Filmmaker reacts to Young Frankenstein (1974) for the FIRST TIME! 

For me, this is Mel Brooks’ masterpiece. It’s a parody built from the ground up with a deep love for the source material, and it’s arguably the best of the Frankenstein films.

Madeline Kahn was a great talent that we lost way too early. She could sing, dance, act, and had impeccable comedic timing. Oh, and she was hot too.

Fun fact: they were able to use some of the original lab equipment with all the sparkly bits from the original Frankenstein movie of the 1930's they were parodying. An absolute comedy classic with the amazing Gene Wilder (this was basically his pet project), I'm glad you got to enjoy it.

Teri Garr deserves accolades. A beautiful woman obviously, her comic timing was impeccable. She retired in the 2000s sometime after her multiple sclerosis took its toll.

The actor who played The Monster was Peter Boyle, who was also very well known for his role as Frank Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond during the late 1990s and early 2000s. In one of the Everybody Loves Raymond episodes, he actually does a tribute and plays Frankenstein on Halloween.

Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks had exactly one argument when working on this movie. Mel wanted to remove the “Putting on the Ritz” sequence and Gene was dumbstruck by the suggestion. He gave an impassioned defense of it, maintaining that the entire beginning and middle of the film drives toward that moment and that the story would not work without it and was nearly to the brink of tears when Mel said, “All right, it’s in.” Confused, he asked why he’d put him through that, to which Mel said, “I wasn’t sure it was right, and I needed to see how hard you’d fight for it.” It stayed in from that day on. Such a great movie, still holds up.

Marty Feldman, the actor who played Igor looked the way he did in the movie because of a generic condition and a messed up operation. The irony is he admitted he would not have such a good body of work with out his unique looks.

Igor's hump swapping sides gag was improvised by Marty - he had been doing it for days during the shoot without anyone noticing. When the crew caught on they added it to the script!

Possibly the only adaptation of Frankenstein where everyone has a happy ending.

This works better if you've seen not only Frankenstein, but also Bride Of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, and Ghost of Frankenstein. AND maybe Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Frankenstein meets Wolfman is a maybe. But you'll notice a lot of references from all those films.

The lab equipment is the same from the original 1931 film. Gene Hackman who plays the blind man improvised the line about expresso, The reason Mel Brooks doesn't cameo is Gene didn't want it to divert is attention between directing and cameoing, Marty Feldman's eyes were actually that way,

Gene Hackman plays the best part in this movie. “I was gonna make espresso” 😂

Fun Fact: The song "Walk this Way" was directly inspired by that scene between Igor and Fredrich on the train station steps.

Absolutely wonderful 🙂 "Sedagive" and "Put the candle beck." are two simple lines of dialogue I will remember forever.

This was my aunts favorite movie of all time. Unfortunately she passed two years ago at a young age, so this movie will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thanks for this. Mel Brooks actually used the original lab sets from the first Frankenstein movie. Another Mel Brooks movie worth checking out, and the first one of his movies staring Gene Wilder is the 1967 version of The Producers.

The actor with bulging eyes is Marty Feldman. Marty was perfect for this role. In fact, the entire movie was perfectly cast.

As I recall, I heard from some in the business that they had to seek out "old hands" for this movie who knew how to light and shoot black and white film, because to do it well takes a different approach than with color film. Even then it was a dying art. Hopefully someone took notes, because the effect in this film is just wonderful.

Marty Feldman is one of the all-time greats in comedy! Silent Movie starring Marty and Mel Brooks is another one of the greats with an all-star cast! Also, a film named The Last Remake of Beau Geste was one of my favorites of Maarty's that he both starred in and directed. You really hit the nail on the head with the Buster Keaton reference. Gene Wilder worshipped and adored Buster Keaton! He referenced him a lot in the film he did with Richard Pryor, Silver Streak.

