Young Frankenstein is a 1974 comedy
film directed by Mel Brooks, starring Gene Wilder as the title character. Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth
Mars, and Gene Hackman also star. The screenplay was written by Brooks and
Wilder.
The film is an affectionate parody of the classical horror film genre, in particular the various film adaptations of Mary Shelley's novel
Frankenstein produced by Universal in the 1930s. This is reflected by the fact that most of the pieces of lab equipment used as
props are the same ones created by Ken Strickfaden for the 1931 film Frankenstein. To further reflect the atmosphere of the earlier films, Brooks shot the
picture entirely in black-and-white, a rare choice at the time, and employed 1930s-style
opening credits and period scene transitions such as iris outs, wipes, and fades to black. The film also features a notable
period score by Brooks' longtime composer John Morris.
Young Frankenstein is number 28 on Total Film Magazine's List of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films
of All Time, number 56 on Bravo television network's list of the "100
Funniest Movies", and number 13 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100
funniest American movies of all time.[1] 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.
Cast
Plot
Frederick Frankenstein is a respected lecturer at an American medical school and is
more or less happily (though blandly) engaged to the tightly-wound Elizabeth. Frederick becomes exasperated when anyone brings up
the subject of his grandfather, the famous mad
scientist, to the point of insisting that his name is actually pronounced "Fronk-en-steen".
A solicitor informs Frederick that he has inherited his family's estate. Traveling to said estate in Transylvania, Frankenstein meets
his comely new lab assistant Inga, along with the household servants Frau Blücher and Igor (who, after hearing Frederick claim his name is pronounced "Fronkensteen" counter-claims
that his is pronounced "Eye-gor.")
Inga assists Frederick in discovering the secret entrance to his grandfather's laboratory. Upon reading his grandfather's
private journals the doctor is inspired to resume his grandfather's experiments in re-animating the dead. He and Igor
successfully exhume and spirit away the enormous corpse of a recently-executed criminal, but
Igor's attempt to steal the brain of a revered scientist from the local "brain depository" goes awry, and he takes one labeled,
"Abnormal Brain - Do Not Use!" instead.
The doctor and reassembled monster are elevated on a platform to the roof of the laboratory during a lightning storm. The experimenters are first disappointed when the electrically-charged creature fails to come
to life, but the reassembled monster eventually revives. The doctor assists the monster in walking but, frightened by Igor
lighting a match, it attacks Frederick and must be sedated. Upon being asked by the doctor whose brain was obtained, Igor
confesses that he supplied "Abby Normal's" brain and becomes the subject of a strangulation attempt himself.
Meanwhile, the local townspeople are uneasy at the possibility of Frederick continuing his grandfather's work. Most concerned
is Inspector Kemp, who sports an eyepatch, a jointed and extremely creaky wooden arm, and an accent so thick even his own
countrymen cannot understand him. Kemp visits the doctor and demands assurance that he will not create another monster. Upon
returning to the lab, Frederick discovers that Frau Blücher is setting the creature free; she then plays the violin to show that
he loves music. After she reveals her romantic relationship to 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; these scenes directly parody ones from the original Frankenstein movies. After recapturing the monster,
Frederick wins him over with flattery, and finally fully acknowledges his heritage. After a period of training, he offers some
illustrious guests the sight of "The Creature" following simple commands. The demonstration continues with Frederick and the
monster launching into the musical number "Puttin' on the Ritz", complete with top
hats and tails, which ends disastrously when a stage light breaks and frightens the monster into running into the audience where
he is captured and chained by police.
He later escapes again, then kidnaps and ravishes the not-unwilling Elizabeth after she arrives unexpectedly for a visit.
Elizabeth falls in love with the creature due to his inhuman stamina and his "enormous schwanzstucker".
The townspeople, led by Inspector Kemp, hunt for the monster. Desperate to get the creature back and correct his mistakes,
Frederick plays music and lures the monster back to the castle. Just as the Kemp-led mob storms the laboratory, Dr. 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 monster, while Inga joyfully learns what her new
husband Frederick got in return from the monster during the transfer procedure.
