40 Years & Still in One Piece

Cornell Cinema’s 40th anniversary series, which features classic films of the 1970s, began this Monday with Mel Brooks’ 1974 film Young Frankenstein, a comedic take on Mary Shelley’s classic tale about life, death and everything in between.

Young Frankenstein follows Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (co-screenwriter Gene Wilder) who is a professor at a medical school in the United States. Insistent on being called Dr. “Fronk-en-steen” by his students, the doctor tries to distance himself as much as possible from the legacy his grandfather, the infamous mad scientist, left behind. However, when Dr. Frankenstein inherits his family’s castle in Transylvania and moves to its grim countryside, he finds himself pulled in by the work of his late grandfather, and begins — with the help of a sarcastic sidekick Igor, severe housekeeper Frau Blucher and sexy lab assistant Inga — to create his misunderstood monster.

After some struggle, the doctor is at last successful, and brings the monster (Peter Boyle) to life. The hulking creature has, as we are told, a huge everything (yes, even his “Schwanstuker”, as Inga calls it), and is supposed to have an equally colossal brain to match. However, due to Igor’s mistake in picking a brain from the brain bank labeled “Abnormal,” the monster is far from the genius Dr. Frankenstein hoped he would be. Though good at heart, the monster is infantile and easily scared. He remains a danger to himself and to the Transylvanian villagers, who discover his existence and realize that Dr. Frankenstein has carried on his grandfather’s work despite his promises not to.

Chaos, interspersed by Brooks’ signature slew of “Shwankstuker” jokes, ensues. The Transylvanian villagers demand the monster’s death. A riot starts. The motley crew find themselves in grave danger. And most terrifying of all, the doctor’s virginal fiancée from America pays an impromptu visit and almost catches him in the act with the voluptuous Inga …

However, what makes Young Frankenstein such a classic comedy is not its plot, which is predictable. Nor is it a great movie for the inventiveness of its humor (in fact, the jokes tend to be pretty unoriginal, and often lowbrow). The genius of Young Frankenstein instead lies in the fact that the cleverness of the dialogue and excellent acting make all of the dirty jokes and physical comedy seem acceptable, even refined.

A healthy dose of 1970s style political incorrectness also adds to the film’s hilarity. Perhaps overspill from Brooks’ The Producers days — full of dancing Hitlers and a sentimental neo-Nazi — the Transylvanian villagers are all (quite inexplicably) caricatures of thick-accented Germans. And in the overly-sanitized world of today, this harmless and perfectly kitschy bit of political incorrectness is surprisingly charming.

The aspect of parody also makes the movie stand apart, and will inevitably win it some fans. The film, which is filmed in black-and-white and complete with 1930s-style credits, is undoubtedly a stab at the oftentimes formulaic and melodramatic horror movies of Hollywood’s past (including the original Frankenstein of 1931). Horses whiny every time a villain’s name is mentioned. Lightning strikes in practically every frame and thunder makes a pouty female lead shimmy into the strong arms of her male counterpart …

Young Frankenstein is likely to also remain a comedy favorite for longer, evidenced by the fact that already — after more than three decades — Brooks’ monster movie remains very much … alive.