Thanks James!! You’ve just witnessed one of the best casts in film history. Co-written by Brooks and Wilder, the collaboration was more than perfect. The movie IQ of this team would make movies that would stand on their own, but the sub references to the original Shelley novel just capture the nostalgia so perfectly, it just can’t be quantified. Every actor on this set were at the absolute pinnacle of their careers and Mel Brooks tapped into each one’s unique gifts. Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman (Igor), Peter Boyle (The Creature), Terri Garr (Inga, The assistant), Kenneth Mars (Inspector Kemp) and Chloris Leachman (Frau Blücher) were ALL firing on all cylinders. And don’t forget Gene Hackman’s Harold, the blind host with the most. I think I’ve watched this movie 4 or 5000 times and Never tire of the ‘eye rolls’, glances at the camera or horse whinnies at the mention of “BLÜCHER!!”! The throwback set (the original from the Original Frankenstein movie) or “Walk This Way” are just dripping with sarcasm and the height of directing genius. Btw…Marty Feldman suffered a genetic disease causing his eyes to bulge. His ability to poke fun at himself made the character of IGOR so uproariously brilliant!! Nobody else could have pulled off “what hump?” with such a perfectly unaffected reply. Can you imagine trying to get through a reading with these comedians ad libbing their lines?? Some of the outtakes were preserved and are absolutely worth a few minutes of your time. Ciao and thanks again!

My favorite part was during Puttin' On the Ritz, when the creature gets angry, and the doctor is desperately trying to get the show back on track and counts down "5, 6, 7, 8.." and starts with the tap steps again. "Come ON, are you trying to make me look like a fool?" while the crowd jeers and makes it worse.

The first time I saw this movie was in my HIgh School English class because we covered the Frankenstein novel and our teacher showed us the original black and white film and then this. When the Puttin on the Ritz scene (18:21) happened, it was dead silent and then I just heard my best friend behind me screaming and crying laughing. The respect this film gave to the original while still giving tongue and cheek satire on the OG Universal Monster Movies is amazing. This movie is in my top 3 favorite comedies of all time and top 10 favorite films. The woman that played Fredrick's wife (Madeline Kahn) was in another comedy called Clue, that was based on the classic board game. It also has Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd. If you have a chance you should check that movie out as well, it's hilarious.

Is Igor your first experience watching Marty Feldman? He's great! He was in Brooks' "Silent Movie" too and was hysterical. Mel Brooks once said the best place to hide from Feldman was by standing directly in front of him. IF you get to Silent Movie, you need to truly read the actors' lips. Marty Feldman hits on a nurse in one scene and is shot down BAD. Mel Brooks speaks to him immediately afterwards, and the dialogue card that pops up is COMPLETELY different than what is said. That scene, the hospital scene w/the heart monitor, and the scene with the world's most famous mime are my favorites.

Mel Brooks, in his heyday, was the genius of geniuses in comedy film-making (even mores than Woody Allen, his main competitor in the comedy genre). Consider: He made the best anti-racist movie of all time (Blazing Saddles), a western, at a time when westerns were fading rapidly, did a black and white movie decades after black and white had been cast to the wayside (this one), and also did a silent movie (called "Silent Movie") which proved that you could still do one, and do it well. It helped that he had a magnificent group of co-writers, actors, cinematographers . . . But in the late sixties through the 70s, Mel Brooks could do no wrong.

The thing about Mel Brooks’ parodies is that he’s said that he has to love the original to make a parody. So he makes fun of movies, but he does so with a real reverence for the source material. One that doesn’t seem to get as much attention these days is High Anxiety. If you like Hitchcock films, you’ll really love that flick. 11:42 That’s Kenneth-Freaking-Mars, one of Mel Brooks’ secret weapons. He also played Franz Liebkind, the ex-Nazi playwright in “The Producers.” He also had a great career as a voice actor, including doing King Triton in The Little Mermaid. 16:41 The “I was gonna make espresso!” line was ad libbed by Gene Hackman, and they had to do a quick fade after it to save the take, because it made the entire crew crack up. 19:40 This scene required many, many takes, because they couldn’t get through it without one person or another (or all of them) breaking up laughing. If you look carefully, you’ll notice that they eventually had to use the film from one take and Marty Feldman’s voice from another.

Gene Wilder is on my actor Mount Rushmore. His range was incredible. He was so funny. A great writer. And just like the sweetest person ever. His memoir is great, as is any interview he ever did.

DO NOT SCARE ME WITH A THUMBNAIL LIKE THAT!!! I thought you were watching it in color. I don't even know if there is a version in color, but there shouldn't be.

The reason that the horses neigh whenever Frau Blucher's name is mentioned is because Mel Brooks believed that the name "Blucher" sounded like the German word for "glue" and since horses are used to make glue, they didn't like the name. However, the name Blucher is just a common surname in Germany and sounds nothing like the German word for glue, slang or otherwise. Mel Brooks was simply mistaken and it got left in. - Source: Mel Brooks interview.

Gene Wilder has such a wonderfully emotionally expressive face. I think one has to be quite empathetic to be able to do this. So glad you enjoyed this movie! The OG Troll fr, Marty Feldman's Igor was so amazingly funny.

