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V.C.R. Presents: Young Frankenstein (1974) – Mel Brooks’ Hilarious Tribute to Classic Horror and Cult Comedy
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Experience the comedic brilliance of Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" as we journey back to 1974 and uncover the magic behind this cult classic. Remember the time when Gene Wilder's Dr. Frederick Frankenstein humorously insisted on being called "Frankensteen?" We promise you'll gain insights into the film’s clever blend of the 1930s Frankenstein lore with Brooks' signature humor, as well as its surprising box office success of $86.2 million from a modest budget. Join us as we explore the film's origins, its connection to "Blazing Saddles," and the stellar performances of Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Chloris Leachman, and Madeline Kahn.
Curious about the comedic genius that makes "Young Frankenstein" a timeless piece? Discover how this black-and-white spoof cleverly parodies classic horror films while providing endless laughs, much like "Spaceballs" does with "Star Wars." We'll reflect on memorable scenes such as the "Putting on the Ritz" performance, delve into Dr. Frederick's reluctant embrace of his notorious family legacy, and share fascinating production anecdotes. Plus, find out why our audience voted this film so highly on our website—its broad appeal spans generations!
As we wrap up, prepare for some behind-the-scenes gold. From Igor's pencil-eating antics to Gene Hackman's surprising cameo as the blind man, we highlight the iconic moments that make this movie unforgettable. You’ll hear about Mel Brooks' insistence on black-and-white filming and the joy experienced by the cast and crew, which even led to adding more scenes. Plus, we’ll share our excitement for upcoming classic horror remakes like "Nosferatu," celebrating the enduring allure of both comedy and horror. Tune in and relive the magic of "Young Frankenstein" with us!
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thanks for tuning in to the vintage cinema review on this week's episode. We're covering from 1974 young frankenstein that's right, frankenstein, frankenstein, yeah igor igor, you're.
Speaker 2:You name it however you want to. This is a great movie uh, yeah, I thought.
Speaker 3:I thought it was a fun little farce from the mind of mel brooks. Uh, you might know him from blazing saddles and Spaceballs, but yeah, gene Wilder at his finest. That was a fun movie.
Speaker 1:It was cool to watch this one's off the list on Facebook, so don't forget to go over there and vote for these movies and sit back, relax and enjoy. From 1974 Young Frankenstein. Hey, this is Dave. Matt and Zap, and welcome to the vintage cinema review where, every week, we review some of our favorite films from the past hey, there ain't no late fees here silence is golden and be kind, rewind.
Speaker 2:See something warming up in there. Yeah, sounds like you're not gonna dust off of something yeah, another listener pick.
Speaker 1:Uh, this came in tied with mannequin at a four percent vote. There's like 40 movies on there. This, this one here is young frankenstein.
Speaker 2:So when you say four percent, that's not four out of a hundred no four percent of the.
Speaker 1:The votes out of however many movies are on there? 10 you know what I mean. Okay, I think it had like 17 votes or something like that I gotcha, I gotcha. So this movie's beloved by a lot, you know a lot of the people a lot of people dig this movie.
Speaker 3:Yeah, why are you guys saying it's, it's beloved?
Speaker 1:why'd you say that dave like what it's a cult classic. What's?
Speaker 3:beloved. Is this a cult?
Speaker 2:classic. It definitely is.
Speaker 1:Oh my god, yeah, people swear by this movie yeah many argue that it's uh one of mel brooks's uh best he thinks himself that it's his best, as does uh gene walder, I believe, as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah gene walder is a good actor. Mel brooks is a great director. Like he, had some of the best comedies of our time growing up, like his movies Blazing Saddles, which was above and beyond its time.
Speaker 2:I would argue, his best is Blazing Saddles.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:In my opinion there's no question.
Speaker 1:And that was before this right.
Speaker 2:Well.
Speaker 3:Madeline Kahn was also in that, she sure was. Yeah, she played a really good part, you know what she was.
Speaker 2:sassy Blazing Saddles was just finishing up. They were just finishing up shooting for that when they came up with this one.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it was before. Okay. So yeah, young Frankenstein rated PG 1974.
Speaker 3:We weren't even born.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know right, this comedy horror was an hour and 46 minutes long. Or is an hour and 46 minutes long the release date on this December 15th 1974. So right before Christmas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just in time for Christmas.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Very Christmassy. It is Directed by Mel Brooks and written by Gene Walder and Mel Brooks, and based on the 1818 novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Produced by Michael Gruskoff. This movie had a budget of 2.78 million, box office 86.2 million.
Speaker 2:Dang what they made 86 off of two you have 86.2 box office Dang.
Speaker 3:That's why Mel Brooks is worth like $900 million, damn.
Speaker 2:That's good money, man. That's a man. The juice is worth the squeeze on that.
Speaker 3:That's a great return Great return. And this was at that in 1974, or 86 million.
Speaker 1:That's probably 86 million tickets, because it's probably like a dollar yeah.
Speaker 2:That sounds about right.
Speaker 1:This 1974 film, several locations where it was filmed at, and they were all around Los Angeles. It was University of Southern Cal, the medical school scenes were there, mayfair Theater, and then a lot of stages, stage shots like MGM Studios and 20th Century Fox Studios and Culver City. So a lot of that stuff.
Speaker 3:Culver City, california.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they didn't record this in Transyl studios and culver city, so a lot of that stuff, and I know they're sitting california. Yeah, so they didn't record this in transylvania no okay, they lied to us through movie I know, and they took a train there.
Speaker 1:I couldn't believe that from new york it's entirely possible. It's getting there, yeah, but um, yeah, it's pretty much it for that stuff, so I'll turn it over to zap for the cast sure, the cast of young frankenstein includes, but is not limited to, gene wilder as dr frederick frankenstein, or frankenstein.
Speaker 2:Peter boyle as the monster, marty feldman as igor or is that igor? Chloris? Leachman as Frau Blucher, the housekeeper, terry Garr as Inga, madeline Kahn as Elizabeth, richard Hayden as her Gerhardt Falkstein, kenneth Mars as Inspector Kemp, richard Roth as Inspector Kemp's aide, gene Hackman as Harold the Blind man and Mel Brooks as the werewolf, a cat hit by a dart, and the voice of Victor Frankenstein.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how about that Werewolf? They're wolf.
Speaker 3:That's right. Yes, that was pretty funny. Mel Brooks loves that. He loves popping up in his movies. It's like a Mel Brooks-y thing that's his. Yes, that was pretty funny. Mel Brooks loves that.
Speaker 1:He loves popping up in his movies.
Speaker 3:It's like a Mel Brooks-y thing. That's his thing.
Speaker 2:There's a fun fact about that that I'm happy to drop right now. Gene Wilder had actually insisted that Mel Brooks not be in this movie. So Mel Brooks said look, I'm in every movie I make, so Mel Brooks is in this movie. You're just not seeing his face. So you'll hear his voice and you'll see him dressed as a werewolf, but you're not seeing Mel Brooks so you think it's a gene.
Speaker 3:He was like take that.
