Review of Young Frankenstein (1974) by Bartek F — 04 Apr 2010

While over thirty years old, "Young Frankenstein" is typical Mel Brooks. It's silly, absurd, has some clever sight gags and cringeworthy puns, and while it may not contain the self-referential, breaking-the-fourth-wall humour which made "Spaceballs" a classic, it's still fun. Based, obviously, on Mary Shelley's original creation, and filmed in black-and-white, "Young Frankenstein's" plot is simple enough for a comedy of this nature. Gene Wilder plays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced "Fronkonstein"), a medical lecturer, who one day, receives the will of his grandfather, Victor von Frankenstein, creator of the eponymous monster, learning he's inherited Victor's old Transylvanian castle. Upon arriving in Transylvania, leaving behind his girlfriend Elizabeth (Madeline Khan), he meets Igor (pronounced "I-gor"; played by Marty Feldman), and his assistant Inga (Teri Garr, playing the stereotypical blonde love interest). After discovering his grandfather's downstairs laboratory, he begins pouring over Victor's old medical notes pertaining to the Frankenstein project, and after initially trying to live down his heritage, become immersed in attempting to create another Frankenstein, despite some resistance from current tenant Frau Blaucher (Cloris Leachman). Frau's appearance ignites the film's most sustained running gag; whenever her name is uttered; horses start neighing in terror. Upon successfully digging up a large enough body, Frederick's plans go awry, when I-gor, instead of picking out the right brain, takes an abnormal brain (or in his words, the brain from "Abby Normal"). After eventually waking up, the mono-syllabic Frankenstein monster escapes and, while he appears threatening, he simply wants to be loved. One scene involves him walking into the house of a lonely blind man (Gene Hackman), where he invites the monster in for tea. Unfortunately, the meal goes awry, when, in attempting to light a cigar, the blind man sets Frankenstein's thumb on fire.

Realising the monster's needs, and under pressure from Inspector Kemp (a German officer with one mechanical arm, which he constantly has to set into position) Frederick sets out to court public sympathy for him, which culminates in a hilarious performance of "Puttin' on the Ritz" between the two of them, before Frankenstein's fear of fire causes the performance to end abruptly. With Frederick and Inga's love blossoming, Elizabeth arrives in Transylvania, where she is taken by Frankenstein, and, impressed by one particular part of his body, becomes "The Bride of Frankenstein". In the end, in order to save the monster from a lifetime of fear and misunderstanding, Frederick's realises he must make a personal sacrifice.

While the movie takes a little while to get going, once the groundwork has been laid, it gets funnier, especially with the arrival of Marty Feldman. It parodies the films of the genre well, the most notable touch being the crackles of lightning at just the right moment. Well worth a look, especially for Brooks fans.

Two and a half stars with a plus, out of four.