Young Frankenstein: Fronk-En-Steen

Young Frankenstein is to classic horror movies what Blazing Saddles is to westerns. It is also one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. The movie works for the same reason that the works of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright work; Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder obviously know the source material backwards and forwards. But the source material goes beyond the Frankenstein movies because various methods and cliches of classic movies are used for humorous effect. The laboratory set was meticulously recreated for the film to make it a kind of sequel to what has come before. And trust me, I've seen Bride of Frankenstein, and based on the way James Whale and co. retconned the ending of the original, Young Frankenstein could certainly exist in that same fictional world.

The story follows Dr. Frankenstein's grandson Frederick Frankenstein (he pronounces it "Fronk-en-steen" due to his shame from being related to a crackpot), who is a successful neurologist in America. When Frederick's last remaining ancestor dies, he goes to Transylvania to settle his estate, only to learn that he has inherited his grandfather's castle, library, and science notes. He also "inherits" the descendant of his grandfather's assistant Igor, whose name is also Igor (but pronounced Eye-gor). Frankenstein also starts a working relationship with Inga, who becomes his new lab assistant (the two also have some sexual tension, which is bad for Frederick, because he is engaged to an uptight society woman). When Frederick discovers his grandfather's lab, complete with a book called "How I Did It", he decides that he can pick up where his grandfather left off and successfully reanimate dead tissue. But a mishap at the "brain depository" results in Frederick placing an abnormal (Abbie Normal) brain in his enormous creature.

From there, hijinks ensue. The monster escapes and causes trouble in the Transylvanian countryside. These scenes involve bizarre reactions from the villagers and the monster alike; the monster is childlike and doesn't understand his own size or strength, while each villager has a different reaction to the monster (the best has to be the Blind Man, played by Gene Hackman, in a parody of a similar scene in Bride of Frankenstein). There is also plenty of Mel Brooks-style humor, including bizarre double entendres, 4th wall breaking, and the inability of characters to realize the obvious (Igor doesn't realize that he has a hump, let alone a hump that constantly shifts from side to side).

Brooks also deliberately made the movie look like it was made in the 30s. He filmed it in crackly black and white, and used a lot of circle wipes instead of basic cuts. The opening credits resemble those of early movies with the credits over a static image, and often, scenes will completely fade to black for a moment before fading back in to a new scene. These antiquated effects are extremely noticeable to audiences who aren't used to them, and they help make the film seem like an authentic classic horror movie, which helps accentuate the anachronistic elements of the film.

I don't want to give away too many of the film's wonderful jokes. All you have to know is that this is a film that everyone should see during their life.

Up next: Summer of films...