Speaker 2:He's like there, there you go, not in it look, gene wanted for damn sure to do this and Mel Brooks wanted. Gene wrote this with Mel Brooks, like gene was the lead on this and what the one condition gene had was look man, I just for once can you not be in this movie. I want it to go this way. It has to go this way. I don't want it to be like mel brooks slap sticky it's.
Speaker 1:There's definitely some slapstick comedy in this, but just I want it to go this way without you.
Speaker 2:Mel brooks said okay, I agree, but of course, mel brooks being mel brooks, he had to just push it in a little bit I think that's when d Dave said comedy horror.
Speaker 3:It kind of makes sense for this movie because it is a comedy. Like you said, there's some slapstick in it, but they try to make it like a horror movie, but with a funny edge to it.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. Yeah, and I was looking at Mel Brooks' birth date and all that stuff. He was about our age when they were making this movie. It was like late 40s at the time.
Speaker 3:What is he now Like 90? What he's?
Speaker 2:98 now Okay, he's 137 years old.
Speaker 1:Actually, exactly, you go back 50 years, 1974, he'd be 48.
Speaker 3:I think he's still in decent shape. I think he's still out, and about.
Speaker 1:I don't see him in public much, but he's still alive, he's alive. As is.
Speaker 3:Jimmy Carter.
Speaker 1:Oh, Gene Hackman as well.
Speaker 3:Gene Hackman got to be 90-something.
Speaker 1:He's in his 90s. He's around Joe Biden's still alive?
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's 137 years old.
Speaker 1:I guess we'll turn it over to Matt for a brief synopsis.
Speaker 3:This is a monstrously funny farce. Gene Wilder, madeline Kahn, marty Feldman and Cloris Leachman shine in the Mel Brooks comedy that is both a spoof of the original Frankenstein and an affectionate tribute to all 30s horror films. Wilder is young Frankenstein, a successful brain surgeon trying desperately to live down his grandfather's reputation. But on a visit to the old family castle, a mistrouted transylvania, he begins puttering on the laboratory, aided by a bizarre assistant feldman who can't seem to remember just which side of his back has the hump.
Speaker 3:That's a funny running joke yeah, the result is scatterbrained but good-hearted monster, wonderfully played by peter boyle, who just wants a little affection and maybe the right song and dance partner. Gene Hackman is a surprise delight as a bumbling hermit who almost kills the creature with kindness. Directed by Brooks from the script nominated for an Oscar, young Frankenstein is a screamingly funny mock horror film. Young.
Speaker 2:Frankenstein, nice. That was something special there.
Speaker 3:That was a brief, yet not brief, yet somewhat long synops that was not remotely brief, but it was it was. It was synaptical. If that's a word, it it is now.
Speaker 1:Thank you so I guess that's it for that. Why don't we steer through the movie a little bit here?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, yeah, which is in black and white, by the way the movie is in black and white and it's excellent that they did it that way. You know the with matt's synopsis uh, he mentioned that. You know it's a spoof of the 1930s movies which in fact now, while of course it's based on the idea and concept of frankenstein, mary shelley's, which came out in the 1800s she had written it back in the 1800s the movies, uh, frankenstein, bride of frankenstein, ghost of frankenstein, anything else of Frankenstein it was four of them that had all come out in the thirties or whatever. That's what this is. This is kind of a mashup of all of that, with, obviously with with humor, but it's really a homage to those thirties movies. So what's? Oh, go ahead.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I was going to say much like space balls with star Wars.
Speaker 3:That's kind of what he does you know, um, I was uh watching this movie again it was, I'm saying again, but I remember it being in color. I was waiting for, like that, uh wizard of oz type switch over.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when I was watching it.
Speaker 3:I was like when does this turn into color? Yeah, and that was how long I might have seen parts of this movie on tv, or I know my dad like this for some reason. Oh yeah, he quoted some parts from this movie.
Speaker 2:People dug this movie man, people dug it. Help people dug it. Enough obviously to to vote for as highly as they did 2024 on our website right so, yeah, let's walk through this one. We begin in transylvania, where the legendary experiments of dr victor frankenstein took place. Fast forward to modern times and we meet meet Dr Frederick Frankenstein, victor's grandson, who's an esteemed surgeon and lecturer at an American medical school. Unlike his notorious grandfather, frederick distances himself from anything associated with the Frankenstein legacy. In fact, he insists that his surname is pronounced Frankenstein.
Speaker 1:Frankenstein. Yeah, that's the one thing I remember from this movie, For whatever reason. It came back to me as soon as I was like oh, I do remember him constantly. That was the gag. Yeah, Like throughout the movie. Well, not the whole movie, but Pretty much. Yeah, pretty much, a lot of the parts that you know. His name he wanted to pronounce differently.
Speaker 3:Yep, yeah, because he was just trying to disassociate himself, and there's people that say that too. When you talk about where they're from or the origin of their name, you'll say something. They try to say it differently. No, it's not pronounced that way, or it's. You know, it's this, not that.
Speaker 1:I don't know about you guys. That first scene, like I was waiting for it to get funny, but it was almost like the acting like g water's a good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's a good actor dude, it is good.
Speaker 2:I hell. I like the first of the first scene where they show up and you see the, the corpse laying there in the coffin holding that thing and they they're trying to rip out the box from his hands. That was good, that was really good the.
Speaker 2:Uh, let's see the we were talking about this his ongoing, you know pronunciation it's. It's really interesting the twist. I think that they took on the idea of frankenstein, right, so they're like all right, generations later. It's like you know what if you're we've talked about this before on other podcasts what happens if you're, uh, charles manson's son? Like, how do you live? Like, how do you distance yourself from that name? Do you change your name? This guy kept the same spelling, just change the pronunciation right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, don't, don't associate me with that. It's, it's. He didn't even pronounce it right, I know I'm related, but he, he's the, he's a different guy.
Speaker 1:Priceless, absolutely priceless why not just change your name exactly. But that was funny too in this opening scene, when the one student's like questioning him on all this kind of stuff and they bring in like a uh, like a test, a guy like to do tests on, he's trying to explain, like the uh, the different reflexes how did he say it? It was like some are like reactive and some are instinctive. Instinctive, yeah, yeah, and they must have got that guy off the street like a bum or something like that, yeah well, he's even trying to show too, is like I.
Speaker 3:I have a successful career. I like I, I know what I'm doing. Like this other frankenstein frankenstein guy, you know, he, he, he was putting volts and stuff into things.
Speaker 1:Just wild stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, same name.
Speaker 2:That guy's just a jerk.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm smart, I'm a brain surgeon.
Speaker 2:Don't forget the fact that I happen to be a doctor also and I happen to know a lot about human anatomy. Forget that. Forget that that has anything to do with the same grandfather of mine that did the exact same goddamn thing.
Speaker 3:I like that he kicks him in the nuts and then on the way out.
Speaker 1:He's like, uh, skim an extra dollar, you know what I mean. Like just to make it up to him, or whatever.
