Review #6 - Young Frankenstein (1974)

Where-Wolf? There-Wolf!

Total Score: 12/23

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Before any die-hard fans come waving pitchforks and torches and clamouring for my blood, I want to reiterate; the score being low is not representative of 1. How good the film is, or 2. How much I personally enjoyed it. This is the joy of the rating system at work (as detailed in my preamble, wink wink nudge nudge).

With all that said, let’s get into it.

This film was a lot sillier than I expected, having only seen the classic ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ scene prior to watching. The opening build-up was enjoyably gothic, and this made the opening of the coffin on a Halloween decoration corpse all the funnier. Trying to pry the book from the cold dead hands also made me chuckle.

The hilarious Marty Feldman as EYEgor

Our introduction to Gene Wilder’s character (Fronkensteen, as he continually clarifies) reminds me of Re-Animator (1985), only with a wackier tone. The two films are similarly seedy at times.

Before I go any further I want to just throw a list of things that particularly made me laugh watching this film:

• The horses freaking out over Frau Blücher

• A roll in the hay

• The joys of eating Kirschtorte (MMMMMMMM)

• Igor discovering the hidden library via the dumbwaiter

• In fact, anything Igor says or does. The way he moves is masterfully comedic, as is his line delivery.

• Charades in the face of death.

• Blind man antics

• Almost every scene with the policeman (particularly the game of darts)

• Obviously Puttin’ on the Ritz

• Our protagonist’s lady wife having a sudden, but subtle change of hair

• Our protagonist’s lady wife having a very drastic change of hair at the end

What really stood out was the casting. Everyone is excellent (Clue star Madeline Kahn was a pleasant surprise), but Gene Wilder runs the line splendidly between totally crazed and charismatically sleazy in a way that just makes the film. He just kills it and now I wish he could play Dr Jekyll. When he goes into that line about “hurling the gauntlet of science into the fearful face of death” or what have you, it brings a level of gothic camp and the dramatic that it almost feels like you’re watching a Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing Hammer Horror.

Also, the creature speaks!!! This threw me off, I can tell you. Smoking, sure, performing arts, sure, but conversation? Wild.

My final note is this isn’t one to watch alone. For optimum enjoyment, get someone else involved - it tripled how funny I found it, for sure.

This is a brief review, but only because the film speaks for itself (or at least the Creature does).

As ever, thanks for reading,

Until next time,

H.E.

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