage to get a wee bit of recognition. No, it didn't win an award, but it got nominated for two, Best Adapted Screenplay which it lost to The Godfather, Part II (which, technically shouldn't have counted, since the story was not a part of the original Puzo novel...) and Best Sound to Earthquake (and that one I don't begrudge one bit...) 

If comedy is a pariah at Oscar time, one could say that it was highly unlikely for Young Frankenstein to win anyway.  Only a smattering of movies that could be remotely considered "comedies" have won Best Picture, and at least a few of those were probably given for the musical part of the picture (Gigi, An American in Paris, My Fair Lady, Chicago) and many of the others were more romantic comedies than outright comedies. Not that I would have replaced any of the would-be contenders that year with Young Frankenstein for Best Picture (possibly The Towering Inferno, but that's just because those all-star cast movies always seem to get the nod, whether they were overly melodramatic or not... And one of these days I am going to delve into a piece on the "disaster flick" fascination of the late 70's....)

Still, I could have nominated a couple of other candidates for Oscars from this film.  For one thing, this movie would have been entirely different without the talent of Boyle. Admittedly he had no real lines until the ending (except the mumbling attempt at the aforementioned duet), but I really can't think of anyone else at the time who could have pulled it off with such panache. And not that it would have actually won against the raft of powerhouses that WERE nominated, but I think the film deserved a nod for cinematography. That decision to stay true to the older films and use strictly black and white shows not only dedication to the older films, but also some talent in being able to pull it off.

So before I move on: remember I said this is one of my top 5 comedies? Well, here for your enlightenment are the list of the top five that I consider the best: 

 

1. Blazing Saddles (1974): 

2. This is Spinal Tap (1984): 

3. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944):

4. Young Frankenstein (1974): 

5. Johnny Dangerously (1984): 

 

 

 

Young Frankenstein (1974):

The scene opens with the coffin of Baron von Frankenstein being opened and a box contained in the coffin being removed. Catch the reluctance of the corpse to let that box go because, unfortunately, it is the only real comedic scene in the opening moments of the movie. It really doesn't start to get hilarious, at least for me, until the 15 minute mark.  

 

The opening involves Dr, Frederick Frankenstein (that's pronounced "Fronk-en-steen"...) is delivering a lecture at a university. Frederick (Gene Wilder) demonstrates the difference between voluntary and reflex action of the brain, and asserts that, despite what one student points out about Frederick's heritage, that once a brain is severed from the body it cannot be revived. He claims that his infamous ancestor was a "kook" and that his research must therefore be flawed.

 

Frederick is approached by an executor for his family estate making him the inheritor of the family castle in Transylvania. He goes to visit the estate, where he is met by Igor, played by Marty Feldman, (his name is pronounced "Eye-gor") and is introduced to his laboratory assistant, the extremely attractive Inga (Teri Garr). Don't miss the early funny part of the film where Igor tells Frederick to "walk this way", and shows him what he means.

 

We finally get a glimpse of the Frankenstein Castle.

 

"It's only a model..."

 At the castle Frederick meets the mysterious housekeeper, Frau Blucher (Cloris Leachman). Just mentioning Blucher's name causes the horses to whinny in fear. (I think that Leachman is struggling in these scenes to not burst out laughing, which is a good thing because it would be entirely out of character for her to actually laugh...)

 

When Frederick inspects the castle he inquires about his grandfather's private library, of which Frau Blucher claims to not have any knowledge. But later, upon awakening from a nightmare he hears music coming from behind the walls. He finds a secret passage behind a book case. Which involves a revolving bookcase and a candle that has to be placed just so...

 

The result is that Frederick finds his grandfather's secret laboratory. He finds the diaries (including a tome titled "How I Did It"), and becomes obsessed with the idea that he could recreate his grandfather's legacy. He obtains the body of a newly hanged criminal and sends Igor to a local morgue to retrieve the brain of a genius, Hans Delbruck. 

 

Unfortunately butterfingered Igor drops the brain and destroys it. But, ever resourceful, he just grabs another brain. He doesn't tell Frederick about his mishap right away, however. 

Frederick performs his experiment, using lightning as a power source. A great parallel to the original speech delivered by Colin Clive as the original doctor, over the top, almost parallel to Clive's essaying of the same madness. 

 

But it initially appears he has failed. 

