48 Fun Facts About Young Frankenstein

Whose 1818 novel inspired Young Frankenstein?

Mary Shelley began the novel in 1816, after Lord Byron challenged his guests near Geneva to each write a ghost story; it was published on 1 January 1818.

In Young Frankenstein, what happens whenever someone says Frau Blücher's name?

Horses whinny in panic at every mention of her. A long-lived rumour, perhaps started by Mel Brooks himself, says Blücher is German for glue; it is not.

How does Frederick insist his surname be pronounced?

Frederick insists on 'Fronkensteen': a lecturer at an American medical school, he is desperate to distance himself from his infamous grandfather's work.

How does Igor say his own name is pronounced?

Igor insists it is 'Eye-gore', answering Frederick's own fussy pronunciation in kind; Marty Feldman played him as the grandson of the original Frankenstein's assistant.

What comic twist did Marty Feldman add to his Igor?

Moving his hump from side to side was reportedly Feldman's own addition; on screen, when Frederick offers to help with it, Igor just asks, 'What hump?'

Sent to steal Hans Delbrück's brain, whose brain does Igor bring back instead?

Igor drops Delbrück's brain and grabs one labelled 'Abnormal' from the jar beside it; the mix-up is why the Monster wakes violent and confused.

Which distinctive feature does police Inspector Kemp have?

A prosthetic arm and one eye mark Inspector Kemp, along with a monocle; Kenneth Mars gave him a German accent so thick that the village elders make him repeat 'vootstaps' until they hear 'footsteps'.

Which song do Frederick and the Monster perform for an audience of prominent guests?

'Puttin' On the Ritz' is the number Frederick and the Monster perform in top hat and tails; Wilder fought to keep the scene after Brooks doubted it would work.

Who wrote the 1929 song that Frederick and the Monster perform on stage?

Irving Berlin wrote it in 1927 and published it in 1929. Wilder wanted the routine to prove the Monster could do more than move mechanically; Brooks called it silly, shot it anyway and judged it the best thing in the film.

How do Frederick and Igor lure the escaped Monster back to the castle?

Playing violin and horn works because music soothes the Monster: Frau Blücher had already revealed his love of the violin, and the family lullaby draws him close enough to be recaptured.

Why did Mel Brooks shoot Young Frankenstein entirely in black-and-white?

To evoke 1930s Universal horror, Brooks held out for black-and-white even though the studio feared it would hurt television and European sales.

In Young Frankenstein, what sends the newly awakened Monster into a strangling rage?

A lit match does it: Igor strikes one and the terrified Monster throttles Frederick until he is sedated. The blind hermit later has to coax him with 'Fire is good.'

The laboratory equipment in Young Frankenstein was the original apparatus built for which movie?

The props were Kenneth Strickfaden's original electrical apparatus from Frankenstein (1931), which he had kept in storage in his garage for four decades.

What did Kenneth Strickfaden get in return for lending Young Frankenstein his old laboratory equipment?

A special screen credit in the opening titles thanked Strickfaden; hired only as a consultant, he ended up reassembling the machines from his garage and working a full schedule.

For which two Academy Awards was Young Frankenstein nominated?

Young Frankenstein was nominated for Adapted Screenplay and Sound: Wilder and Brooks shared the screenplay nod, but the film lost both at the 1975 ceremony.

Igor's instruction to Frederick at the train station inspired which Aerosmith hit?

'Walk This Way' got its title after Aerosmith, stuck for lyrics during a 1975 recording session, took a break to see Young Frankenstein and came back quoting Igor's line.

Who played Inga, Frederick's lab assistant?

Teri Garr played Inga after first auditioning for the fiancée, Elizabeth; Brooks wanted Madeline Kahn for that part but liked Garr's audition enough to offer her the lab assistant instead.

Which star makes a cameo as the blind hermit who befriends the Monster in Young Frankenstein?

Gene Hackman played Harold, the lonely blind hermit whose hospitality nearly finishes off his guest: he ladles hot soup into the Monster's lap and smashes his wine mug in a toast.

Who played the Monster in Young Frankenstein?

Peter Boyle played the Monster and met his future wife doing it: Loraine Alterman came to the set as a Rolling Stone reporter, and they married in 1977.

The Monster's actor later played grumbling Frank Barone on which sitcom?

Everybody Loves Raymond made him an Emmy nominee year after year as the crusty Frank, yet he was the only one of its leads never to win for the show.

Marty Feldman's famously misaligned eyes were the result of which medical condition?

Graves' thyroid disease made Marty Feldman's eyes bulge and drift apart, and a car crash and surgery reportedly exaggerated the look; the part of Igor was written specially for him.

Marty Feldman died of a heart attack in 1982 while filming which movie in Mexico City?

Yellowbeard, a pirate comedy that reunited him with Madeline Kahn, was Feldman's last film; his scenes were all but finished when he died in Mexico City, aged 48.

What was the birth name of the actor who played Frederick in Young Frankenstein?

Jerome Silberman of Milwaukee built his stage name from two writers: Gene from the hero of Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel, and Wilder from the playwright Thornton Wilder.

For which film did Frederick's actor receive his only acting Oscar nomination?

The Producers made him an Oscar nominee as the hysterical accountant Leo Bloom, a part Brooks had promised him years earlier after they met through Anne Bancroft, his co-star in a 1963 Broadway play.

Frederick's actor's third wife, with whom he made three films, was which comedian?

Gilda Radner married him in 1984 and co-starred in Hanky Panky, The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon; after her 1989 death from ovarian cancer he co-founded Gilda's Club.

