Comedy film from 1974, directed by Mel Brooks, written by Brooks and Gene Wilder, very loosely based on "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley (as well as the multiple Frankenstein movies made by Universal Pictures beginning in the 1930s), with black and white cinematography by Gerald Hirschfeld.
The film's stars included:
Brooks didn't have any on-camera roles, but he provided voices and sound effects as the distant werewolf, the cat hit by the dart, and the voice of Victor Frankenstein.
A notable film for so many reasons: There's Cloris Leachman as Frau Blucher (Whinny!) and Madeline Kahn as Frederick's beautiful, shallow fiancee, both of them impeccably hilarious. There's the almost unrecognizable Gene Hackman as the blind hermit, perfect dropping his adlibbed "I was going to make espresso!" Teri Garr, supposedly playing the eye candy role, pulls off so many subtly funny lines. Peter Boyle, portraying the Monster, delivers one of the funniest performances in the movie, simultaneously menacing, pitiful, and exasperated by all the idiots he has to put up with. Marty Feldman takes the traditionally minor role of Igor and turns it into something that will be remembered and quoted forever. And Gene Wilder as the grand ringleader of the comedic chaos, simultaneously a man of the modern world and a stereotype from German Expressionist cinema, playing straight man for all the other actors and still pulling off his own epic, never-to-be-forgotten gags.
My favorite bits of trivia for this movie: The laboratory set is the same one which appeared in Universal's original "Frankenstein" film from the 1930s. And the gloriously funny performance of "Puttin' on the Ritz" almost didn't make it into the movie -- Brooks vehemently hated the idea, but allowed Wilder to argue him into shooting the sequence.
As far as I'm concerned, it's Mel Brooks' best movie. Yes, better than "Blazing Saddles", though not by much. Both films display Brooks' love for those classic films of yesteryear, but I've always felt that Brooks put more passion into "Young Frankenstein." The moment when Frederick finally embraces his heritage ("My name... is FRANKENSTEIN!") isn't exactly a funny scene, but it ranks up there with some of the best cinematic moments in history. I prefer to watch this one right after I've watched "Frankenstein" and "The Bride of Frankenstein" -- I think it's fun to follow the classics up with Brooks' artful and loving deconstruction.