The Case of Young Frankenstein (1974)
In December of 1974, comedy fans were treated to the latest parody by Mel Brooks. It was a farce poking fun at possibly the most classic horror story in English literature, the book that jump-started the science-fiction genre and made Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley a household name: Frankenstein.
Brooks first saw James Whale’s Frankenstein when he was just five years old, and he found it to be a fairly traumatic experience, haunting him for years to come. It turned out that Gene Wilder, Brooks’ friend and collaborator, had a similar experience. So when Wilder approached Brooks about a possible project parodying the horror classic, the men got started on what Mel Brooks would consider their biggest triumph together.
Wilder had already named the film Young Frankenstein, taking title inspiration from the 1940 film, Young Tom Edison which he saw as a child. He created an outline based on what he thought would happen if he were the great-grandson of Victor Frankenstein. He had several pages written before Mel Brooks got involved, and together they created one of the most beloved comedies of all time.
So, grab your lab coat and let’s all head down to Dr. Frankenstein’s (it’s pronounced FRONK-EN-STEEN) laboratory, where we’ll learn the electrifying history of Young Frankenstein.
Summary
Scientist Frederick Frankenstein (Fron-ken-steen) is desperate to remove himself from his infamous grandfather. But when he gets called to Transylvania to collect his inheritance, he gets caught up in the same work that he once rebuked. With the help of his assistants Igor and Inga, Frankenstein successfully reanimates a corpse, much to the anger and fear of the town. To make matters worse, Frederick’s fiancé surprises him by showing up at the castle, and accidentally gets caught up in the madness.
Making of
When Mel Brooks began filming Blazing Saddles, his lead actor became ill on set and needed to be hospitalized. He called his friend Gene Wilder, who had seen the script, and Wilder was on set the very next day, ready to fill in as Jim (AKA The Waco Kid).
It was during Blazing Saddles that Wilder started working on his idea for a Frankenstein parody, hoping that Brooks would be on board.
Wilder wasn’t sure that Brooks would want to direct a film that he didn’t write himself. But at the urging of his agent, Wilder wrote up a treatment to give to his agent Mike Medavoy, who then passed it off to producer Michael Gruskoff. Gruskoff wanted to produce the film, even though there wasn’t a script yet. That’s where Mel Brooks came in: he had noticed Wilder writing the story on a yellow legal pad on the set. Wilder told Brooks that his dream was to write the movie together and for Brooks to direct. According to Wilder, because Brooks was working on Blazing Saddles, he agreed to let Wilder write the script while he “supervised.” But after their first meeting on the script, the men decided to write it together. Wilder later said that Brooks taught him some of the most important lessons he would ever learn about screenwriting.
Wilder’s original treatment was the scene where Igor and Dr. Frankenstein met at the platform. It remained almost untouched in the final draft.
Armed with James Whale’s filmography and a legal pad, the two men spent every evening during Blazing Saddles in Wilder’s hotel room, working on the script.
Brooks and Wilder were famously always on the same page, except when it came to one scene in the movie.
Wilder had this idea for the monster and Dr. Frankenstein to do a song and dance number to “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” At first, Mel Brooks dismissed the idea. He knew that it was funny, but he felt that it was too far outside of the parody to classic monster movies and that it didn’t belong in the movie. Gene Wilder was blown away by this reaction because he was certain that Brooks would want to do the scene. Wilder fought for it, explaining that it would be a testament to how sophisticated the monster had become by the end of the movie. Brooks relented, saying that they would film the number, but if test audiences didn’t like it, they would take it out of the final cut. In the book, “Young Frankenstein: The Story of the Making of the Film,” Mel Brooks said, “Of course, Gene was dead right because it took the movie to another level–our level. We left James Whale and we went where we wanted to be. That’s what audiences were paying for. They weren’t paying for a true artistic resemblance to James Whale’s movies. They wanted to laugh.”
The “Puttin’ on the Ritz” scene was filmed in the Mayfair Music Hall in Santa Monica. Filming lasted about five days, and choreographer Alan Johnson assisted with teaching Wilder and Peter Boyle the steps.
“Puttin’ on the Ritz” was written by Irving Berlin in 1927 and has been featured in many films since, including a 1930 movie of the same name.
