In 1974, the same year that Mel Brooks' film "Blazing Saddles" was making people laugh at theaters around the world, Mel Brooks teamed with Gene Wilder to write a hilarious film spoof of Mary Shelley's (1797-1851) classic 1818 short story "Frankenstein", as well as the many twentieth-century horror films that the story inspired. The result was the film entitled "Young Frankenstein" that Mel Brooks directed and starring Gene Wilder as the fictitious Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, the grandson of the more famous Frankenstein from Shelley's short story. Frederick, embarrassed by his grandfather's unethical medical practices, pronounced the family name as Fronkensteen to try and disassociate himself from his heritage; but when Frederick inherits the family's castle in Transylvania, he has no choice but to return to the family home. There, he finds two of his grandfather's assistants still taking care of the castle: Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman) and Igor (Marty Feldman, 1933-1982). Engaged to Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn, 1942-1999), Frederick has a beautiful assistant named Igna (Teri Garr). When word spreads in the nearby town that a Frankenstein has returned to the castle, the townsfolk rally around their local police chief, Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friederich Kemp (Kenneth Mars) with his mechanical arm; but Frederick assures them that he is not planning to resume his grandfather's experiments--that is, until he discovers his grandfather's secret diary and decides that he too can create life!

Filmed entirely in black and white, "Young Frankenstein" is a classic comedic film that continues to entertain both old and young alike. With a combination of wonderful acting, hilarious accents (especially those used by Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr and Kenneth Mars) and the exquisitely written plot & dialog, it is unlikely that anyone watching this film will be able to do so with a straight face. Some of the most hilarious scenes include Inga & Frederick with the secret revolving door, the laboratory scenes, the monster (Peter Boyle) with the old blind man (Gene Hackman), the duet between Frederick and monster singing "Puttin' on the Ritz", and Elizabeth transformed into the monster's bride (looking exactly like the bride from the original 1935 "Bride of Frankenstein"). Overall, I rate "Young Frankenstein" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and very highly recommend it.

this movie is worth a purchase even if you havent seen it, unless you are the type of person , that is, that hates blazing saddles, space balls and other similar titles. a very clever very witty parody of frankenstein, doesnt rely on cheap humor and keeps you laughing the whole way through, performances are excellent and you will want to watch it many different times.

If you get a chance to, find somebody in the free world who has not seen this movie and tell them to take a gander. Young Frankenstein is miles ahead of all but one of Brooks's films. It's absolutely hilarious even if its not the superlative, Blazing Saddles. Feldman is the creator of quite a few laughs and I had no idea that Terri Garr was that attractive when she was younger. Kahn is a riot and Boyle does fine work. Brooks gives the narrative some cute little twists such as transpires with the little girl by the well. Without giving anything away, let me say that the ending is excellent and tough to predict.

This film is funny, and I like that it's done in black and white. But there's not enough biting satire to make it really funny or important - anyway, how do you satirize Frankenstein? Gene Wilder has said that this is his favorite movie, but maybe that's because he wrote it. This film is done in a Monty Python/Mel Brooks style, with many of the same actors that performed in Mel Brook's other comedy, Blazing Saddles, except it's not as funny as Monty Python and it's not as slapstick as Mel Brooks. If I want to laugh, I think I'd prefer to watch Abbot and Costello Meets Frankenstein, and if I want to get scared, I think I'd prefer the original Frankenstein and its sequel, Bride of Frankenstein.

In the vein of other Mel Brooks movies such as Space Balls and Blazing Saddles, this is a parody of all the Frankenstein movies, filmed in black and white. Marty Feldman plays the part of Igor to perfection, and Mel writes a great script for him to work with. My personal favorite jokes are the "Walk this way" part and when his hump keeps switching sides on his back. The deleted scenes and commentary are a little weak, but overall, this movie is absolutely hilarious for the entire family.