Young Frankenstein's leading man made his 1975 directing debut with a comedy set in which detective's world?

Sherlock Holmes' insanely jealous brother Sigerson was the part he wrote for himself, and he brought Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman along from the Frankenstein cast.

Cloris Leachman, who played Frau Blücher, won her Oscar for which 1971 film?

The Last Picture Show won Leachman the supporting-actress Oscar for a part far from her comic roles, an embittered small-town housewife she played again in the 1990 sequel Texasville.

Cloris Leachman's Phyllis won Emmys on which sitcom?

The Mary Tyler Moore Show brought her two Emmys as the self-absorbed Phyllis Lindstrom, and the role led in 1975 to a sitcom of her own, Phyllis, which won her a Golden Globe.

What does Frau Blücher reveal about her relationship with Victor Frankenstein?

Frau Blücher confesses she was his lover, bellowing 'He vas my boyfriend!', which explains why she guards Victor's memory and leads Frederick to his hidden laboratory.

Kenneth Mars, who played Inspector Kemp, had earlier played which character in Mel Brooks's debut film?

Franz Liebkind, the deranged Nazi playwright who insists the Führer was a terrific dancer, was the first of Mars's two thick-accented Germans for Brooks; Inspector Kemp was the second.

What does Frederick accidentally hit with a dart while Inspector Kemp questions him?

A cat outside the window takes the stray dart, and the offscreen screech that follows was supplied by Mel Brooks himself, who also voiced the film's howling werewolf.

Young Frankenstein's blind hermit scene parodies which 1935 sequel?

Bride of Frankenstein gave the creature a kindly blind hermit who feeds him without mishap; in the spoof the same hospitality leaves the Monster scalded, burned and frightened half to death.

Frederick's 'Pardon me, boy' question from the train window spoofs which 1941 big-band hit?

'Chattanooga Choo Choo', Glenn Miller's hit, opens with a traveller putting the same question to a shoeshine boy; the film's village boy answers 'Ja, ja', gives the track number and offers a shine.

In Young Frankenstein, after brandy and warm milk are refused, what bedtime drink does Frau Blücher offer last?

Ovaltine is her third offer, and it is the one that makes the worn-out Frederick snap 'Nothing! Thank you!' before she finally bids him goodnight.

Which Brooks film was he making when Wilder pitched him Young Frankenstein?

Blazing Saddles gave Wilder its Waco Kid, and Brooks's first reaction to his Frankenstein idea was a brush-off; he came round, and both comedies reached cinemas the same year.

What was Mel Brooks's birth name?

Melvin Kaminsky, born in Brooklyn in 1926, shortened his mother's maiden name Brookman to Brooks; he began as a writer on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows.

Which song does Elizabeth burst into during her night with the Monster?

'Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life' is what Elizabeth bursts into in the Monster's arms, and the joke pays off in the last scene, when Inga sings the same line on her wedding night with Frederick.

What is the title of Victor Frankenstein's private journal that Frederick discovers?

How I Did It turns up in Victor's private library off the hidden laboratory, and not by chance: Frau Blücher later admits she left the book out so that Frederick would carry on the work.

In Young Frankenstein, how does Frederick save the Monster from the mob at the climax?

Sharing part of his intellect in a risky transference lets the Monster talk the mob down himself, so eloquently that Inspector Kemp offers his friendship and invites everyone home for sponge cake and wine.

Which film swept the Oscars where Young Frankenstein lost?

The Godfather Part II swept the night, and Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo were the pair who sent Brooks and his leading man home without the Oscar they had hoped to share.

Where does Frederick travel to claim his family's castle?

Transylvania is where an inheritance sends him: Frederick leaves his American lecture hall and his fiancée behind, crosses Europe by train and is met on the station platform by Igor.

In Young Frankenstein, how does Igor reply when Frederick asks how grave-robbing could be any worse?

'Could be raining' is Igor's cheerful reply as they dig up a fresh coffin, and right on cue it starts to pour.

Which ex-Beatle was best man when the Monster's actor married in 1977?

John Lennon came through the bride: she was a Rolling Stone journalist and a friend of Yoko Ono, and the groom and the ex-Beatle became friends through the two women.

In Young Frankenstein, what revolves to hide the secret passage down to the laboratory?

A bookcase swings round when Inga lifts a candle from its holder and carries Frederick behind the wall, where he orders, 'Put the candle back!'; when he tries blocking it with his body, it squashes him.

In Young Frankenstein, when a howl makes Inga say 'Werewolf!', what is Igor's deadpan reply?

There wolf is his answer, followed by 'There castle'; asked why he is talking that way, Igor shrugs that he thought Frederick wanted him to.

Which fabric does Elizabeth warn Frederick not to crush when he tries to kiss her goodbye?

Elizabeth fends off Frederick's farewell with rules, no lipstick smudges and no touching the hair, then pleads 'Taffeta, darling' about her dress; he answers, 'Taffeta, sweetheart.'

Which Will & Grace star was in the Broadway cast of the Young Frankenstein musical?

Megan Mullally played Frederick's fiancée Elizabeth, the Madeline Kahn part, in a Broadway version for which Mel Brooks, by then past 80, wrote the music and lyrics himself.

Which critic gave Young Frankenstein four stars and called it Mel Brooks's 'most disciplined' film?

Roger Ebert's four-star review called it Brooks's 'most disciplined and visually inventive film', then added in brackets, almost as an afterthought, that 'it also happens to be very funny'.