Production
During his pilot episode commentary on the Get Smart DVD Season One set,
Mel Brooks said Columbia Pictures would not greenlight Young Frankenstein to be made
in black and white. Brooks refused to compromise and took the film to 20th Century Fox, where executives agreed that the film
should be made sans color. The theatrical trailer described the film as "presented in black and white - no offense" as a
pun on segregation (cf. separate but
equal), which had been outlawed in preceding decades.
While shooting, the cast ad-libbed several of the jokes in the film: Cloris Leachman improvised the scene with Frau Blucher
offering "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 ("What hump?").
It is rumored that Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder were reluctant to wrap filming because the cast and crew enjoyed the filming so
much, and extra scenes were filmed not originally in the script.[citation needed]
Influences
- The brain which Igor is sent to steal is labeled as belonging to "Hans Delbrück, scientist and saint." A real-life
Hans Delbrück was a nineteenth-century military historian; his son Max Delbrück was a twentieth-century biochemist and Nobel
laureate.
- Every time Frau Blücher's name is mentioned, horses are heard whinnying. Many people believe the point of the joke to be that
Blücher is German for "glue." This belief has been identified as an
urban legend,[3]
though in a 2000 interview Brooks suggested that he did base the joke on this erroneous translation, which he had heard from
someone.[4]
- The US AMC cable network broadcast a 2007 "DVD_TV" version of the film with
commentary in subtitles. Among other information, it stated that Inga was based on Ulla from Brooks' earlier film
The Producers.
Cultural legacy
- Raiders of the Lost Ark features a line very similar to Igor's
comment to Dr. Frankenstein: "It looks dangerous. You go first."
- When the film was in theaters, the band Aerosmith was working on its third studio album,
Toys in the Attic. The members of the band had written the music for a
song but couldn't come up with any lyrics to go with it. After a while, they decided to take a break and see Young
Frankenstein, where the "Walk This Way" gag provided the basis (or
phrase) for the Aerosmith hit "Walk This Way".[5]
- The scene with Frankenstein and Inga trying to get through the revolving bookcase is shown in the film Big Daddy.
- The scene with Frankenstein and the Monster performing "Puttin' on the Ritz" is
briefly parodied in the Family Guy episode "The Story on Page One" - where Stewie notes, "Not my joke,
but still funny." The scene in the film is itself a parody of Fred Astaire in
Blue Skies.
- Peter Boyle reprised his role (after a fashion) in the TV sitcom Everybody Loves
Raymond, when his character costumed himself as the monster for Halloween.
- The success of Young Frankenstein led to another horror spoof, 1974's Vampira starring David Niven and Teresa Graves. It was renamed Old Dracula for North American
release in order to cash in on the name recognition of Young Frankenstein. In many locations, the two films were shown
back-to-back as a double bill.
- Eppu Normaali, one of Finland's most successful
bands, was named after a translation in the Finnish subtitles of Young
Frankenstein (character Abby Normal [abnormal] was translated to Eppu Normaali [epänormaali]).
- In StarCraft: Brood War, the Valkyrie unit, which is piloted by a woman
with a strong German accent, says, after being clicked enough times, "Blucher!", to be answered by the whinny of a horse.
- In The Simpsons episode "Homer vs.
Patty & Selma", Homer takes up a job as a limo driver. One of his passenger is Mel Brooks. Homer says to Mel, "Mel
Brooks! I loved Young Frankenstein. Scared the hell out of me!", to which Brooks replies sarcastically,
"Umm...thanks."
- In June 2007, the dramatic sting used by composer John Morris when the castle
is seen the first time, 19 minutes into the film, was combined with video footage from a 2001 episode of the Japanese TV show
"Hello Morning!", to become the viral video "Drama Prairie Dog".
Musical adaptation
A musical adaptation of the same name is scheduled to open on
Broadway in November 2007.
The musical premiered in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre and
is running from August 7–September 1 2007.[6] From Seattle, it will go to
Broadway.
Awards
- Nominated
- Won
References
External links
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