Speaker 2:I have a you were a nut kick in the in that scene when he's teaching and the student, the one student gets up and he keeps questioning and re-questioning. Uh, frankenstein, I have a fun fact about that student later on. Yeah, just remember in your head. Just pin that for a second, that student that just kept harassing him.
Speaker 3:What was? What was? Uh, I guess we don't really know that, but I was trying to think, cause it did score high or whatever People voted for it. I wonder what their ages are.
Speaker 1:Of the people that voted.
Speaker 3:You're thinking like like high fifties, low f. You're thinking like high 50s, low 50s, late 40s.
Speaker 1:There was one guy in his 70s that I know personally. The rest of them were all much like the Warriors. There were some people younger than us. There were some people that yeah, it was, I think across. I mean, there wasn't any real young people that voted for him.
Speaker 3:That's what I'm saying. Watching this movie. I knew it had to have been. That's why I asked.
Speaker 2:It had to have been in the 50s and above, I think most of the people, surely most now. At the same time, I know that my wife is a huge fan of this movie. Oh wow she actually owned the DVD and still owns the DVD I watched my wife's DVD.
Speaker 1:Did she watch it with you or no?
Speaker 2:no, okay no, didn't have time well, hopefully she's listening.
Speaker 1:She'll enjoy our review of it.
Speaker 2:I don't know. We'll try to be gentle on it we're trying.
Speaker 1:We're trying. This had a. Uh, just another thing too 95 on rotten tomatoes correct.
Speaker 2:That's a very good. People dig this movie. People really, really dig this. Can you dig it?
Speaker 1:exactly how about the knife in the leg thing?
Speaker 3:that was pretty wild too indeed, was that the yeah, that was yeah yeah, there's a lot of slapstick in this.
Speaker 1:There was definitely a lot urban legend that he actually really did stab himself really yeah, but an acting thing yeah, they were like people that said that that really happened, but no, it didn't no it was all I guess you could see. Underneath that there was like that it was fake, it's a fake knife, it's a.
Speaker 2:it's a collapsible blade, All right. Frederick's life takes an unexpected turn when he learns that he has inherited his family's estate in Transylvania. Initially reluctant, Frederick eventually decides to visit the castle to settle the estate affairs. Upon his arrival, he is greeted by Igor pronounced I-gor a hunchbacked servant, and Inga, a spirited lab assistant. Despite his intentions to leave his family's past buried, curiosity gets the better of Frederick.
Speaker 1:Curiosity. Yeah, that's what I referenced in the beginning there about the train ride. So in the beginning he's on the train, they're like next stop New York, and then after that it's like next stop Transylvania. So unless there's a big bridge we don't know about, there had to have been.
Speaker 2:I liked the uh. Almost immediately thereafter, when they land and the, the, the guy uh or the kid wants to give him a shoe shine.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:When he gets out. No, I mean, there was there.
Speaker 3:There's an underlying so now get your fucking shine box.
Speaker 2:There's an underlying off-color joke with that, but it's it's. I thought it was pretty funny no, it's good.
Speaker 3:Uh, who was igor who played him? Uh, feldman, yeah, marty feldman.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that he well done yeah, that guy with the eyes, yeah, well done so.
Speaker 2:there is a condition that I mean. They've written a song about the betty davis eyes. I forget what the name of the condition is, but that is obviously a thing. Betty Davis had it, marty Feldman had it. Fun fact I was working at a grocery store while in high school and college. Correct, the name of the grocery store was Giant, good call. And while working at Giant, at one point while in high school, I was working as a cashier. Oh, working the cashier. I'm sure at the time I was working all the cashiers trying anyway.
Speaker 2:So, this one lady comes through and I'm in this hurry just trying to scan all these groceries and just get it done. So I'd at one point, like I'm just greeting the customer, like you do, like there's the thing you know, say hi, do whatever small talk, but at no point did I actually look her in the eye. That is to say, I never looked at her face. So at the time one could pay for their groceries. Many people regularly pay for their groceries with a check. They would write a check and here's okay, fine, no problem, just need to. You know I need your driver's license so I can write your driver's license number on the memo section of the check, just in case your check bounces or whatever the hell Checks. So I have to. You know you say to the customer okay, great, thanks for the check, I need your license. So she hands me her license. And I still haven't looked at her in the face.
Speaker 3:So I'm looking at her In the face.
Speaker 2:I look at her license and her eyeballs are popping out of her head, and I still haven't looked at her.
Speaker 1:And I say oh, still haven't looked at her and I say oh my god, I guess they caught you by surprise that day.
Speaker 2:And then I look up at her and she looks like that. That's just how she normally looks. That's wow, dude. That is an absolute true story and I I felt like an ass, an absolute ass afterwards.
Speaker 3:I don't even know who like betty davis was, I just remember there was a skit on saturday night live with um uh, eddie murphy and he sang the song but it's buckwheat and he was like she that aided dabba dead on the death da bed day I remember that one too.
Speaker 1:So you're telling me that betty davis eyes were bulgy like that, correct? I did not know?
Speaker 3:yeah, I guess they're big, big eyes oh, just bit like saucers.
Speaker 2:there is, there is something that causes the, the suctioning mechanism that keeps your eyeballs a little bit further embedded in your eye. For whatever, there's some condition. It's not like they have big eyes, it's just that they're popping out of the socket.
Speaker 1:Popping out One other thing too, in the train scene before he left, with Madeline Kahn, and she's like not the hair, not the lips, she won't let him do anything. Like you know, he's trying to like kiss her, hug her, do all that yeah, this is his fiance for christ's sake and she's like uh, they end up like uh like like most women yeah, right, get off me.
Speaker 1:Well, they're not even married yet. You know, I'm saying yeah, well, yeah, but but he's like he. They get to bump elbows and then he gets on the train, but she don't want to give him any play no, before he's going on this long trip. She's just, you know, keeping it to herself, she's a lady hopefully he doesn't find like somebody hot on the other end of the train ride. You know, I guess we'll find out. You mean like possibly inga.
Speaker 2:Maybe as played by terry gar.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's foxy yeah, she looked good. And how old is terry gar now? She was 30 in this movie. I like looking up the ages. Wow, yeah, dude, so she's 29 30 in this.
Speaker 2:It's funny when he gets to the castle and he has terry guard, it's like, oh great, he's looking at the castle doors and he says, great knockers yeah as he's, yeah as he's pulling her off of the carriage she says oh thanks yeah that's funny dude. I'll tell you she was not ugly in this movie.
Speaker 3:No terry guard's attractive. She was definitely good looking so you can't say that today. You say, say nice, nice knockers like that, and people get offended they would not like it you can't, I can't oh
Speaker 1:uh, one other thing too fun fact on. Uh. So when he gets off the train and marty fellman's like walk this way, walk this way I have this as a fun fact, but go right ahead no, go ahead. No, no, it's the same one same one go ahead is it the same?
Speaker 2:one. Yeah, of course, it is the fact that you said walk this way, go ahead, and what it influenced. So the aerosmith song yes, wow, walk this way was in fact, inspired by the scene of igor telling dr frankenstein to to do the same. Yeah, which is actually so. I'll take that into an even deeper fun fact. That whole shtick walk this way and somebody else follows them, basically mimicking their walk. Right, that goes back to vaudeville. That was done on early, early stage days, way, way, way, way, way back when.
