20 facts you might not know about 'Young Frankenstein'

Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder had worked together previously, with Wilder in his traditional role of an actor. However, it’s Wilder who pitched Brooks the idea of doing a movie about the grandson of Victor Frankenstein. Brooks was initially unsure of doing yet another take on Frankenstein but liked the grandson idea, and the two wrote the movie together.

As Brooks recalled to Parade in 2013, Wilder said he would only play the role of Frederick Frankenstein if Brooks weren’t in the movie. Previously, Brooks had played key roles in all his films, but Wilder felt that Brooks had a habit of breaking the fourth wall, intentionally or not, and Wilder did not want this in this movie. Brooks agreed to stay off-screen (he has a few small voice roles), so Wilder decided to star.

There was only one choice for the role of Igor, at least as far as Wilder was concerned. He wrote the role for British character actor Marty Feldman, and Feldman agreed to take the role, making that process simple enough for the film.

Feldman gives one of several winning comedic performances in Young Frankenstein, and while some of it was in the script, he did bring one bit of comedy to the proceedings. It was the actor’s idea to move Igor’s hump around on his back, adding another sight gag to the movie.

To sell the comedy of the parody, Brooks wanted to capture the feel of the old Universal monster movies. Not only did they shoot in black-and-white and use old-school credits and scene transitions, but many of the props used in the film came from the 1931 version of Frankenstein.

Hackman was already an Oscar winner in 1974 but had just been doing serious work. A tennis buddy of Wilder’s, Hackman volunteered to appear in Young Frankenstein as a favor to his friend because he wanted to give comedy a shot. That’s how he got the role of Harold, the blind man Frankenstein’s monster meets. Uncredited and reportedly working for free, Hackman also ad-libbed the blackout line, “I was gonna make espresso,” which he could only do once without breaking, so they had to use the first take.

While Wilder kept Brooks out of a big role, the director just couldn’t help himself. When Frederick Frankenstein throws his dart and hits a cat off screen, Brooks decided to shriek like a cat during one of Wilder’s takes. This made it into the film, giving Brooks one more small “part” to play.

If you could have both Teri Garr and Madeline Kahn in your film, you make it happen. Originally, Kahn was going to play Inga the assistant, while Garr had auditioned for the role of Elizabeth, Frederick’s fiancée. However, Kahn decided she would rather play Elizabeth. Brooks asked Garr if she could come in and audition for Inga with a German accent, and Garr responded by jumping right into the (admittedly broad) German accent she uses in the film. Brooks gave her the part.

For a guy who had worked with Mel Brooks for years, Wilder was apparently not used to shooting comedy. As per Cloris Leachman, Wilder was practically Jimmy Fallon when it came to breaking during takes. Scenes would have to be sometimes shot north of a dozen times before Wilder could compose himself and not laugh during a take.

Brooks may generally be a jovial figure, but making a movie can be stressful. One day, while working on the film at Wilder’s apartment, the two got into a fight. Brooks had a screaming fit and stormed out angrily. However, apparently, 10 minutes later, Brooks called Wilder’s apartment and asked him, “Who was that madman you had in your house?” and advised Wilder that it is dangerous to have “crazy people” over. Wilder recognized this was Brooks’ way of apologizing, and the two were OK from there on out.

Brooks was insistent on Young Frankenstein being black-and-white like the original Universal classic. He says that the studio said they originally offered to make it a black-and-white movie, but they wanted it shot on color stock, suggesting that they wanted to have the option for countries where the color film was still new. Brooks sniffed this out as a ploy to get a color version of the film they could release whether Brooks liked it or not, so he insisted the film be shot solely and strictly with black-and-white film. (h/t Parade)

Kahn was a trained singer and had an ear for music. Brooks liked to let her do her thing. Initially, the song that Elizabeth was going to sing after her, ahem, encounter with the monster was “Cheek to Cheek.” Kahn asked if she could instead sing “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life," wanting to sing a song that started with an “Ah” sound. On the other hand, Elizabeth sings “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” when brushing her hair because, well, it’s in the public domain.

The first cut of Young Frankenstein was roughly twice as long as the final cut. It was also, apparently, not very good. Wilder and Brooks thought they might have a failure on their hands, but then they got to work editing…and editing. Eventually, they pared the movie to the final product, which the director and star were happy with.

Brooks had a 1974 to remember. The director had two movies come out that year. Not just two movies but two comedy classics. In the same year, Brooks saw Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles get released, an almost unparalleled level of success.

There was no Brooks fatigue in 1974. From a budget of only $2.78 million, Young Frankenstein made a robust $86.2 million. It also has a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The legacy of the comedy has lasted, as AFI listed it as the 13th best comedy movie of all time on their list of the 100 best comedies ever.

Leachman was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for playing Frau Blucher, while Kahn was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Neither won, but that’s not what is notable. What’s interesting is that Kahn has more screen time than Leachman in the movie. This is either a case of category massaging or Golden Globes weirdness. Either seems plausible.

Parody comedies don’t tend to do much at the Academy Awards. However, Young Frankenstein managed to find success where others had not. The film was nominated for two Oscars. One was for Best Sound. The other went to Brooks and Wilder for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Aerosmith’s song “Walk This Way” has nothing to do with Frankenstein, his monster, or old castles. Like a decent amount of music, it’s about sex. However, the band got the title from a joke from Igor in Young Frankenstein. That being said, this movie did not invent the “walk this way” joke. It has existed since the early days of vaudeville and appeared in a few movies before Young Frankenstein.

Brooks turned his movie The Producers into a musical so successful it was turned back into a movie adaptation of that musical. Why not see if lightning would strike twice? Young Frankenstein was adapted for Broadway, and it also found success. The show ran from November 2008 until January 2009, getting nominated for three Tonys.

Brooks has never been shy about self-promotion, and he has talked up the quality of Young Frankenstein in recent years. He has called it the best movie he has ever made. Now, he has also been quick to note he doesn’t think it’s his funniest movie — that would be Blazing Saddles — but in terms of overall quality, nothing beats this film in Brooks’ mind.