In order for the humor to shine through and to make this a true parody, Brooks believed it needed to be in Black and White. Producer Michael Gruskoff pitched the film to Columbia, who loved the idea but didn’t like the idea of it being in black and white, and also didn’t want to provide the necessary budget at $2.3 million.
Brooks told them that he wouldn’t make the movie unless it was in black and white, and the studio tried to compromise by having Brooks shoot in color and take the color out later. Brooks knew that this wasn’t a compromise, it was a trick to get the film released in color.
Gruskoff approached Alan Ladd Jr. at 20th Century Fox, who agreed to make the film for whatever budget they needed. Ladd later said that he was worried about the black and white film because he knew some theater owners wouldn’t show a movie unless it was in color. But, he kept that concern to himself and made the deal with Brooks.
Ladd had seen Brooks’ previous work, which was why he believed in the project, even though none of his movies had been monetarily successful.
What makes Young Frankenstein stand apart from other comedies is that it’s a beautiful period piece with masterful cinematography by Gerald Hirschfeld.
Originally, Hirschfeld thought that Brooks and Wilder wanted a movie that looked like the original Universal monster films of the 30s and 40s. So, he followed the tradition of James Whale, dark and dramatic. But after Brooks saw the first few dailies (which are examples of unedited footage often viewed on set during a production), he told Hirschfeld that it looked TOO similar. Brooks wanted it to be in the spirit of James Whale, but goofier. It needed to have a silliness to it. So Hirschfeld changed the way that the film was processed, emphasizing the comical quality of the movie. Wide shots were moody and dramatic, while close-up shots were brighter. Brooks was much happier with this result and reportedly said, “I’m glad I didn’t fire you.”
Not only was Hirschfeld using lights and equipment that wasn’t around in 1931, the lab that processed the film had not used black and white for at least six years! These were some of the challenges that he encountered while trying to reproduce the look and feel of James Whale’s movies.
The sets were also too dark for him to be able to light the scenes, so Hirschfeld asked the set designer to paint the walls lighter colors.
Young Frankenstein was filmed on sets at 20th Century Fox for interior scenes, and MGM’s backlot for exterior shots. One scene was filmed in an actual lab at the University of Southern California.
Dale Hennesy was the production designer. Gene Wilder was amazed by his work, saying that Hennesy would improve the script with his sets, and that he worked in perfect harmony with the cinematographer. Together, they made everything seem real, which made the film feel more fun.
The castle was fifteen thousand square feet, and thirty-five feet high. He worked closely with set decorator Robert D Vestel, who filled the spaces with all the props that complete the look and feel of the set.
While building the sets, production manager Frank Bauer made the exciting discovery that Kenneth Strickfaden, the original special effects designer for James Whale’s Frankenstein, lived nearby and housed all the original equipment in his garage.
The team went on a scouting mission to see it, causing Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder to become overwhelmed with excitement. This film that had affected them so much as children was coming alive in front of them.
Strickfaden agreed to rent the equipment to the production, and he would appear on set to watch the scenes that involved his work. He later said that most of the pieces used in the laboratory scenes in Young Frankenstein were remnants of the originals, and some were reproductions.
There were more special effects in this movie than any other that Mel Brooks has made at the time.
In one scene, a little girl goes flying through the air. She was rigged to a harness and pulled across the set. The wire was painted to match the surroundings, so the audience didn’t see it.
There was almost no fire on the set. The logs in fireplaces were made of concrete. The candles that the actors held were made of aluminum pipe with a 100 watt bulb inside. A wire ran down the sleeves and pant-legs of the actors so as to keep bringing electricity to the candles. All over the set, there were strips of fabric dangling in front of lights to give off the illusion that candlelight was flickering against the walls.
Dorothy Jeakins, the costume designer for The Sound of Music, designed the costumes for Young Frankenstein. Mel Brooks considered her to be the greatest period costume designer in Hollywood, and he was adamant that they hire her for this film.
The production had access to an MGM set for the village scenes, and the set was in a Bohemian style. So, Jeakins designed the villagers' costumes accordingly.
Brooks also asked Jeakins to design the female leads’ costumes to show as much cleavage as they were allowed. This was meant to poke fun at the costumes in films made before the production code.