Speaker 1:That's wild. Yeah, so I guess Steve Perry and the lead singer.
Speaker 2:You're saying Steve Tyler.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, Steve Tyler.
Speaker 2:Steve Perry, and who's the other guy? Steve Perry was.
Speaker 1:Journey. No, I'm sorry, steve Tyler, and who's the other guy?
Speaker 2:Joe Perry Joe.
Speaker 1:Perry were on a break on tour and they went and saw the movie. Yeah, and that's what kind of inspired them.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's fantastic. You said break on tour, so Aerosmith's been around for a while.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you figure 74, they were out there. So I know 80s they had a resurgence and stuff like that. So in 74 were they popping then should you, okay, absolutely gotcha it was like dream.
Speaker 3:Dream on. That was back then, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:dream on I think was on their first album yeah, pretty sure did you figure that?
Speaker 1:uh, days confused was supposed to be like early 70s, so they were big in that right, that was the early 70s, they were pretty big. So yeah, I guess around this time they were doing pretty well dave's referencing dazed and confused the movie yeah, that's a good movie, not old, dirty basement no
Speaker 2:as frederick explores the castle, he stumbles upon his grandfather's private library and laboratory. Within the dusty tomes he finds his grandfather's journal detailing the legendary reanimation experiment. Despite his initial skepticism, frederick's scientific curiosity ignites and he experiences a change of heart. He decides to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and replicate the experiment.
Speaker 3:So he's not so different than Frankenstein huh, I guess, if you want, to call yourself Frankenstein.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, so there was as these two, as him and Inga Terry Garr, as they're exploring the castle, walking around, and they find that secret passageway behind the bookcase With the candles yeah, did either of you notice? So the right candle is what had activated it, right? So he gets stuck in it and blah, blah, blah. Did any of you notice that candle extinguish and then come back on when they put it back in place. When Madeline not Madeline Kahn when Terry Garth says to Gene Wilder, put it, because she's now on the other side of this wall like she's, you know, losing her mind, she tells him through the wall hey, look, put that candle back in place. When he does that, it goes out and then it comes back on again after he lets go of it. It wasn't a real candle, it was some kind of it's a play candle.
Speaker 3:So it was an editing floor type of mistake.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's actually it was an aluminum casing with some kind of something in it that made it look like a like a light bulb yeah, yeah, no, uh, we don't talk about that as much on our vintage cinema there's a lot of movies, yeah, that you see things like oh, like the one guy I just saw a movie recently.
Speaker 3:A guy was hit with an arrow and he was shooting it. It was supposed to be. No, it was supposed to be a. Um, what are those things? That the deep sea divers use those? Uh, yeah, like guns with. Uh, yeah, I know just spear like spear but but he went and hit the guy with like the spear gun but then it showed the guy falling to the ground. It had like the air zone, like the hairs on the back of it, like an old-fashioned arrow.
Speaker 2:I was like what kind of screw up is that yeah, they messed up on that yeah, was he holding the arrow in between his arm and his torso?
Speaker 3:it's it was like right on the back but the guy shot him with a spear gun and I was like oh, that's a spear gun. And then it showed the guy going down but it had like the things on the back. Yeah, ruffles on like an old fashioned, like a spear or not a spear.
Speaker 2:It was even like an arrow Like a regular arrow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like.
Speaker 3:That's horrible.
Speaker 1:The when chloris leachman's leading them through she's the housekeeper and she has, like the candelabra, I guess you call it, and nothing's lit.
Speaker 3:She's like follow me, I'm like just yeah that, but that's the mel brooks, the genius of mel brooks. Like his comedy and working with gene wilder, who was also a comedian at this time, like very big in comedy, wasn't he on snl? Or who wait, who was gene wilder?
Speaker 1:yeah uh, he wasn't he was not his he was married to yes, oh yeah yeah, um, she passed away early yes, she had cancer, killed a radner. Killed a radner the book that he had, uh, his grandfather had. Do you know the title? Remember it no it was called how I did it.
Speaker 3:Oh, and I thought that was the oj book yeah but that's actually what the book was called in the laboratory or whatever, and it was his grandfather's name that always you remind that Saturday Night Live sketch he's like now, look here, if you've got this guy running up and down.
Speaker 1:With the playbook.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then this guy goes into the circle.
Speaker 1:On the teleprompter. He says I did it.
Speaker 2:So how I did? It was Dr Victor Frankenstein's books.
Speaker 1:That's what it was called, but I think OJ did write a book called how I Did it.
Speaker 3:No, they had a. It was like a one-on-one.
Speaker 2:If I Would have Did it. That's it, something like that. The other suggested title name was Getting Away With Murder.
Speaker 1:Is that what it was For OJ? Yeah, Okay.
Speaker 3:But then he was like well, if I would have did it, this is how it would have happened. Wait, it was a two. No, wait, no, I remember, they're like whoa Jake calm down.
Speaker 2:Come on now. Come on, here's pictures. Yeah, gathering the necessary materials, frederick sets up the laboratory with the help of Igor and Inga. After securing a recently deceased body and an abnormal brain supplied by Igor, they prepare for the reanimation. In a dramatic and stormy night, with electricity crackling and anticipation thick in the air, frederick activates the machinery. At first it seems the experiment has failed, but to their astonishment, the creature begins to stir.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this was cool. I noticed in this scene I don't know if you guys called it when they're eating and then I igor, igor, yeah he's over there eating with a pencil. He's like getting the pieces of cheese, he's just jabbing at it and the and uh, frank.
Speaker 2:Frankenstein says oh, it sounds like you're really enjoying it. That was a. That was a yummy sound yeah yummy sounded. Well, no, it wasn't me. No, it wasn't me. Well, if it wasn't either of you, well, who was it? They go look, looking around. I love the. I love the. Uh, oh, igor lost that. He was supposed to go find a smart guy's brain yeah, where did he find the brain?
Speaker 2:it was um was it like melvin something or some guy's bluther or something they hadn't like buried in the backyard or well, wasn't buried, but he ended up dropping it and getting dirt all over it and he was just like Scraping it. Yeah, it's like all right. Well, I ruined this one, I got to get to this other one. I get. What was it like the brain store, or he some?
Speaker 1:was it the morgue, like a night deposit thing in the door slot and he? That's how he got in, that's right. And when he went in, the brains were up on display and they had this doctor's brain that's right, and then the next one was abnormal abnormal and that's when he asked him uh, you know where'd you get the brain? He's like well, it's not this doctor's brain, right?
Speaker 2:he's like, no, it was abby something yeah, I mean abby normal or abner it that was Abner Mal, Abner Mal yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Alas Frederick is exhilarated by his success, but things quickly spiral out of control. The creature, although physically reanimated, has that abnormal brain which leads to unpredictable behavior such as homicidal tendencies, great band and an inability to follow simple commands and a fantastic performance of putting on the ritz. The monster is swiftly in prison, but later escapes and makes his way back to the castle, where you go and you don't know, where do you go to?
