Young Frankenstein (1974)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Gene Wilder (story) and
Mel Brooks (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The scariest comedy of all time!

Plot:

Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad's castle and repeats the experiments.

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Housekeeper | Brain | Hunchback | Scientist

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Gene Wilder	...	Dr. Frankenstein
Peter Boyle	...	The Monster
Marty Feldman	...	Igor
Cloris Leachman	...	Frau Blücher
Teri Garr	...	Inga
Kenneth Mars	...	Inspector Kemp
Richard Haydn	...	Herr Falkstein
Liam Dunn	...	Mr. Hilltop
Danny Goldman	...	Medical Student
Oscar Beregi Jr.	...	Sadistic Jailor (as Oscar Beregi)
Arthur Malet	...	Village Elder
Anne Beesley	...	Little Girl
Monte Landis	...	Gravedigger
Rusty Blitz	...	Gravedigger
John Madison	...	A Villager
Johnny Dennis	...	Orderly in Frankenstein's class
Rick Norman	...	A Villager
Rolfe Sedan	...	Train conductor
Terence Pushman	...	A Villager (as Terrence Pushman)
Randolph Dobbs	...	Third Villager (Joe)
Norbert Schiller	...	Emcee at Frankenstein's show
Pat O'Hara	...	A Villager (as Patrick O'Hara)
Michael Fox	...	Helga's Father
Lidia Kristen	...	Helga's Mother
Madeline Kahn	...	Elizabeth
Richard A. Roth	...	Insp. Kemp's Aide (as Richard Roth)
Gene Hackman	...	Blindman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leon Askin	...	Herr Waldman (scenes deleted)
John Carradine	...	Beaufort Frankenstein (voice) (scenes deleted)
Ian Abercrombie	...	Second villager (uncredited)
Mel Brooks	...	Werewolf / Cat Hit by Dart / Victor Frankenstein (voice) (uncredited)
Lou Cutell	...	Frightened villager (uncredited)
Berry Kroeger	...	First Village Elder (uncredited)
Jeff Maxwell	...	Medical Student (uncredited)
Clement von Franckenstein	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Mel Brooks

Writing credits
Gene Wilder		(story) and
Mel Brooks		(story)
Gene Wilder		(screenplay) and
Mel Brooks		(screenplay)
Mary Shelley		(novel "Frankenstein") (as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Produced by
Michael Gruskoff	....	producer

Original Music by
John Morris

Cinematography by
Gerald Hirschfeld		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John C. Howard

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
Dale Hennesy

Set Decoration by
Robert De Vestel		(as Bob de Vestel)

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Edwin Butterworth	....	makeup artist (as Ed Butterworth)
Mary Keats	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Frank Baur	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marvin Miller	....	assistant director
Barry Stern	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Anthony Goldschmidt	....	graphic designer
Jack M. Marino	....	property master (as Jack Marino)
Charles Sertin	....	assistant property master
Hendrik Wynands	....	construction coordinator (as Hank Wynands)
Edward T. McAvoy	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	production sound mixer (as Gene Cantamessa)
Don Hall	....	sound editor
Richard Portman	....	production sound re-recordist

Special Effects by
Hal Millar	....	special effects
Henry Millar Jr.	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Matthew Yuricich	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Roger Creed	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Jesse Wayne	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Plannette	....	gaffer
Richard Tim Vanik	....	camera operator (as Tim Vanik)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carolyn Ewart	....	wardrobe: women
Phyllis Garr	....	wardrobe: women
Dick James	....	wardrobe: men
Ed Wynigear	....	wardrobe: men

Editorial Department
Stanford C. Allen	....	assistant editor
William D. Gordean	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Morris	....	conductor
John Morris	....	orchestrator
Jonathan Tunick	....	orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Anthony Goldschmidt	....	title designer
Ray Quiroz	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Ken Strickfaden	....	special thanks: original Frankenstein laboratory equipment (as Kenneth Strickfaden)

Production Companies

• Gruskoff/Venture Films
• Crossbow Productions
• Jouer Limited

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment España S.A. (2001) (Spain) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Abril Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (USA) (laserdisc)
• Key Video (video)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1981) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (1987) | Finland:K-16 (video rating) (1988) | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-16 (cinema release) (1975) | Canada:G (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Iceland:LH | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Mayfair Theatre - 214 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Gruskoff/Venture Films

Trivia:

The Blind Man scene includes parts where we see the monster having hot soup poured on him and getting his thumb lit on fire. To keep himself protected, Peter Boyle had a hot pad on his lap, and he held a fake thumb with alcohol on it to keep the fire burning.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In one scene, a guard taunts the creature with a lit match, as the creature is terrified of fire. Yet in the same scene, a torch is burning on the cell wall behind the creature, the cell where he's supposedly been held for hours without freaking out.

Quotes:

Inga: You haven't even touched your food.
[Frederick explodes and slaps on his food]
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: There. Now I've touched it. Happy?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Making Frankensense of 'Young Frankenstein' (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life

An incredibly funny and affectionate send-up of the horror film in general and Frankenstein films in particular

There really isn't much I can say that doubtless someone else hasn't said. Brooks used the same location and sets that were used for the lab scenes in the original 1931 James Whale version. Anyone who doesn't laugh at either the scene with Gene Hackman as a blind hermit or the scene where Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder are discussing the brain that Feldman brought for transplant has absolutely no pulse whatsoever. Gloriously funny from start to finish. Kenneth Mars is a hoot and Liam Dunn is a scream in one of the most painful-looking funny scenes in cinematic history! Most Highly Recommended.