You've gotta see High Anxiety, which is Brooks' Hitchcock homage and stars Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, and Harvey Korman. The comic performances are great, of course, but Brooks also manages not only to replicate Hitchcock's style, but to turn Hitchcock-esque shots into visual gags.

You'll like "See no Evil, Hear no Evil" It stars Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor.

This film is so much funnier if you have seen the original Frankenstein films.

I saw this movie in the theater with my dad. He laughed so hard he fell into the aisle. His favorite movie!

Probably one of my top 5 all time greatest films!

One of the problems with the high cost of making movies, is that casting has suffered. Older movie studios had a larger stable of actors from which to draw from, so we had more of a chance to see colorful characters played by people such as Marty Feldman and Jack Elam

Marty Feldman, a Brit, did comedy skits with John Cleese, had his own comedy show (Marty Feldman's comedy Machine - Monty Python style) and directed his own movies. He died quite young while doing a movie. He was pretty erudite. His eyes where so large due to an illness. At the same time, willingly or unwillingly, it was his trade mark.

Didn't anyone recognize Peter Boyle as the monster...Ray's dad in Everybody loves Raymond... Kenneth Mars comedic character actor as the officer....who wore a monocle over the eye with the patch on it!...He is also in Mel Brooks the Producers as the author of their "play".

I was waiting for the reveal of the Monster to the public, knowing what was coming, what would your reaction be... you delivered my man, oh that was awesome. "Get the hell out." Without missing a beat. This film is raw comedic genius. Gene Wilder played on a whole other level from most actors and comedians. His timing is flawless. His facial expressions. His ability to go from distracted half paying attention to maniacal in a single breath. His line delivery of the most shocking things as if they were boring old news (see also Blazing Saddles here) is unmatched. The whole horse joke thing... a lot of people though the name of the woman was German for glue and so the horse neighs in fear every time her name is spoken. Gene himself told the story that really he just wanted a random German sounding name to make the horses neigh meaninglessly at every time as a pointless gag. And it worked. It's freaking brilliant.

Glad you're hitting this one. Still, to me, one of the top five comedies of all time. Pure gold.

The 'Abby Normal' scene is one of my all time favorite comedy scenes.

Please please react to Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks’ first and best film: *The Producers* (1967). It’s my favorite comedy of all time. It also has my favorite comedic scene of all time. And Zero Mostel, the other star, is exceptional in it as well.

This movie is so very funny. It’s one of my favorites. Like all of Mel Brooks’ films, it’s chock full of so much delightful silliness.

I actually was lucky enough to visit the set 1 day when they were filming the "what a pair of knockers!" scene.I got to meet Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman. When we approached being introduced, to Gene Wilder, he deadpanned as he was putting final touches on his hair "You are now watching a famous actor, brushing his hair~!" The way he said even that, was masterful,, his delivery, his overly dramatic facial expression,he was joking, playfully of course about celebrity. He then shook each of our hands and made eye contact, for those who work around actors on sets, you know this is often not a regular thing...he seemed a very sweet man. What struck me about the whole thing, was how genuinely NICE all the actors were. The set was comfortable. Everyone was happy to be there, there was no tension, it was like a happy family with Mel Brooks (who was also incredibly gracious --and funny), Mel Brooks as the ringleader. These were amazingly talented professionals who didn't feel the need to throw any attitude. Oh, and if possible, Madeline Kahn was even more beautiful in real life than on screen, she literally glowed. This cast and crew and head ringleader were/ are all amazingly talented artists.

Did you miss Gene Hackman, or did you mention that in the full length video? This really is a great film. Whenever I hear the 'Putting on the Ritz' song I always want to shout out the creatures line.

When Igor bites the mink scarf is one of the greatest things I’ve seen

My dad was stationed in Germany when this came out and as a present to me, he took me on vacation for 3 weeks in Paris. We saw it for the first time in a Paris theater. After I came home, I convinced my mom to see it. She took myself, my brother and our best friends. So many happy memories around this movie for me. Later, anytime we saw it was playing on TV, my dad and I, would drop everything we were doing to watch it. Dad was still quoting lines from it till he passed away.

I love this movie; it ages really well except for a few bits (which is often true of Mel Brooks' brand of comedy). The writing and acting was genius; Gene Wilder was a wellspring of talent, rest his soul.

I don’t know if this movie option is there for you to react, or even mentioned on the movie polls on patreon; but Casablanca is definitely worth checking out. Also, love watching your reactions. Keep going James.