Speaker 3:why don't you go?
Speaker 2:taco yes well, taco, and obviously many long before yeah this was done. This was that song goes back to the 30s or 40s.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was 1930. I looked it up because I is that ball bill.
Speaker 3:It's 1930s. It was fred astaire it was fred astaire.
Speaker 1:But I looked it up because I was like, oh, did that taco song come out in the 70s? Come on, but it was 1982 that came out 1932 no, no, but the taco version tacos was 82, 82, right right right, but the uh, fred astaire one was from like the third, was it 32?
Speaker 2:yeah, it was definitely it had to be in the 30s that came out it's not the 30s, maybe even the roaring 20s, roaring 20s yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 3:What like our, our grandparents looked at as as like. Instead of going to the movie, like they would go to see somebody like fredis, there in silence, just sit there and like dance yeah, that's true, like dancing was a thing where, like like guys, when they like in the 20s, 30s, growing up, that's like something you needed to be able to do. Oh my god, yeah absolutely like if you could.
Speaker 2:If you could dance, yeah, go ahead zap yeah, well, that's the thing, if you could dance, you can pick up chicks Zap. Well, that's the thing, if you could dance, you can pick up chicks.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it was like a thing. This guy knows how to. Oh, this guy's a great guy. He knows how to dance. Wait a second, he takes me dancing.
Speaker 2:But we lived that too in high school. Like if you couldn't dance, you're just standing on the sidelines at the high school dance.
Speaker 3:Yeah, toe wall. That's one thing, yeah, that's another thing. When you're growing up, you wish you would have learned sooner.
Speaker 2:Like if I just said like who cares? Like you look back at it now. Like if you're trying to act, cool, yeah, just dance, guys, just dance. So the putting on the ritz, the. This is the. With this, basically I covered a lot of ground here. This is, I've already covered basically the. Uh, the blind man. So he's already eaten his meal. I should say had his meal poured into his lap. He had the glass of wine. Dude, I didn't know that was Gene Hackman. You did not. Yeah, I could not at all tell that was Gene Hackman. I had to look at it. I only realized it when I was doing the credits.
Speaker 1:I knew it going in that he was in the movie so I was looking for him.
Speaker 3:Right right.
Speaker 1:So that's the only way I would have picked hackman. There's another guy, like I said, he's 90, so he was in his early 40s at this time. Uh, during the filming of this, um, he might have been 40 or 41 or something like that. I think peter boyle was 39 that would make sense yeah and um, like I said, mel brooks was like 48, that's awesome, that's absolutely awesome. But uh, yeah, uh, gene hackman I guess they have. He didn't know, like, if I didn't know, I don't know if I would have recognized him.
Speaker 2:I didn't really that beard and makeup was crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That was just good. And look, not for nothing. I know we mentioned it, but that putting on the red scene, that's probably my favorite scene in this movie. I laughed.
Speaker 1:When he go to him and he goes, ooh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was good.
Speaker 1:That was a good one that got a laugh out of me.
Speaker 3:Yes, I'm not going to lie Like I didn't really laugh at a lot of like laugh out loud at a lot of things in it, but that made me smirk a little bit. Yeah, I think that's our generation. I think I think we lost it from the movies being filmed in the sixties and seventies. To us growing up in the eighties and nineties, the slapstick comedy, to Like we needed more like what's that sustenance? Or there needed to be more to the movies that we watched growing up. That would the boisterous laughing and I think like our parents watching this are probably think, hey, that's kind of funny.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:You know we'll get that laugh out loud type, but we didn't have that with this movie. Watching it now.
Speaker 1:Right, well, that too, and like jokes that would have worked.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Back then, I mean, a lot of these jokes in his movie are all like kind of like. What's the word I'm looking for where it's like sexual innuendo? There's a lot of sexual innuendo in this.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's a Mel Brooks directorial thing also.
Speaker 1:I think that type stuff's timeless. You're always going to get it and laugh at it Sure.
Speaker 3:But, because they made a comment about a schwanz or something like that, which is like german for but I. I think we would understand more, like we all said, about blazing saddles, the comedy and everything involved in that to the comedy in a in a frankenstein movie which we didn't grow up with, was was different right yeah.
Speaker 2:So I came up with older parents and I mean I remember watching movies from the sixties and seventies like comedy movies. Like one of my favorite favorite comedic movies is it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world and I mean that was late sixties, middle late sixties that came out and I still laugh at that. But it's that comedy is very similar to this, like it's very slapsticky it's. It's it's simple and straightforward. But Mel Brooks does have that that certain touch, that little Juno say qua of his, that he just delivers it subtly and just the right way. Like Dave you mentioned that sexual innuendo stuff or like any kind of, even like what was current at the time, not necessarily political, but stuff that was in the news or or whatever. Like he, just he just delivered it like socially relevant stuff at the time relevance, I should not even socially, just regular relevant stuff at the time. He just delivers it in just the right way that it hits guys, a genius absolutely genius, um zap, as you were saying.
Speaker 3:Uh, I I don't recall that movie. I don't think I've ever heard of it. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world. Is who? What is that movie about? So there's four mads in the title mad, mad, mad, mad it is about a.
Speaker 2:It's almost like a, a mad dash or a crazy race movie where, in the very beginning, the a group of people watch this guy careen off of a cliff in a car and this group, who are individually, it's just a pair of people, a single person, another person, maybe another group of people. They're all driving their cars and they see this guy drive off a cliff. They go to see what was wrong with the guy and they all learn that this guy tells them oh, there's hundreds of thousands of dollars that are buried in this park in this state, buried in this, in this park in this state, in this location. And it's underneath a big w, which is you'll learn later is is the way that the trees are shaped.
Speaker 3:But is it kind of like the movie rat race?
Speaker 2:sounds like today's, sounds like cannonball run basically so good, all of these, all of these individual, I should say then, after thereafter, each of these individuals or these little groups, it's this mad dash, it's this, this race, crazy race, what did you call it? What's the?
Speaker 1:rat race right this is rat race where they go, cannibal run which I know is a rat race.
Speaker 2:I know is a movie I just never seen it where they all make their way come hell or high water to get to this point to get to this point and they all end up getting there and they all end up finding the money.
Speaker 2:But this one corrupt cop, who knew about this as well, he ends up taking the money, makes this crazy mad dash to try to escape with it and then he gets caught. Dude, it's good and it's a comedy. Dude, it's a comedy. Awesome, it's a star-studded cast, absolutely star-studded cast. I'm not going to go through it.
Speaker 1:We're doing Frankenstein right now.
Speaker 2:But, dude, don't sleep on, it's a Mad, Mad, Mad Mad.
Speaker 1:World.
Speaker 2:I would love to cover that movie. That's a good one, all right, speaking of movies, as we progress, frederick's affection for the creature grows. He realizes that the creature's erratic behavior is not its fault but a result of the abnormal brain Abner-mal brain.
