My Favorite Mel Brooks Movie

It was tough picking a favorite Mel Brooks film.  It was so tough, I wound up rewatching most of his filmography, just to make sure I was giving every picture a fair shot.  "Blazing Saddles" is easily the most daring and subversive.  "Spaceballs" remains a beloved piece of my childhood.  "Life Stinks" is the secret masterpiece.  "Twelve Chairs" is the other secret masterpiece.  "History of the World, Part I" is not top tier, but definitely has the best musical number.  However, the Mel Brooks movie that the world would undeniably be worse without is "Young Frankenstein."  

My history with "Young Frankenstein" is odd, but not unusual.  This was the first version of "Frankenstein" I ever saw in any medium, and thus had no context for the parody of the decades of "Frankenstein" movies that had come before.  Along with Herman Munster, this version of the Monster established the character as a humorous figure in my young mind, and not at all scary.  When I was older, I was astonished to discover that the Universal monster movies were considered straight horror pictures, and the James Whale "Frankenstein" didn't even have some of the best characters.  Was that hunchback with the properly aligned eyes supposed to be Igor?  And was there no Inga?  And no Frau Blücher?! NEEEIIGGGGHHH!  

Despite not getting most of the jokes, I still found "Young Frankenstein" a great watch when I was a kid, because it features so many wonderful performances by some of my favorite comedy actors.  Gene Wilder's increasingly unhinged performance as Frederick Fronk-en-steen is one for the ages.  When he finally gives into the madness, lets loose, and starts raving, it's electrifying.   Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn don't get enough screen time, but they make every second count.  Nobody played the bimbo with a thick accent better than Terri Garr.  Marty Feldman's Igor may not have originated the twisted mad scientist's assistant character, but he definitely set the bar for all the screen Igors to follow.  And then there's Peter Boyle as the Monster.  To this day, his enthusiastic, incoherent rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz" fills me with indescribable joy.

On this most recent rewatch, fifty years after the film's premiere, there are some elements of the film that have not aged well.  The sexual dynamics probably wouldn't fly with most viewers, and some of the wordplay no longer plays.  However,  I was finally able to appreciate "Young Frankenstein" as a spoof of the "Frankenstein" franchise, and it's fabulous.  Mel Brooks manages to capture some real tension and atmosphere in the early parts of the film.  It's arguably the best looking feature he ever made, in beautiful black and white, using a lot of the same visual language as the '30s "Frankenstein."  The pace is slower than most of his films, resulting in "Young Frankenstein" being Brooks' longest film.  The gag count is relatively low, but when those gags hit, they hit.  I also appreciate the commitment to old comedy bits and slapstick that you don't really see anymore, like the revolving bookcase gag.  The amount of wholehearted silliness that finds its way onscreen is something that modern comedy could use more of.     

I'd be lying if I said that the Gene recent Wilder documentary didn't influence my decision to write about "Young Frankenstein."  The movie was as much Wilder's baby as Mel Brooks.'  He came up with the initial idea and co-wrote the script.  His performance as Fronk-en-steen is one of his very best.  Wilder went on to write and direct more films, but I doubt that he'll be getting his own "Great Directors" post in the future, so this may be my only chance to express my admiration for one of the funniest comedians who ever made movies.  

As for Mel Brooks, in interviews he's claimed that this is his best movie, but not the funniest.  I disagree, preferring character-based laughs to the no-holds-barred free-for-all of the more celebrated "Blazing Saddles."  And you're not going to see many comedic characters better than the ones in "Young Frankenstein."  I still prefer these versions of the mad scientist, frustrated monster, and loyal assistant to the originals, and I suspect many other fans do too.  

What I've Seen

The Producers (1967)

The Twelve Chairs (1970)

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Silent Movie (1976)

High Anxiety (1977)

History of the World, Part I (1981)

Spaceballs (1987)

Life Stinks (1991)

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

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