‘Love is the only thing that can save this poor creature…’
Mel Brooks is the king of the parody. Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, Robin Hood: Men in Tights – all genre classics. Young Frankenstein, like many of Brooks’ other films, is more a loving homage than a flat-out parody. If you don’t love something or at least understand why other people love it, you will never be able to parody something successfully. Brooks understands this and that’s why Young Frankenstein is so effective…
Young doctor Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is desperate to distance himself from his infamous grandfather and be accepted in the world of conventional medicine. That is until he discovers his grandfather’s private library and his own obsession with raising the dead begins.
The idea for the film came from Wilder himself and he clearly relishes performing this character in this movie. Faithfully filmed in black and white, Young Frankenstein successfully captures the spirit of the Universal monster movies whilst also feeling fresh and obviously hilarious. Unlike Blazing Saddles, the humour here is fairly tame and so it still feels ok to laugh at it in 2024, and most of the laughs are provided by Wilder. This is an ensemble piece, however. Marty Feldman (Frankenstein’s faithful assistant Igor) and Madeline Kahn (the doctor’s female companion) are both excellent, as is Peter Boyle as the Monster. Everyone appears to be having a blast and this is what ultimately makes Young Frankenstein such an enjoyable experience.
While I think Brooks’ love letter to the Frankenstein franchise is slightly overrated, there is still much here to recommend it – Wilder’s performance is worth the admission fee alone.