11:46, he was in Malcolm in the Middle as Otto, German rancher that employed Francis and King Triton in The Little Mermaid. The actor's name was Kenneth Mars. Funnily enough, Cloris Leachman, Grandma Ida in Malcolm in the Middle, was Frau Blücher.

Great reaction. More classic movies, please ! Cool Hand Luke, In the Heat of the Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Night of the Hunter, The Maltese Falcon, All About Eve

My favorite bit, never mentioned by reactors, is that the elderly couple repeat their dialogue from the 1st train scene (Let him! Let him!) in the 2nd train scene, only in German this time. Feel free to fact check me on this.

Trivia Time! During preproduction, they began to wonder if any of the sets and/or props from the original 1931 Frankenstein might still be around. They were disappointed when Universal told them they'd gotten rid of all that stuff almost as soon as they'd finished production. So they contacted Kenneth Strickfaden (who created all the original props) to ask if he might be able to reproduce some of them, to which he replied "Why? I've got most all of them in my garage." So, yes, the laboratory and props seen in 1974's Young Frankenstein are the *EXACT SAME ONES* seen in the original 1931 Frankenstein!!!

Marty Feldman, as Egor, was a wonderful physical comedic actor and a reputation of being fun to work with. He also suffered from Hyperthyroidism which is what caused that bug eyed look. May he rest in peace.

I've been waiting for this one. Glad you were finally able to get access to it.

This has been my favorite comedy movie for many many years. It’s always been the comedy that breaks any and every mold ever made. Young Frankenstein is the best comedy ever. Watch all the behind the scenes footage and you will likely agree. 🔥

For the longest time I never got the “blucker” joke. The fact it means glue in German and freaks the horses out .. hilarious

To para-quote Mel Brooks, "Blazing Saddles could not have been made then, either" Neither could "The Producers" have been made, or ... BTW, I thoroughly recommend watching the original Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein, also when you do, see if you recognize the sets.

"Dead men don't wear plaid" is a great movie to pair with this

Inspector Kemp is played by Kenneth Mars, who would go on to play Otto Mannkusser on Malcolm in the Middle. Cloris Leachman was in the show as well playing their grandmother. I highly recommend it, especially the later seasons. It’s hilarious.

I don't how you waited this long but this film is genius. Now, do yourself a fever and watch it often. So much humor it takes multiple times for it all to sink in. The best one liners ever!

100k! Way to go brotha, much deserved, best movie reacts on RU-vid, no cap!

100k subs!❤️ congrats bro, really love your videos!

This is like Monty Python for me. The plot is irrelevant. It's all about the jokes. Top 10 list edit: lol, great minds think alike. Gene Hackman played the old blind guy

Fun fact: this film inspired Walk This Way by Aerosmith

So glad you’ve finally gotten to it. I got the whole Mel Brooks collection on blu ray from my friend for Christmas years ago and love to just pop one of those in when friends just want to chill. Such a fun movie.

It's a shame this reaction didn't show some of the funniest bits, but the film is so full of gags it would be hard to get them all in there. Also, your reaction seems relatively low key relative to how I think of this as one of the most brilliant, clever, hilariously creative comedies of all time.

100k!! Congrats!

CONGRATS ON 100K!!!!!!

Speaking Of Movies (& A Huge Cast Of Acting Icons) That Can't Be Made Today,, "In Harm's Way" (1965)..A MUST SEE Classic Movie..Truth!!

Hi. Just wanted to pop in the comments and say I’m really enjoying your reactions. Thanks for doing what you do!

So glad you were able to find this movie and were able to do this reaction. I remember the hurdle of trying to find it on the Pateron.

Dude, you are great! Your love of film stands out big-time.

Gene Wilder is one of my all time favorite actors. He always looked like he was having allot of fun but he had allot of emotional depth in his work..

The officer with the fake arm and monocle is Kenneth Mars, truly a great talent! He was also the voice of King Triton in The Little Mermaid.

You just earned even more of my respect !

I've been waiting for you to hit this classic!

Finally. I've been so impatiently waiting for this reaction

The old man patient in the beginning is the guy who played the reverend in Blazing Saddles. Died a couple years after this movie, only 59 years old.

and Congrats! 100K!

One of the greatest comedies of all time.

Marty Feldman (Igor) was also a co-star in another Mel Brooks comedy called Silent Movie, along side Mel Books (the governor from Blazing Saddles) and Dom Delouse (the musicial producer in Blazing Saddles). Silent Movie also had TONS of cameo appearances by stars who Brooks knew playing THEMSELVES.

