Friday, April 29, 2011

Young Frankenstein


A to Z Blogging Challenge: Movie Memories
Blogging about the movies that made an impact on my life


I love parody in any form: poetry, music, sketches, stories...and movies.

My first exposure to movie parody was "The Carol Burnett Show." In the 60s and 70s, variety shows were very popular: Flip Wilson, Dean Martin, Smothers Brothers, Sonny & Cher, Donny & Marie...just to name a few. 

But Carol Burnett was the reigning Queen! The movie parodies were my favorite and Carol and the gang tackled some of the best including Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Love Story and Gone with the Wind.

So it's no surprise that Young Frankenstein (1974) became one of my favorite films. Gene Widler, Madeline Khan, Marty Feldman and Cloris Leachman are hilarious in the parody of Mary Shelley's classic work "Frankenstein." 

DR. FRANKENSTEIN: Put...the candle...back!



16 comments:

Rae said...

Young Frankenstein was the first movie my husband (just my date at the time) went to see at the theater. He fell asleep and snoozed through the whole movie. I never fail to remind him of that fact whenever the movie is mentioned. So, I really hate it, too. lol

Luana Krause said...

Rae: LOL...I don't understand why people sleep through movies. When my hubby starts nodding off, I jab him with my elbow.

Marjorie said...

I never saw young Frankenstein, but The sketch on the Carol Burnett show of Gone with the Wind with the curtain rod had me in stitches.

Luana Krause said...

Marjorie: I agree...the GWTW sketch was really creative. I loved Harvey Korman's Rhett Butler.

Unknown said...

Luana ~
Thanks for stopping by my site - a nice treat!

Nothing profound to say...my husband loves this sort of thing, esp. Young Frankenstein. And me? Well... I. usually. don't. (sigh)

Kathy

Luana Krause said...

Kathy: This movie isn't everyone's cup of tea. Personally I'm not partial to action movies...I'm more chick flick and romantic comedy. With a little dash of drama.

Unknown said...

Loved Young Frankenstein!

Susan Kane said...

"Rolling in ze hay..." is the line my husband laughed so much at. I loved Peter Boyle, and his expressions once he had taken on Madelaine Kahn as a wife. Gene Wilder is brilliant in anything he does.
Great choice.

Luana Krause said...

Kris: Great to see you! Thanks for stopping by.

Luana Krause said...

Susan: There are lots of great moments. I liked that every time anyone would say "Frau Brucher," the horses would whinny.

Huntress said...

You have received the Blog On Fire Award.
Come to my blog to pick it up.

Luana Krause said...

Huntress: An award? That is awesome. Thanks!

Heather Henry said...

One of the best movies ever! It's been a family favorite, in my family and now with my hub and kids for years.

"You've hardly touched your food"

Luana Krause said...

Heather: Love that quote! One of my favorite scenes is in the beginning when Gene Widler is expaining to the class about his theory of resurrecting dead tissue and he stabs himself in the leg with a scalpel.

Craig Edwards said...

Wonderful choice - 70's Mel Brooks is some rarified lowbrow comedy - classic stuff! I got to go see this at the age of seven (!) because I was already a fan of the Universal Studios Monster movies and my parents had no problem letting me watch this one alone in a theater (alone from them - there were other people in my theater - the parents were seeing a different movie in another theater - can you IMAGINE letting a seven year old do that today?) Anyhoo, I had a good time, though a lot of the jokes went over my head obviously. I have since seen this several more times - I love this movie - Mel could so show those "_______ Movie" filmmakers how to do a proper movie spoof. Thanks for this one Luana!

Luana Krause said...

Craig: There are so many funny gags that I had to watch it several times to see them all. I really enjoyed Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman's chemistry together on the screen.

One of my favorite scenes is where Wilder presents the Monster to the crowd at the theatre. Puttin' On the Ritz was brilliant.