Speaker 2:Determined to correct his mistake, frederick prepares for a second daring experiment a brain transfer procedure to replace the abnormal brain with a normal one. In a nail-biting climax, the villagers stormed the castle as frederick completes the risky procedure. Just as the mob breaks in, expecting to find a monster rampaging, they are met with a surprisingly calm and articulate creature.
Speaker 3:Frederick's experiment is a success and that's a throwback to frankenstein yeah, yeah, yeah, much like the original same thing as the original.
Speaker 2:Just a great, great thing, of course, yeah, to have the the guy talking and you know very well spoken declarative sentences, or just is just awesome yeah, I had to laugh too.
Speaker 1:Uh, we, I don't know. I'm pretty sure this scene had already happened with Madeline Kahn who shows up to the castle looking for Gene Wilder and his fiance and finds the, the, the monster or whatever. And they end up like hooking up.
Speaker 2:Oh, they definitely end up hooking up. She's saying that that that song it has to start with? Yeah, it's. I've heard this song sung a million times and now I'm forgetting the goddamn name of it. It's that. How's it go? It's now I'm at a. I'm at a loss for it I would all. I would also do it an incredible injustice if I tried to sing it.
Speaker 3:That's all part of this.
Speaker 1:This whole we're just, but we're just trying, man but they reference uh like dr frankenstein or however he says. It reference at one point that frankenstein that his uh member is pretty large, correct?
Speaker 2:so because the, the, the monster is, the, the monster's member is large. So because the monster is seven feet, something tall yeah they had to have everything that would otherwise be, you know, correspond yeah, it has to be the same, like you know exactly everything's done in proportion, so this guy has a big.
Speaker 3:I forget schwarzenhofer or something so they go at it.
Speaker 1:You know exactly everything's done in proportion. So this guy yeah, this guy has a big I forget schwarzenhofer or something so they go at it, you know. And then he hears the music playing and she's like, oh, and he gets up and leaves. She's all met, just like a normal man.
Speaker 1:Seven or eight quick ones and you're on your way, you know. I mean, basically he's out of there but uh, that music playing I guess they were playing that violin music and it kind of gets him, you know, to follow and it had me thinking about that yacht rock I think, I sent you. They're like they were showing like anytime, like an old guy here's yacht rock, like they'll turn whatever they're doing, like, and they hear like the beginning of one of those songs it's true, grabs your attention.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they're trying to, trying to dig it like oh man, it's taking me back I can tell you, it does that for me.
Speaker 2:I love Yacht Rock. I cannot get enough Yacht Rock, my serious XM. Channel 17 will not change until after.
Speaker 3:Labor Day. I agree with you, yes, excellent.
Speaker 1:Right, but that scene had me laughing. I'm assuming that already happened in this part of the movie, because by now, yeah, oh for sure.
Speaker 2:For sure. They've definitely done the the dirty dog right franken, or the the monster, had his way. He did the franken sweeney on her. He did and she loved it yeah she was into it. She was afraid at first, but then she said dang right.
Speaker 1:Look at the size of your johnson one other little dumb joke too with with igor. He goes uh, gene water goes, help with the bags. He thinks he's talking about the two girls.
Speaker 3:That's right. That's right, the bags. See, that's that old school comedy where you got to think twice.
Speaker 1:Right right, right About the old bags. I like that stuff.
Speaker 2:In the end, frederick not only redeems his family's name but discovers his true calling as a brilliant scientist. He embraces his heritage and the love he has found along the way, and so, with love, acceptance and laughter, the story of young Frankenstein comes to a close, which was kind of funny at the end, of course, you see the. So they've since done like basically wife swap or not even wife swap.
Speaker 2:Wife swap right, well, the monster didn't have one to begin with, but so the monster first laid into madeline khan because she had, you know, she, she wanted it she well no she had actually said when the monster was approaching her.
Speaker 2:Uh, she'd said oh, you know, I'm still, uh, you know I'm saving myself or I'm doing, whatever, so, whatever, so, yeah. So he, you know, nailed her first and claimed her as his own, and then, uh, frankenstein ended up hooking up with inga although he had been hooking up with inga the whole time the whole time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they were up on the uh platform, that's right, yeah, he has no time, but I like it at the very end too. It was like the last joke. So you see the, the two couples hooking up and it's from uh, the monster first. And then they show gene wilder and they, and he's in the bed with Terry Garr and she goes. So he got part of your brain. What did you get from him? And then the lights go dim.
Speaker 2:And then you know what he got. He got some of that size. He got the size.
Speaker 1:Apparently, size matters Right, and that's what they were insinuating.
Speaker 2:Oh, they were insinuating. All right, I love the monster, the monster sitting there reading a wall street journal.
Speaker 3:Yeah, come on man, that was good, that was really good. Why wasn't?
Speaker 1:igor getting any loving he got none, none, none.
Speaker 2:Because he got that crooked ass eye, because his eyes man popping out, got that hump yeah, that, that side, or this side, kept moving around. Yeah, which was of course a running gag. Yes, which would again just one of so many priceless elements of this movie right.
Speaker 2:Well, I guess it's time for fun facts oh, I'll start out with a fun fact, because I I had pinned it from the beginning. So the medical student in the very beginning of the movie that's in Frankenstein's class, who keeps pestering and peppering him with questions and talking about like Darwin and blah, blah, blah, that guy was the voice of Brainy Smurf from the Smurfs oh wow, which ran from 1981 to 1989. A Saturday morning classic for all of us.
Speaker 1:I love the Smurfs, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was the voice of brainy. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:There you go now what you got um gene hackman.
Speaker 3:Actually, he won an oscar in 1974, before he did this movie and that's what he took that role. He wanted to do something completely different and that's why, like you were like, is that gene hackman? You can't really with the beard and everything. But they said, uh, they asked him and he was like sure, I'll come up with something and that's how he did, like his whole character and but yeah, he's an oscar winner. That's awesome, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:yeah, this is from mel brooks, I guess the studio, they were really giving them pushback on this being black and white, so they were trying to trick him in the shooting and in color, because they felt like this is not going to succeed if it's shot in black and white. But he wanted to pay homage to those hammer movies, those old school horror movies and all that. So he was adamant like, look, I'm doing it in black and white. I almost feel like another studio had to step in and, you know, finance it or whatever. I think I originally went to one studio and ended up going somewhere else because they actually were like cool with it and gave him the money that he needed to do it, but I personally think the black and white added to it. Oh God, yeah, you know what I mean. So I guess if they did it in color, I mean I'm sure it's still be a great movie, but I think that added an element.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was. I was waiting for the whole, like I said, the wizard of Oz moment and it never happened.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they could have done it in sepia.
Speaker 1:That would have worked. You know, this has me thinking, too, about a movie that's coming out that I definitely want to see because it looks like it's going to be awesome. So the original silent film Nosferatu from 1922.
Speaker 3:Starring me.
Speaker 1:Starring yeah, they are remaking. It's actually made already. It's coming out, I think, around Halloween.
