"In 1974, Mel Brooks directed and co-wrote one of the greatest film genre parodies in movie history - actually, two of them. "Blazing Saddles," his Western parody, came out in February of that year. And in December, "Young Frankenstein" premiered, brilliantly lampooning and celebrating horror movies in general and James Whale's 1930s Frankenstein movies in particular. Because until December, it's still technically the 50th anniversary year of that monster movie comedy."
"Before that film, writer-director Mel Brooks already had cast Gene Wilder in two of his best comedies, "The Producers" and "Blazing Saddles." While filming that latter movie with Brooks, Gene Wilder started sketching out an idea for a movie of his own. It was a comic version of "Frankenstein" and "The Bride Of Frankenstein," conceived to have him play the starring role as the grandson of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein. Wilder asked Brooks to co-write and direct it, and they began work on it immediately."
Young Frankenstein premiered in December 1974 as a black-and-white parody and homage to horror films, especially James Whale's 1930s Frankenstein movies. Gene Wilder conceived the idea while filming Blazing Saddles and wrote it to play the grandson of Victor Frankenstein. Mel Brooks co-wrote and directed the film, preserving the pace and look of Whale's originals and even using original lab equipment from the 1930s movies. The cast includes Cloris Leachman, Gene Hackman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr and Marty Feldman. An early scene features Wilder meeting his future lab assistant, played by Marty Feldman, at the Transylvania train station.
Read at www.npr.org
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