Another Classic Must See Feel Good Movie From The Great Frank Capra That Includes A Large & Incredible Cast,, "Pocket Full Of Miracles" (1961)

Can we just give it up for that entire cast? OMG what brilliant performances. This is just one of those perfect movies.

Mary Shelley often referred to the monster as Creature in the OG novel. Very few of the cast are left on this world, which is too bad, one of the great ensemble casts of all time. The dungeon is mostly from the one from the original movie.

Just watched this movie again for the first time in years. It's on of the greatest comedies of all time.

This is one of my top two Mel Brooks movies... one of my favorite gags in these movies if you watch and pay attention is the characters "defects" move around.. Eye-gor's hump shifts back and forth and King Richard in RobinHood men in tights has a mole that moves around his whole face..

Fun facts! 1. The moving of the hump was a gag done by Marty off screen & they decided to incorporate it on screen. 2. The blindman.. was Gene Hackman. Apparently that "espresso" bit at the end was ad libbed & the first take was the one they used because EVERYONE couldn't stop laughing after it happened. 3. The scene where Igor bit the mink Madeline Kahn was wearing took MULTIPLE takes because Kahn kept laughing so hard. There was even a take where Marty bit off the leg of the mink. 4. Kenneth Mars (who was Inspector Kemp) voiced King Triton in just about every Little Mermaid thing up until his death in 2011. From the movies to the tv series to Kingdom Hearts. 5. THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE. Everyone says this is Brooks masterpiece or greatest work. It kind of wasn't. It was Gene's. He approached Brooks to direct it & Brook's helped him on the script. It's why he doesn't appear in the film at all (minus some voices) unlike his other films where he's prominent in them. They thought if Brooks appeared in it it would take away from the movie itself. This movie was Gene's baby, not Brook's. Brook's has said it himself. There's only two movies Brook's directed that he doesn't appear in (but still voices in). Young Frankenstein & The Producer's. Young Frankenstein was Gene's project. The Producer's was Brook's first big film (hence why he isn't in it) Everything after was fair game for him lol. Also... I just became very sad at the realization that everyone who appeared in this movie is gone except for Teri Garr. Gene, Marty, Ken, Madeline, Cloris, Peter... they're all gone.

Ooh now you can take part in the great Blazing Saddles v Young Frankenstein debate. Although some people prefer Spaceballs. PS the horses react to Frau Blücher because her name means glue

Congrats on 100k subs!!

Of course, the train scene is even better when you realize he rode the same train from New York to Europe. Somehow. XD

Grew up with this being one of my family night movies. Forever holds a special place in my heart

What's up James? Thanks for giving me some laughs on a Friday night!

My favorite comedy movie! All the cast are superb, right down to Gene Hackman as the blind hermit (I had read that he had never done comedy before and wanted to try). I've watched this film many times and it never gets old.

The reason the horses always screamed whenever anyone said "Frau Blücher" is because Blücher is the German word for glue. Also: The Creature is played by Peter Boyle, also known for his role as Frank Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond.

Glad you watched this film. It's one of those rare films that is an amazing satire of a specific type of film, but is also the genuine article of that type. Another example I'd give is The Long Goodbye, by Robert Altman. It's a brilliant satire of a Raymond Chandler novel, but it's also a damn fine adaptation of a Chandler novel too. The best part of Young Frankenstein, in my opinion, is the wonderful chemistry. These people look like they had the absolute BEST time of their lives. You love to see it. It's just pure joy.

Great reaction; to really appreciate what a masterful homage and parody this is, it helps to watch Frankenstein (1931) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Another fun fact: the scene where Igor says '"walk this way" is partially responsible one the the greatest rock hits of the 70's: the band Aerosmith were taking a break during a recording session for Toys in the Attic (1975) and they went to see this film. Everyone thought the bit was so funny that when they got back to the studio, they wrote the song "Walk This Way" which became one of the classic singles from that great album.

Thanks for this, as always, stay awesome, stay genuine.. much love

The student that called him Frankenstein at the start of the movie, was the voice of Brainy smurf. In the original cartoon.

So happy to see that my fellow commenters know that the original lab from Frankenstein was used for this movie. Mel Brooks was great at doing parody while still paying homage to the original.

The actor who played Inspector Kemp was the late Kenneth Mars. He also voiced King Triton from the 1st two Little Mermaid animated Movies.