Movies - Young Frankenstein

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	Movies - Young Frankenstein

Young Frankenstein is a 1974 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 a parody of the horror film genre, in particular the various film versions of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, mainly those made by Universal in the 1930s and 1940s, to which the film is best seen as an affectionate homage. Because of the reference to the earlier films, Brooks shot the film entirely in black-and-white, a rare choice for a comedy of that era. A large portion of the initial budget was spent by Brooks as he chose to hire the sets from the original Frankenstein movie.

Plot

Frederick Frankenstein (Wilder), full name Doctor Baron Frederick von Frankenstein, is a respected lecturer at an American medical school and is more or less happily (though blandly) engaged to the tightly-wound Elizabeth (Kahn). 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 pronounced "Fronkenshteen".

A solicitor approaches the doctor after a lecture and informs Frederick that he has inherited his family's estate. Travelling to said estate in Transylvania, Frankenstein meets Inga, his comely new lab assistant (Garr) along the household servants Frau Blücher (Leachman) and Igor (which he says is pronounced "EYE-gor") (Feldman), who help him discover his grandfather's journals. Inspired by their contents, Frederick resumes his grandfather's work of re-animating the body of an executed criminal (Boyle). Unfortunately, Igor has managed to steal the wrong brain from the local "brain depository". ("Abby someone... Abby... Normal!"). This mistake is revealed when the revived monster rampages and eventually escapes from the Frankenstein castle. While roaming the countryside, the monster has encounters with a young girl and a blind hermit (Hackman) which directly parody scenes from the original Frankenstein movies. He also ravishes the not exactly unwilling Elizabeth, who has arrived unexpectedly for a visit.

Meanwhile, the local townspeople are concerned and are willing to riot because of Frederick's continuation of his grandfather's work. The most concerned is Chief Inspector Hans Wilhelm Frederick Kemp (Mars), whose accent is so thick even his own countrymen cannot understand him; and whose right arm was pulled off by the monster Frederick's grandfather created, replacing it with a jointed wooden replica (which creaks very loudly). Just as the Kemp-led mob storms the castle, Dr. Frankenstein is able to transfer some of his stabilizing intellect to the re-captured monster. The film ends happily, with Elizabeth married to the (ex-)monster, and Inga joyfully learning what her new husband Frederick got from the monster during the transfer experiment..

Trivia

A running gag in the film is whenever Frau Blücher's name is spoken, a team of horses whinny (even when they aren't visible). Contrary to popular belief, her surname does not mean glue; the gag is a parody of the melodramatic use of thunder claps or ominous organ chords played upon the entrance of villains.

Released the same year as Blazing Saddles
and featuring some of the same stars, the humor is a little more refined, but Brooks still manages to bring in some risque themes:

Madeline Kahn
's character continues to be obsessed with "large" men. In this case, when she finds out what she's "up against", she begins belting out, "Sweet Mystery of Life".
At the moment Frederick is helping Inga (Teri Garr) out of a carriage, Igor is banging on the door of the Frankenstein manor, using its huge and very loud door knockers. Wilder gasps, "What knockers!" and the blushing Inga says, "Oh! Thank you, Doctor!"

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Movies - Young Frankenstein

Plot

Trivia

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