O Jovem Frankenstein

Mel Brooks' tribute to the Frankenstein movies of the 40s is done with such love, such skill, and such side-splitting, fall-on-the-floor hilarity, that it has rightfully become a comedy classic. I first saw it in a movie theater: I had no idea what it was, had very little knowledge of Mel Brooks at the time, and expected to be bored. Instead, I found myself shrieking aloud with laughter that became so intense, I missed many of the major lines. Hence the video.

What can I say? From the wild-eyed Igor, the hunchbacked Transylvanian servant whose hump keeps changing from side to side, to the modern-day descendant of Baron von Frankenstein, determined not to follow in his great-grandfather's nefarious footsteps, to the nurse, a naif with enormous...er...chestal appendages, to the fearsome Frau Bleucher, whose mere mention causes horses in the castle's faraway stables to neigh in fear...to the scene of the monster and his creator singing and dancing in black tie to "putting on the Ritz," this movie should come with a warning: "Danger--Uncontrollable Laughter May Become Chronic."

The cast is beyond superb. The late, wonderful British comedian Marty Feldman (Igor), who turned his congenital wandering eyes into comedic foils, never misses a beat as second banana to Gene Wilder, who plays the distraught Dr. Frankenstein to the hilt and beyond. Cloris Leachman, who looks like a cross between a witch and a warlock, plays the feared housekeeper Frau Bleucher (neighhh!!!), and a very young, beautiful, and buxom Teri Garr plays the nurse-assistant to the good doctor. Then there is the marvelous Madeline Kahn, who gave a bravura performance as the doctor's fiancee. The late comedienne's burst into operatic ecstasy during her rape by the monster is simply inspired, and is one of the comedic high points of the entire film. All of Kahn's considerable talents came into play during this movie; she was taken from us too soon.

Mel Brooks' hilarious "Young Frankenstein" is one of those strange films that is so outlandish and makes fun of itself so much that it sucks the viewer into its twisted world and does not let up until the final credits roll. The titled character (Gene Wilder) decides to go to Transylvania and continue the research of a late relative. What follows is a comic joy-ride that involves the assistant (Marty Feldman), the love interest (Teri Garr), the stuck-up girlfriend (Madeline Kahn), the weird house-keeper (Cloris Leachman), the odd detective (Kenneth Mars) and naturally the monster himself (Peter Boyle in a priceless performance). Gene Hackman's whacked cameo as a the blind man who encounters the monster is one of the best sequences during the history of the cinema. A brilliant screenplay and beautiful black-and-white cinematography assist "Young Frankenstein" in being the total success that it is. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Dr. Frankenstein's (Gene Wilder has stated that this is his favorite of all the films he's made) grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad's castle and repeats the experiments carried out many years ago . He says goodbye his pretty girlfriend Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn) and travels Transylvania . In the castle he finds a funny hunchback called Igor (Marty Feldman), a gorgeous lab assistant (Teri Garr) named Inga and the old housekeeper, Frau Blucher (Cloris Leachman) . Later on , he successfully reanimates a body (Peter Boyle) which soon flees and creates wreak havoc .

Hilarious Mel Brooks/Gene Wilder comedy filled with horror satire , amusing events , nice settings and lots of laughters . This spoof of the old Universal terror movies is fun from start to finish . The original cut of the movie was almost twice as long as the final cut, and it was considered by all involved to be an abysmal failure , it was only after a marathon cutting session that they produced the final cut of the film, which both Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks considered to be far superior to the original product ; at one point they noted that for every joke that worked, there were three that fell flat , so they went in and trimmed all the jokes that didn't work. Enjoyable support cast such as Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth , Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher , Kenneth Mars as Inspector Kemp and brief acting by John Carradine , Leon Askin played a lawyer but was cut out , final film of Oscar Beregi Jr and of Richard Haydn , but most of his role was deleted from the final print . And uncredited Gene Hackman as the Blind Man, in fact parting line "I was gonna make espresso" was not in the script, but was ad-libbed by the same Gene Hackman during shooting .

When Mel Brooks found that Ken Strickfaden, who had made the elaborate electrical machinery for the lab sequences in the Universal Frankenstein films, was still alive in the Los Angeles area. He visited Strickfaden and found that Strickfaden had saved all the equipment and had it stored in his garage. Brooks made a deal to rent the equipment for his film and gave Strickfaden the screen credit he'd deserved, but hadn't gotten, for the original films. Evocative as well as luxurious cinematography in white and black by magnificent director of photography Gerald Hirschfeld . Lively and agreeable musical score by John Morris , Mel Brooks's usual .

Excellent makeup by artist Ed Butterworth, being helped by the classic William Tuttle as makeup creator , as just like in the original Frankenstein (1931), greenish face makeup was used on the monster to make his features more prominent . Perfect sets and impressive production design , in fact he electrical apparatus used in the movie was basically the same as the equipment used Frankenstein (1931) , including many of the same props and lab equipment . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Mel Brooks ((Blazing saddles , High anxiety , Twelve chairs , The producers , Spaceballs , History of the world).

It was voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006 and at the 1975 Golden Globe Awards, Cloris Leachman was nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy/Musical, while Madeline Kahn was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for their work in this movie.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974) **** Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Kenneth Mars, Teri Garr, Gene Hackman. Mel Brooks' masterpiece horror comic spoof of all those Universal Frankenstein flicks of the Thirties expertly capturing the set design (actually from the 1931 classic!) and overall look of those timeless films. Wilder is the manic grandson of Baron von Frankenstein ("that's pronounced Frahnkensteen!) who goes back to merry ole Transylvania and follows in his family's footsteps ("vootshteps! vootshteps!") and creates a comic creation with Boyle as the chrome-domed, zippernecked monster who can do a mean song and dance of "Puttin' On The Ritz"! Hilarious sight gags and puns aplenty. Marty as the perpetually hump-shifting hunchback Igor ("that's Eye-gore!") is a scream with his oneliners and bugged eyes. Best line: the good doctor and Igor gravedigging with the summation: "Could be worse, could be raining!" and then downpours. Best bit: Foolishness with the Blind Hermit (Hackman) in one hysterical moment.

Spoofs are ten a penny these days but Young Frankenstein had so much care and attention put in by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder. It was fresh and innovative.

What works is the atmosphere, filmed in Black and White and evoking the sets, location of the Universal 1930's Frankenstein films.

You are easily brought into the atmosphere which gets regularly punctured with jokes, one liners and visual jokes such as the enormous knockers on the door as they arrive at the castle.

The cast of Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Terri Garr milk the laughs for all its worth.

Gene Hackman is a hoot as the blind hermit which sends the monster scurrying after he offers cigars. Feldman's Igor is the best and both Kahn and Garr are sensual and sexy.

Almost 40 years later, it is still mad and funny.