Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn and Gene Hackman. The screenplay was written by Wilder and Brooks.
The film is an affectionate parody of the classic horror film genre, in particular the various film adaptations of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein produced by Universal in the 1930s. Most of the lab equipment used as props was created by Kenneth Strickfaden for the 1931 film Frankenstein. To help evoke the atmosphere of the earlier films, Brooks shot the picture entirely in black-and-white, a rarity in the 1970s, and employed 1930s-style opening credits and scene transitions such as iris outs, wipes, and fades to black. The film also features a period score by Brooks' longtime composer John Morris.
A critical favorite and box office smash, Young Frankenstein ranks No. 28 on Total Film magazine's readers' "List of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films of All Time", No. 56 on Bravo TV's list of the "100 Funniest Movies", and No. 13 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest American movies. In 2003, it was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the United States National Film Preservation Board, and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.
Plot
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is a physician lecturer at an American medical school and engaged to the tightly wound socialite Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn). He becomes exasperated when anyone brings up the subject of his grandfather, the infamous mad scientist. To disassociate himself from his forebears, Frederick insists that his surname is pronounced "Fronkensteen."
When a solicitor informs him that he has inherited his family's estate in Transylvania after the death of his great grandfather, the Baron Beauvort von Frankenstein, Frederick travels to Europe to inspect the property. At the Transylvania train station, he is met by a hunchbacked, bulging-eyed servant named Igor (Marty Feldman) and a lovely young personal assistant named Inga (Teri Garr). Upon arrival at the estate, Frederick meets the forbidding housekeeper Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman), whose name, whenever spoken causes horses to rear up and neigh madly in fright. Though his family legacy has brought shame and ridicule, Frederick becomes increasingly intrigued about his grandfather's work after discovering the secret entrance to his grandfather's laboratory. Upon reading his grandfather's private journals, Frederick is so captivated that he decides to resume his grandfather's experiments in re-animating the dead. He and Igor steal the corpse of a recently executed criminal, and Frederick sets to work experimenting on the large corpse. Matters go awry, however, when Igor is sent to steal the brain of a deceased revered historian, Hans Delbrück; startled by lightning, he drops and ruins Delbruck's brain. Taking a second brain, Igor returns with a brain labeled "Abnormal Brain! Do Not Use", which Frederick unknowingly transplants into the corpse.
Soon, Frederick is ready to re-animate his creature (Peter Boyle), who is elevated on a platform to the roof of the laboratory during a lightning storm. Eventually, electrical charges bring the creature to life. The creature makes its first halting steps; but, frightened by Igor lighting a match, he attacks Frederick and must be sedated. Upon being asked whose brain was obtained, Igor confesses that he supplied "Abby Normal's" (A. B. Normal, abnormal) brain.
The townspeople are uneasy at the possibility of Frederick continuing his grandfather's work. Most concerned is Inspector Kemp (Kenneth Mars), a one-armed police official whose German accent is so thick even his own countrymen cannot understand him. Kemp visits the doctor and subsequently demands assurance that he will not create another monster. Upon returning to the lab, Frederick discovers that Frau Blücher is setting the creature free. After she reveals the monster's love of violin music and her own romantic relationship with Frederick's grandfather, the creature is enraged by sparks from a thrown switch and escapes from the Frankenstein castle.
While roaming the countryside, the Monster has frustrating encounters with a young girl and a blind hermit (Gene Hackman). Frederick recaptures the monster and locks the two of them in a room, where he calms the monster's homicidal tendencies with flattery and fully acknowledges his own heritage, shouting out emphatically, "My name is Frankenstein!"
Frederick offers the sight of "The Creature" following simple commands to a theater full of illustrious guests. The demonstration continues with Frederick and the monster launching into the musical number "Puttin' on the Ritz," complete with top hats and tails. The routine ends disastrously, however, when a stage light explodes and frightens the monster, who becomes enraged and charges into the audience, where he is captured and chained by police.
The monster escapes, then kidnaps and rapes Elizabeth when she arrives unexpectedly for a visit. Elizabeth falls in love with the creature due to his inhuman stamina and his enormous penis (referred to as Schwanstuker or Schwanzstück).
The townspeople hunt for the monster. Desperate to get the creature back, Frederick plays the violin to lure his creation back to the castle. Just as the Kemp-led mob storms the laboratory, Frankenstein transfers some of his stabilizing intellect to the creature who, as a result, is able to reason with and placate the mob. The film ends happily, with Elizabeth married to the now erudite and sophisticated monsterâ€"with her hair styled identically to that of the female creature from The Bride Of Frankenstein, while Inga joyfully learns what her new husband Frederick got in return during the transfer procedureâ€"the monster's Schwanzstücker.
