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Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn ... see more see more... , Cloris Leachman , Gene Hackman , Leon Askin , Oscar Beregi Sr. , Lou Cutell , John Dennis , Liam Dunn , Danny Goldman , Richard Haydn , Lidia Kristen , Monte Landis , Arthur Malet , Kenneth Mars , Norbert Schiller , Rolfe Sedan , Mel Brooks , Richard Roth , Michael Fox

Lending his burlesque touch to 1970s genre revision, Mel Brooks followed his hit "western" Blazing Saddles with this parody of 1930s Universal horror movies. Determined to live down his family's reput... read more read more...ation, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (co-screenwriter Gene Wilder) insists on pronouncing his name "Fronckensteen" and denies interest in replicating his grandfather's experiments. But when he is lured by Frau Blucher (Cloris Leachman) to discover the tantalizingly titled journal "How I Did It" in his grandfather's castle, he cannot resist. With the help of voluptuous Inga (Teri Garr), wall-eyed assistant Igor (Marty Feldman), and a purloined brain, Frankenstein creates his monster (Peter Boyle). Igor, however, stole the wrong brain, and the monster tears off into the countryside, encountering a little girl and a blind hermit (Gene Hackman). Frankenstein finds the monster and trains him to do a little "Puttin' On the Ritz" soft-shoe, but the monster escapes again, this time seducing Frankenstein's uptight fiancée Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn) with his, ahem, sweet mystery. His love life and experiment in shambles, Frankenstein finally finds a way to create the being he had planned. Shooting in gleaming black-and-white, with sets and props from the 1930s and appropriate fright music by John Morris, Brooks' cheeky attitude towards the Hollywood past attracted a large audience, turning it into one of the most popular 1974 releases after (what else?) Blazing Saddles. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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91% liked it

184,198 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

47 critics

PG, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Mel Brooks

Release Date: December 15, 1974

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DVD Release Date: November 3, 1998

Stats: 13,386 reviews

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Igor Teri Garr Igor Young Frankenstein Teri Garr, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn & Marty Feldman Young Frankenstein Igor Marty Feldman & Madeline Kahn Madeline Kahn Young Frankenstein Liam Dunn "Fronkensteen" Young Frankenstein Young Frankenstein Young Frankenstein (1974) Puttin' on the Ritz Young Frankenstein Roll in ze hay!
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Flixster Reviews (13,386)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    January 24, 2012
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein is a fine horror comedy that remains a classic of the genre. This is one film that is very funny, with good acting and directing. The film is one of the most memorable films in the comedy horror genre. Mel Brooks delivers a great film that is very f... read moreunny. The film obviously parodies Frankenstein, and the film does a great job at doing that. I very much enjoyed the film, and thought it was among Mel Brooks' best films. Young Frankenstein for me anyway plays out like a tribute to Frankenstein, by inducing the classic tale of horror with a good dose of comedy. The film works well, and is superbly well acted, and directed. The film boasts a memorable twist on the classic tale, and is among the best comedy horror flicks, albeit not a straight forward horror film. This film though will be appreciated by fans of horror as much as comedy film fans. This film is a near flawless comedy horror flick with great, memorable performances. Mel Brooks would later make another horror comedy with Dracula, but it wouldn't be as great a film as this. Young Frankenstein woks well as a parody and as a tribute to a classic horror monster. Overall a solidly crafted film with a great cast, and a good story. Young Frankenstein is in a class by itself.
  • spielberg00
    January 13, 2012
    spielberg00
    Though he lacks a major screen appearance, Brooks's directorial role is iconic. He uses black-and-white cinematography and eerie music to remind us of 1930's horror movies such as the FRANKENSTEIN films and DRACULA. Likewise, Gene Wider does an outstanding performance as the titu... read morelar character, transforming the muddled script into a fabulous work of art. Though he is in whole hilarious, he has a few moments when he truly stands out: the scene in which he yells, "IT'S ALIVE!"; his disastrously funny tap-dance with Peter Boyle to "Puttin' on the Ritz"; the library sequence in which he smashes his face into the revolving bookshelf.
  • blkbomb
    November 28, 2011
    blkbomb
    Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Please! Remain in your seats, I beg you! We are not children here, we are scientists! I assure you there is nothing to fear! 

    "The scariest comedy of all-time!"

    Young Frankenstein is my second favorite Mel Brooks movie behind only Blazing Saddles. Th... read moree film is a great spoof of Frankenstein and is ridiculously hilarious in ways that only a Mel Brooks movie could be. This is immature and stupid humor at its best. Nobody does genre spoofs better than Brooks. He did the westerns with Blazing Saddles, old gothic horror with Young Frankenstein and eventually the sci-fi/Star Wars with Spaceballs. The guy isn't what you'd typically think of as brilliant, but that is exactly what he is.

    Gene Wilder plays the grandson of the original Frankenstein creator. He is against what his grandfather did and has now changed the pronunciation of his name. He ventures to his grandfathers old estate where he begins to hear strange, ominous music that leads him to the laboratory. There he finds a book entitled, "This is How I Did It," and begins to create his own creature with the help of a beautiful mistress and a weird, misshapen Igor. Another noteworthy performance comes from Peter Boyle as the Creature. He manages to make the Creature extremely funny.

    The film is shot in black and white and definitely looks like an old horror film. The great gothic look of the movie clashes with the utterly goofy humor of Brooks and Wilder. Can you beat Wilder yelling "It's Alive"? The movie is extremely entertaining in a way that makes you ask yourself why you like it so much. 