Speaker 3:Have you seen the original though?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did. Have you seen the original though?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I did. I watched it. It's odd but cool, like it'd be something that like it's like more like I'm thinking like Danzig videos or something.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, yeah.
Speaker 3:Like. It's not even like a real movie, it's just different parts.
Speaker 2:It's gnarly shit, and that's the silent film. That's the silent one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but they actually made this one now, like in that time, and I think it might be in I don't think it's in black and white.
Speaker 3:Is it like the 1890s or earlier than that?
Speaker 1:yeah, it was like in the 1800s okay but that the original nosferatu was 1922.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they came out with the movie camera and, like the first or second film they made was nosferatu. Yeah, sounds about right. There's a show on amc called nosferatu. Oh really, yeah, but they do it. They spell the name of it phonetically, so it's like nos, the number four oh, okay like a rapper.
Speaker 3:Yeah, cool license plater yeah yeah, uh at.
Speaker 2:And then the number two right no, four out two, yeah, anyways whatever.
Speaker 3:I saw a license plate actually today. It was funny. It's like I can't read, but there's a guy saying I can't read.
Speaker 1:Yeah that's pretty cool, but it was only like a Toyota.
Speaker 3:It's like I can't read. I didn't get it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's a joke. So when you're talking about this movie, the fun fact the original cut of this movie was twice as long. This was initially. The initial cut of this movie was three and a half hours long. Wow, hours long. Wow, they had to mel brooks. I'm gonna offer them this and then they're gonna come back to me, obviously, tell me that it was cut. There needs to be cut, and so he'll cut it but which today is an unheard of he initially three and a half hours is most movies yeah right, three and a half hour version of this black and white movie.
Speaker 2:Like what was he expecting. Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:Well, it did say here that, uh, they had so much fun filming, as Mel Brooks included, that they ended up adding scenes to continue shooting because they just didn't want it to end. They were enjoying themselves so much.
Speaker 2:This had to be fun. I mean, this just had to be a fun, fun place to be man.
Speaker 3:And I did read that Terry Garr and Madeline Kahn, their roles were supposed to be switched.
Speaker 1:Yes, I did hear that.
Speaker 3:But then during, like when they were working on roles and reading and stuff before the film, they were like nah, we need you guys to switch back. I think you're reading for Inga and who was the other?
Speaker 1:name Elizabeth, Inga and Elizabeth correct.
Speaker 2:I got another one Speaking of so as part of this movie. Like I said, the original run was twice as long. One of the deleted scenes oh wow, the monster actually had a bar mitzvah, because he was just essentially just born.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So they ended up giving him a bar mitzvah and they gave him the name because it was just called the monster. So they named him Franklin Steen Franklin.
Speaker 1:Steen Franklin Steen, that's wild. He talked about Gene Hackman wanting to do this movie, matt, and he found out about it or, I guess, inquired about it through his tennis partner, who was Gene Wilder.
Speaker 2:So they would play tennis together and I guess maybe he told him hey I'm.
Speaker 1:He told him hey I'm, I wrote this movie or whatever, and he was like intrigued about it he volunteered to play that with the tennis courts. Oh hoi polloi right exactly he volunteered to play the part for free, so he gave him money for it, which was nice. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Um, because he just wanted to do a comedy yeah, exactly good for him.
Speaker 1:And one other thing too on that that the shifting hump, the eagle, uh, igor thing. That was like improvised, so that wasn't like written in there. Just I guess it was moving around and they were like I'll just go with it.
Speaker 2:Marty feldman just wanted to do it it's working good for him yeah, it definitely worked. That was a clutch scene.
Speaker 3:I read the clean scenes, uh and uh, for the people that love this movie, uh, putting on the ritz wasn't the very first song. I think they wanted to do a uh like cheek to cheek. I don't know us dancing cheek to cheek if anybody yeah, it was either that song or they also had one sweet mystery of life which I've never heard that sweet mystery of life.
Speaker 2:That, I think, is the the name of the song. Oh, sweet mystery of life.
Speaker 3:That's the song that the chick was that what's her name was singing that okay, okay, yeah, but they, they didn't know for the the putting on the ritz part if they wanted to do that. The chick was that, what's her name was singing. That was singing, that's the name I couldn't remember. Okay, okay, yeah, but they, they didn't know for the the putting on the ritz part if they wanted to do that or that, but I guess she ended up singing it instead of them doing it for that part.
Speaker 2:She sang that the original one that was offered to her was something else, and she had said no, because here's an I, not even no. She had had suggested to Mel Brooks hey, since this is a wink, wink, implied sex scene, maybe it should be a song that starts with O or ah.
Speaker 3:Oh, gotcha, and that the.
Speaker 2:The first lyric is that ah, sweet mystery.
Speaker 1:That's pretty cool, that's wild.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a little fun facts guys.
Speaker 1:So I don't know if you guys called this during the movie, but I mean or even noticed it, but I read this before I watched the movie so I noticed it right away. But a lot of the people in the movie have british accents. Yeah, and this is supposed to be in like eastern europe, you know, transylvania or whatever. So mel brooks specifically asked for that to happen. He wanted them all to speak with that accent, because I guess in the old frankenstein movies that's what everybody spoke with a british accent, which really doesn't make sense if you're in Eastern Europe.
Speaker 2:No, you're going to speak like a gypsy. You're going to speak with some kind of weird tongue that my jaw doesn't work like that to make the noises, but I know that every time they're done talking, my wallet's been stolen.
Speaker 1:In Germany or Eastern Europe or wherever they were at. There was an original poster art that they had on this. They put a McDonald's up on the mountain in the background. I that had a. They put a McDonald's up on the mountain in the background. I read that, yeah, but they never received permission to use the McDonald's logo. Yep.
Speaker 2:So they didn't take it down.
Speaker 1:It says here the MCD logo, and I just keep thinking of McDevitt. But yeah, it was McDonald's.
Speaker 2:Oh, speaking of getting rights, that's why when, when Madeline Kahn was sitting there there at her, uh, what's the the thing where she's putting on her makeup? There's a name for that. It's the little, it's the little dresser that women sit at, shea lounge. It's a little thing where women sit at with a big mirror, and it's it's the thing that they're oh my gosh little makeup station.
Speaker 3:Anyway, both my daughters had I can't even think of it, yeah it's those.
Speaker 2:So when? She's, oh my god, when she's sitting at that and she's singing. It's not the Star Spangled Banner, it's whatever she's singing. It's not the Star Spangled Banner. Anyways, well, it's not A Miracle that Beautiful. Maybe it is the Star Spangled Banner. They chose to use that song because it was open rights, it was free reign. They didn't have to worry about copyright Correct. They didn't have to worry about paying anybody royalties.
Speaker 1:It was just free reign. That's pretty wild. Most of the lab equipment they showed in this movie and it was from the original movie from frankenstein oh no shit, yeah, they actually. Uh brooks managed. He tracked down kenneth strickfadden and he's the man who created him for the original film. So you figure this is only 40 years after the original. You know what I mean sure people will still be around.
Speaker 3:Right, that were involved.