William Tuttle, a make-up artist that had worked on The Twilight Zone, was thrilled when Brooks told him that the film would be in black and white. Tuttle actually hugged Brooks and told him that if the movie were in color, the monster would be a blue/green color and would look ridiculous. Without color, his skin looks sickly pale instead.
In addition to some stitching, there is a zipper on the monster’s neck that Tuttle added at Mel Brooks’ request.
Tuttle designed the special effect seen when the monster is first electrocuted. He created a mask of Boyle’s face and placed a green light bulb on a dimmer inside. This makes it look like the face glows from the inside.
By all accounts, filming Young Frankenstein was a lot of fun. The cast and crew would often cut for laughing fits after certain scenes, and one of the camera operators even ruined a take by laughing so hard that he jiggled the camera. This was largely due to the incredible chemistry of the cast.
In his book, “Young Frankenstein: The Story of the Making of the Film,” Mel Brooks described Gene Wilder as “the most natural actor who ever lived.” He was a natural-born comedian, an actor who would play roles seriously, but who had no idea how funny he was, which meant he was perfect for parody.
Gene Wilder not only co-wrote and starred in the movie, he also cast some of the actors. As it turned out, Wilder’s agent, Mike Medavoy, called him one day and asked him if he had any projects for him, Marty Feldman, and Peter Boyle to be in together. When Wilder asked why, Medavoy said that he just started representing all three of them. Wilder said, “Well, what an artistic basis. As it happens, I think I do.”
Marty Feldman played Igor (or eye-gor if you prefer). Gene Wilder considered Marty Feldman’s Igor to be the heart and soul of the production. He felt that Feldman embodied the strangeness of the story, as he brought his own interpretation of classic monster movies with him on set.
Marty Feldman was a beloved British comedian, and this was his first Hollywood film. He was very nervous. Feldman later said that Gene Wilder had “Oliver Hardy” energy, which forced Feldman to act as if he were Stan Laurel.
In his first scene in the movie, Feldman says to Wilder “walk this way” and walks down the steps with his cane. He then turns back and hands the cane to Wilder, implying that he wants him to walk exactly the same way. Feldman made up this bit for the crew, but Mel Brooks liked it so much that he put it in the film.
Feldman’s Igor costume consisted of a hump, made from a cushion that was generally used to simulate pregnancy in films. He had wads of tissues balled up at his knees to make them look as knobby as possible.
The most distinctive features of Feldman were his eyes, which became his trademark. This was the result of a thyroid condition.
Today we might know Peter Boyle more as Frank Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, but at the start of his career he played tough, serious characters.
Mel Brooks wasn’t so sure about Boyle until Gene Wilder assured him that he could play both tough and gentle. The monster character needed to be scary, but to also have a childlike quality to him.
Boyle’s make-up took about five hours to apply, but he never complained. His platform boots added about six inches to his 6’2 frame, making him tower over the other actors.
Gene Wilder thought that Madeline Kahn would be great to play Inga, the lab assistant. But, the actress wanted the part of Elizabeth, Dr. Frankenstein’s fiancee instead.
Madeline Kahn had also just appeared in Blazing Saddles, earning herself an Oscar nomination, and she was a favorite actor of Mel Brooks.
Elizabeth was a hilarious addition to the story, the fiancee who cares more about her appearance than the fact that her fiance has reanimated a corpse.
In her most famous and possibly most controversial scene, Kahn’s Elizabeth is kidnapped and taken to the forest, where she and the monster have sex. To some, the scene is triggering because it seems clear that Elizabeth knows what the monster wants to do, and she seems unconsenting. But as the scene plays out, Elizabeth breaks into song because of how much she’s enjoying it. Later on, we see both characters comically enjoying post-sex cigarettes, implying that they both enjoyed themselves.
Terry Garr played Inga, Frederick Frankenstein’s lab assistant. Originally she auditioned for the part of Elizabeth, but Mel Brooks told her that Madeline Kahn was his first choice. According to Garr, Gene Wilder told her to come back the next day with a German accent and audition for the part of Inga.
Garr was currently on the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and knew a German woman that styled Cher’s wigs. She spoke with her for hours to get the accent down.
Garr also knew that they wanted Inga to have large breasts, so she wore a padded bra stuffed with socks to the audition. She got the part and it was her first major speaking role. Before Young Frankenstein, Garr was a professional dancer and appeared in Elvis movies.