    This is classic Brooks, classic Wilder and classic comedy at its best. Modern spoofs need to take some notes from old Brooks films. It isn't about spoofing as many things in one movie as you can. It is about choosing one subject and completely making it your own in a new signature way. That is what Brooks did here and with Blazing Saddles and that is why he is the master of the spoof.
  • fb1463751009
    November 27, 2011
    fb1463751009
    Don't remember much but much like many older movies, the pacing becomes very rewarding and in this case, funny. A surprising hit for me.
  • FilmFanatik
    October 26, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    Comedic gold was spun in 1974 when Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder hatched and laid the masterpiece that was Young Frankenstein. It's one of the most popular and well-respected comedy films of all time and it isn't difficult to understand why. You'd have be dead and brought back to li... read morefe if you couldn't find humor in this wonderful movie. While Blazing Saddles solidified Mel Brooks as the master of the spoof film, it was Young Frankenstein that set in stone. The performances are wonderful, the look of the film is fantastic and the score is just pitch-perfect. I'd recommend this to anyone with a funny bone to tickle. For those who just can't recognize genius when they see it, DAMN YOUR EYES!!... too late.
  • skeletonking101
    September 29, 2011
    skeletonking101
    Out of all the spoof films, this is undoubtably one of the funniest, if not the funniest. There are so many moments where you almost can't breate from the tone, the characters, or the plot in general, its all pulled off fantastically and all that is due to Peter Boyle as the mons... read moreter, for having no dialogue aside from GRRRRRR, he gets a lot of comedy just through his facial expressions, and that is the sign of a very funny actor.
  • moonrivers
    September 19, 2011
    moonrivers
    Irreverence and homage mix joyously in this, perhaps Brooks best film. Although not for everyone this is a nonstop comic fireball aimed sort've at the heart of true admirers of Whale's original benchmarks.
  • ironclad1609
    April 18, 2011
    ironclad1609
    One of Mel Brooks early works is this parody of the classic Frankenstein film. What makes this so much fun is the fact that it tries to look exactly like the original and manages to. Cinematography, light, music, make-up, everything looks just like it's from the 30s. Especially G... read moreene Wilder is hilarious by taking his role entirely serious, while Marty Feldman is the obvious fun sidekick. The film may be a little slow sometimes but still pays homage to a classic as much as making fun of it. And an unbelievable cameo by Gene Hackman tops it all.
  • SirPant
    March 7, 2011
    SirPant
    Young Frankenstein is one of Mel Brooks's best. He is obviously a huge fan of the original James Whale films, otherwise I don't think it would have worked, it is obvious to me that this was a spoof made from admiration and respect. I love Gene Wilder (and wish he was still acting... read more) and Peter Boyle's monster is brilliant, what with his knowing and quite sarcastic glances, he said so much only using his eyebrows. The 'Puttin' on the Ritz' scene is classic comedy Gold, the two actors worked so well together, that said though, it is actually Marty Feldman that steals the show.
  • 76Majikat
    January 5, 2011
    76Majikat
    Hmmm, I've known a few members rate this film pretty highly, but I found it painful viewing. The humour was beyond me and I just had to play it out to see if it would get better, but it doesn't.

View All Young Frankenstein Reviews

Critic Reviews

Don Druker
June 4, 2007
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

More about the myth of Karloff than the monster, this Mel Brooks pastiche is probably his best early film. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It shows artistic growth and a more sure-handed control of the material by a director who once seemed willing to do literally anything for a laugh. It's more confident and less breathless. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Some of the gags don't work, but fewer than in any previous Brooks film that I've seen, and when the jokes are meant to be bad, they are riotously poor. What more can one ask of Mel Brooks? Full Review

February 13, 2001
Variety

Young Frankenstein emerges as a reverently satirical salute to the 1930s horror film genre. Full Review

Scott G. Mignola
January 2, 2011
Scott G. Mignola, Common Sense Media

Brooks' corniness yields plenty of belly laughs. Full Review

Dan Jardine
August 10, 2010
Dan Jardine, Slant Magazine

This is a fine horror film that also turns (miraculously) into an existential tale of man's fear of abandonment Full Review

Josh Larsen
May 1, 2009
Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm

Say this for Brooks - he saw women as comedic equals, and they continually proved him right. Full Review

Peter Canavese
October 13, 2008
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

A deathless comedy classic [Blu-ray] Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
December 31, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Most of the gags were juvenile. Full Review

Mark Bourne
September 10, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

...an unswervingly funny yet loving and beautifully crafted homage, something more artful and lasting than the usual pull-my-finger farce or focus-grouped Scary Movie lowballer. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Frau Bluecher: Stay close to the candles. The staircase... can be treacherous.
    • Igor: Not the third switch!
    • Frau Bluecher: Would the doctor care for a brandy before retiring?
    • Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No. Thank you.
    • Frau Bluecher: Some warm milk, perhaps?
    • Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No, thank you very much. No thanks.
    • Frau Bluecher: Ovaltine?
    • Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Igor, help me with the bags.
    • Igor: [Imitating Groucho Marx] Soitenly. You take the blonde, I'll take the one in the turban.
    • Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: [to Inga from behind the bookcase] Put... the candle... back!
    • Igor: Sed-a... Sed-a... Dirty word! He said a dirty word!
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Young Frankenstein Trivia

  • Which Oscar Award-winning actor had a speaking cameo as a blind man in the movie "Young Frankenstein" and was the last name mentioned in the end credits?  Answer »
  • What great black and white classic has the following line? Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Igor, would you give me a hand with the bags? Igor: [doing a Groucho Marx] Certainly, you take the blonde and I'll take the one in the turban.   Answer »
  • From what movie is this quote - "What a filthy job." "Could be worse." "How?" "Could be raining." (starts to pour rain)  Answer »
  • What actor played the Monster in the comedy remake of Frankenstein { Young Frankenstein -1974}?  Answer »
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