 

But he is being pessimistic a bit prematurely. Meanwhile in town the citizens are becoming wary. Five times before (five???) a Frankenstein has occupied the castle and brought into the world an unwanted experiment. So Inspector Kemp (Kenneth Mars) volunteers to go to the castle to have a chat with Frederick and make sure that he is on the up and up.

 

At the same time, the monster comes to life, but is acting so strangely that Frederick becomes suspicious of the brain that he actually put into his creation. Igor admits he had an accident with Delbruck's brain and just grabbed a nearby brain as a substitute: "Abby somebody... Abby... Normal!" Frederick sees the problem right away: "Are you telling me that I put an abnormal brain in a seven and a half foot long GORILLA???" (It's beginning to look like Frederick might have been better off if he had failed.) 

 

While Inspector Kemp is, as needs be, suspicious of the new resident at Frankenstein castle, Frederick is coming to the realization that his creation is dangerous. But a revelation from Frau Blucher reveals that she knows a little secret about the heredity of the Frankenstein family and their creations: they adore music. Some of the scenes that follow are sweet, such as the attempt of the monster to try to catch some butterflies that apparently only it can see, as Frau Blucher plays a melodic tune on a violin. But the monster runs off after being startled by an electrical short in a nearby outlet.

The monster escapes and, in an homage directly referencing a similar encounter in the original The Bride of Frankenstein, it encounters a blind hermit, played exquisitely by Gene Hackman (who was uncredited in the first release). The monster, having been attracted by the sweet strains of music that the hermit is playing pays a visit. (And if you watch nothing else from this film, you just HAVE to watch this scene play out...)

 

Side note Hackman originally came into the movie as a result of his friendship with Wilder. Hackman asked Wilder if there was a part in the movie for him, because he wanted to get into some comedic roles. Both Wilder and Brooks immediately came to the conclusion that the only role that Hackman could be perfect for was the blind man. And they weren't wrong. You only had to see his later role as Lex Luthor in the Christopher Reeve Superman films that Hackman could do comedy just as well as he could dramatic roles.

Frederick finally recaptures the creature and has plans to turn him into a functional calm and friendly member of society. Eventually he premieres his creation to a group of scientists and public, performing "Puttin' on the Ritz". 

 

(Initially Brooks was adamant that this scene would not work and was against having it filmed, but Wilder was insistent. And work it does. It is probably one of the most memorable scenes in the film. And the film audiences did laugh.)

But things go haywire when one of the stage lights explodes and brings out the fear the creature has for fire. The audience reacts by throwing vegetables at him and the creature runs amuck. It is destined to be made a lesson for how man shouldn't meddle in the realm of that which is reserved for God. But take heart, once again the monster escapes and Frederick has plans to help the monster complete it's adjustment to polite society.

 One of the more interesting homages occurs when Frederick's fiancee shows up and has an unexpected romantic interlude with the monster. Not only does it make her no longer an uppity virginal debutante but it also gives her a new updo that is straight out of The Bride of Frankenstein...

 

 

 

In terms of box office and critical reception, the film holds a 95% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That means pretty much every critic at the time had good things to say about it. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, and even his competitor Gene Siskel managed to concede it a three star rating. IMDb gives it an 8 out of 10 on it's rating.

Not everyone was glowing in it's praise, however. One reviewer quoted in the wikipedia article, although praising of the movie itself, had some disparaging words about Feldman's portrayal. Leslie Halliwell is quoted as saying that the script was "far from consistently funny, but there are splendid moments".

The public however, seemed to think it was a gem. In terms of box office sales it ranked third for the year, only behind The Towering Inferno and Blazing Saddles in terms of draw. With a budget of only about $2.5 million it pulled in well over $30 million in US sales, and ultimately about $85 million worldwide. 

Definitely Young Frankenstein is well worth watching, even multiple times. I return to this movie often, especially when I want to remember one of the cast members. Unfortunately most of them have passed on to the studio in the sky, most recently Teri Garr, whom we lost in 2024, and Gene Hackman who passed away last year.. But as stated in the opening, we still have the director, Mel Brooks. (Note: I would imagine the little girl is still alive but I can't find any information one way or the other on her status. She would be in her 60's by now if she is.)

Well folks, the time has come to go back to the castle. Drive safely.

Quiggy