Cloris Leachman played the cold and frightful Frau Blucher. Mel Brooks said that Leachman’s accent was perfect from the very beginning, and her performance is based on the infamous character Mrs Danvers in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca.
Leachman was currently starring alongside Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show when she played this part. William Tuttle created a huge mole to place on her face and made the actor look much older than she actually was.
She had no trouble playing the character completely straight, but the moment that Brooks yelled “cut,” she would break into laughter with the rest of her castmates.
Leachman learned her German accent from Mel Brooks’ mother, who spoke German and was there on set.
Kenneth Mars played the unforgettable Inspector Kemp, the policeman tasked with spying on Frankenstein and making sure he isn’t “following in his grandfather’s footsteps.”
According to Mars, he was doing a play in Buffalo when Mel Brooks called him up and asked him to be in Young Frankenstein. Mel said, “You’re wearing an eyepatch and on top of the eyepatch you’ve got a monocle. Is that too much?” and when Mars said no, it wasn’t too much, Brooks responded with, “Good! You got the part!”
When Gene Hackman heard about Young Frankenstein, he asked Gene Wilder if he could have a small role. The only role they had left to cast was of the “hermit.”
Even though Hackman was a fairly popular actor at the time, no one in the audience recognized him. William Tuttle practically transformed him with a massive beard.
Composer John Morris wrote the score for the film.
Mel Brooks told Morris that writing horror music would be totally inappropriate for the main character. Instead, he asked for the most beautiful Eastern European lullaby that he could write. This violin piece represents the child inside the monster. Later on Mel Brooks said that John Morris gave the movie its soul.
Morris scored other Mel Brooks films like History of the World Part I. He also wrote the score for the cult classic film Clue.
Reception
Young Frankenstein premiered on December 15th, 1974. It grossed about 86.2 million dollars during its box office run.
Thanks to video and DVD releases, the movie continued to stay popular, even with audiences too young to have seen the original Frankenstein. It currently holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Many critics consider it to be Mel Brooks’ funniest movie.
The film was nominated for two Oscars, best sound and best adapted screenplay. It won “Best Horror Film,” “Best Supporting Actor” (Marty Feldman), “Best Director,” “Best Make-up,” and “Best Set Decoration” at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films USA. Marty Feldman won the Saturn Award for best actor, while Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn were both nominated for Golden Globes. The movie also won the 1975 Hugo Award for “Best Dramatic Presentation.”
Fun Facts
A thousand handkerchiefs were purchased and passed out to the crew. This was so they could shove them in their mouths to stifle laughter during takes. Some scenes took at least nine takes before they got the final product because someone was laughing, whether it was the cast or crew.
Peter Boyle met his future wife on the set of Young Frankenstein. She was a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, on assignment to write an article about Mel Brooks.
When Dr. Frankenstein’s fiance (Elizabeth) arrives at Transylvania, there’s a scene where Igor (played by Marty Feldman) bites the fox around Elizabeth’s (Madeline Kahn) neck. This was improvised, and it caused the entire cast and crew to break down in laughter. They tried the scene several times, with Mel Brooks himself trying not to ruin the takes. At one point, Gene Wilder burst out laughing because he saw that Feldman had completely bit off the fox’s foot and it was in his mouth. Feldman was a vegetarian and he worriedly asked, “it’s not a real fox, is it?”
Conclusion
Every year, Young Frankenstein rises from the operating table and sparks a lot of laughter during the spooky season. It’s a film that bridges multiple generation gaps, even appealing to audiences too young to have seen the original Frankenstein. This film has gags for everyone, niche jokes that might fly over the heads of younger viewers, and timeless goofs that could bring out the child in anyone.
Not only is Young Frankenstein a successful comedy, it’s a movie with a lot of heart. It’s not an endless parade of silliness, but instead a lovingly dedicated homage to the original (but with a lot of laughs). This isn’t just a movie that people love to watch, it was a movie that was made by people who were having the time of their lives. Every time we turn it on, we can feel the energy of a cast and crew that loved what they were making. It’s a creation that has taken on a legacy of its own. It’s almost as if you can say that the movie itself is…ALIVE.
Sources:
DVD Special Features