This Day in Horror: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Premiered in Theaters
Released on this day in 1974: Young Frankenstein
This horror-comedy by Mel Brooks is a parody of Universal’s classic horror films, especially the various adaptations of Frankenstein.
According to Brooks, while having coffee with Gene Wilder, Wilder suggested a take on Frankenstein in which the grandson of Dr. Frankenstein wanted nothing to do with his family. “He was ashamed of those wackos.” The two wrote the film together.
In order to preserve the feel of this being an old-timey film, Young Frankenstein was shot in black and white, with 1930s-style credits and old-fashioned screen transitions. Much of the props used in the laboratory were the same props used in the original 1931 Frankenstein.
Young Frankenstein was nominated for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, and won five Saturn Awards, including for Best Horror Film. It is on countless Best Film lists, including the American Film Institute’s 100 Funniest American Films. It was later adapted by Brooks into a Broadway musical.
Categorized:News This Day in Horror