Cast
- Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein
- Marty Feldman as Igor
- Peter Boyle as the Monster
- Teri Garr as Inga
- Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher
- Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth
- Kenneth Mars as Inspector Kemp
- Richard Haydn as Herr Falkstein
- Liam Dunn as Mr. Hilltop
- Rolfe Sedan as Train conductor
- Danny Goldman as Medical student
- Leon Askin as Herr Walman (deleted scenes)
- Gene Hackman as Harold, The Blind Man
- Mel Brooks as Werewolf / Cat Hit by Dart / Victor Frankenstein (voice) (uncredited)
- Lou Cutell as Frightened Villager (uncredited)
- Ian Abercrombie as Second Villager (uncredited)
Production
Origins
In a 2010 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mel Brooks discussed how the film came about:
I was in the middle of shooting the last few weeks of Blazing Saddles somewhere in the Antelope Valley, and Gene Wilder and I were having a cup of coffee and he said, I have this idea that there could be another Frankenstein. I said not another â€" we've had the son of, the cousin of, the brother-in-law, we don't need another Frankenstein. His idea was very simple: What if the grandson of Dr. Frankenstein wanted nothing to do with the family whatsoever. He was ashamed of those wackos. I said, "That's funny."
Unlike his previous and subsequent films, Brooks did not appear onscreen as himself in Young Frankenstein, though he recorded several voice parts and portrayed a German villager in one short scene. In 2012, Brooks explained why:
- "I wasn’t allowed to be in it. That was the deal Gene Wilder had. He [said], “If you’re not in it, I’ll do it.†[Laughs.] He [said], “You have a way of breaking the fourth wall, whether you want to or not. I just want to keep it. I don’t want too much to be, you know, a wink at the audience. I love the script.†He wrote the script with me. That was the deal. So I wasn’t in it, and he did it."
Filming
Mel Brooks wanted at least $2.3 million dedicated to the budget, whereas Columbia Pictures decided that $1.7 million had to be enough. Brooks instead went to 20th Century Fox, for distribution after they agreed to a higher budget.
While shooting, the cast ad-libbed several jokes used in the film. Cloris Leachman improvised a scene in which Frau Blücher offers "varm milk" and Ovaltine to Dr. Frankenstein, while Marty Feldman surreptitiously moved his character's hump from shoulder to shoulder until someone noticed it, and the gag was added to the film ("Didn't you used to have that on the other side?", "What hump?").
In one of the scenes of a village assembly, one of the authority figures says that they already know what Frankenstein is up to based on five previous experiences. On the DVD commentary track, Mel Brooks says this is a reference to the first five Universal films. In the Gene Wilder DVD interview, he says the film is based on Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939) and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942).
Soundtrack
ABC Records released the soundtrack on LP in 1974. On April 29, 1997, One Way Records reissued it on CD. There are pieces of dialogue by the actors as well as background and incidental music on the disc. The LP and disc are now out of print and command a very high price on Internet auction sites when available.
Track listing
- Main Title (Theme from Young Frankenstein)
- That's Fron-Kon-Steen!
- Train Ride to Transylvania / The Doctor Meets Igor
- Frau Blücher
- Grandfather's Private Library
- It's Alive!
- He Was My Boyfriend
- My Name Is Frankenstein!
- Introduction / Puttin' on the Ritz
- A Riot Is an Ugly Thing
- He's Broken Loose
- The Monster Talks
- Wedding Night / End Title
- Theme from Young Frankenstein (Disco Version) â€" performed by Rhythm Heritage
Musical adaptation
Brooks adapted the film into a musical of the same name which premiered in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre and ran from August 7 to September 1, 2007. The musical opened on Broadway at the Foxwoods Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre) on November 8, 2007 and closed on January 4, 2009.
Awards
Nominations
- Academy Award for Best Sound, Richard Portman and Gene Cantamessa (1975)
- Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder (1975)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Cloris Leachman (1975)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture, Madeline Kahn (1975)
- WGA Award for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder (1975)
Cloris Leachman was nominated as a lead despite Madeline Kahn having far more screen time.
Wins
- Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Young Frankenstein (1975)
- Nebula Award for Best Dramatic Writing, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder (1976)
- Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, Young Frankenstein (1976)
- Saturn Award for Best Direction, Mel Brooks (1976)
- Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, Marty Feldman (1976)
- Saturn Award for Best Make-up, William Tuttle (1976)
- Saturn Award for Best Set Decoration, Robert De Vestel and Dale Hennesy (1976)
- Golden Screen Award, Young Frankenstein (1977)
- Toronto Film Festival Award for Best Comedic Film, Mel Brooks (1976)
Other honors
American Film Institute recognition
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs â€" #13
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs:
- "Puttin' on the Ritz" â€" #89
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:
- "What hump?" â€" Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores â€" Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) â€" Nominated
In 2011, ABC aired a primetime special, Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, that counted down the best movies chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and People. Young Frankenstein was selected as the No. 4 Best Comedy.
See also
- List of films featuring Frankenstein's monster
References
External links
- Young Frankenstein at the Internet Movie Database
- Young Frankenstein at the TCM Movie Database
- Young Frankenstein at Box Office Mojo
- Young Frankenstein at Rotten Tomatoes
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