Speaker 2:They were probably in their 60s by then or 70s, but they're still around Looking for wisdom and experience. He found it. That's awesome. Yeah, I thought that was pretty wild.
Speaker 3:One more is they turned this into a Broadway musical on Broadway.
Speaker 1:Oh nice.
Speaker 3:It was short run 2008, 2009, but Young Frankenstein made it all the way to broadway that's awesome about that.
Speaker 1:I would like to have seen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that would be fun so you guys got you got anything else that I'm I'm all out of fun facts. I guess we're ready for our rating system yeah, so late.
Speaker 1:Free return or burn matt.
Speaker 3:You want to lead it off this time sure, uh, like I said, I had no idea. I I thought the movie was in color or popping into color. I had no idea. Um, I don't even really recall. I've heard quotes from this movie. I'd return it. I'd watch it and return it. I don't. I don't think I'd try to watch it again or look for it. It could be my age, it could be. You know something, the times we grew up in much like the warriors kind of yeah um, I just I found that the movie was.
Speaker 3:it was an enjoyable movie, just a little too old for my taste. Not saying that anybody out there who liked the movie has to be old, but yeah, I'd watch it and return it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think I'm there with you too as well, Matt. I'd watch it and return it. I enjoyed it. I went into this movie expecting it to be more slapstick humor, a little more like Blazing Saddles or Spaceballs, where it's just you're laughing a lot.
Speaker 3:See, I just expected it to be really stupid, yeah, but it wasn't it wasn't.
Speaker 1:No, it wasn't dumb at all. Actually, I like that. I've seen some of those old Hammer horror movies I guess that's what they're called and it definitely had that vibe. I thought they did a good job. I actually was kind of like I talked about was impressed with gene wilder's performance. I thought he did like a really good job in this.
Speaker 2:He's a good actor and, uh well, everybody I thought did well in it. It was goofy in ways, but I thought the performances were good, but I would return it, yeah. So, given our rating system of burn it, which is awful right, return it meaning I, I enjoyed it and I will take it back with a, you know, as a, as a happy person and refund fee late fees. Man, I'm keeping this one for a long time of those three, just like you two. I would return it. However, I would probably watch it twice.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:I would watch it the first time just to make sure. Well, just to watch it. And then I would watch it. I'm sorry, the, and I would watch it I'm sorry the second time, to make sure that I didn't miss anything the first time, knowing full well maybe there's a joke that I missed, or maybe I didn't understand that joke, or maybe I missed this scene. So, yeah, I would probably watch it twice and then return it. Dave, you mentioned about Gene Wilder's acting. So when I think of you know Gene Wilder immediately I'm going to think of, like Willy Wonka, yes, and the Chocolate, yes, and the chocolate factory. So gene wilder's hair in that was like the same in this. It wasn't until his later 80s movies when he started cutting his hair shorter. His hair in this played such a part in his role, especially like when they're, when they're trying to bring the monster to life, and he's, you know, now he's truly doing that mad scientist. Look with his now his hair is all popping out.
Speaker 3:And dude, did it from like that, that kind of like mini flippy hat. And I was just going to say does anyone ever notice Gene Wilder's awfully terrible comb over flip hair.
Speaker 2:That starts like an inch from his ear and he comes out way to hell over.
Speaker 1:He was like a Bill Murray and Kingpin? Yeah, yeah, he was like are we Kingpin?
Speaker 3:Yeah, he was like are we doing that movie? I'd love to. Oh, that is.
Speaker 2:Have you seen that yet, zach, I have not seen Kingpin. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness, we mentioned we were talking about Giant or Giant Foods earlier, way back in the day. The president of Giant Foods, a guy was named Alan Nod the commercials when we were kids.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do remember he had the comb over from hell it was it was the same comb over that gene wilder had, except alan noddle's hair was straight I think the comb overs were before like the bald became cool because, guys, if they're going bald, they just shave it now and it's like I just shaved my head. I, I like my hair bald.
Speaker 1:All them dudes on the tmi documentary they all had that their hair. Yeah, their hair was all combed over, yeah because you're going bald.
Speaker 3:In some spots they're like well, I can grow it long on top, I'll just hide that.
Speaker 2:Look man, it works for DT Donald Trump.
Speaker 1:Oh, DT, exactly it works for DT.
Speaker 2:Is that what that's called?
Speaker 3:I didn't know what style haircut that was the comb over, I mean it's combed in three different directions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's called oh who?
Speaker 3:the owner, jerry uh jerry west?
Speaker 2:yeah, correct, so the the owner jerry bus, is it? Uh bus bus played by john c reilly, yes, who does a great job on that. In the first or second episode of that series he demonstrates how to make that hairstyle happen oh wow, like he combs it forward, gels the shit out of it and then combs it backward yeah, that's one I have to watch.
Speaker 1:I saw that show and I was like that seems interesting, but I don't have hpl he was a.
Speaker 3:He was a. He was a player I believe he liked the ladies who doesn't.
Speaker 2:So one last one, last parting word on this. So, matt, I understand what you meant. That I understand completely. It's just like with me with Warriors. I didn't come up with that movie. I know that it existed and I know that other people might have come up with it, and I mentioned earlier, like I had, and still I came up with older parents, so I'm gonna watch the movies that they were into, and at the time it was like 60s or 70s, you know comedies. So I mentioned earlier my wife that she came up watching this movie. But that's something that I'm sure that probably her parents were into at the time or had grown up with, or something that would have, you know, led her to watch it. So I can dig truly the aspect of look, this is you really had to enjoy it as a kid to really to say that it's, you know, a cult classic or such a favorite, because it is in fact something that you had come up with, you just were so familiar with it's like to accept it.
Speaker 3:Now it's like you have to have a. That's right. Some sort of seeds had to have been planted that's right.
Speaker 2:It's like a warm blanket, it's like comfort food.
Speaker 1:It's just something that you knew growing up for For me, gene Wilder movies, the one that sticks out in my head from young well, one is Blazing Saddles. My dad loved that movie, but the other one was one called Stir Crazy, and it was Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor Same as see no evil, hear no evil, right. Those two together were like phenomenal.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh yeah.
Speaker 1:They were just funny and that stir crazy scene where they're in prison and they're walking down like we bad, we bad, we bad and they're walking. I'll never forget that. As a kid watching that, I don't know that my dad was into this. Uh, young frank, I know he liked mel brooks, obviously because of blazing saddles, but probably because the humor in this was not like the humor in blazing saddles or stir crazy or space balls.
Speaker 2:It came a little later fun fact, quick little tie-in, since you mentioned blazing saddles, richard, so we've all seen blazing saddles yes and we know that there is definitely some racial jokes in there absolutely I mean to this day. Anybody finds funny. It's just that people are afraid to talk about it anymore right, but that notwithstanding, richard pryor was a screenwriter for that movie. Oh, I believe it.
Speaker 3:If you watch Richard Pryor's comedy now that is some of the funniest stuff, Truth that I mean they have them on it. I think HBO, Netflix probably still has some Richard Pryor stuff, but if you guys get, Check some of that out. Yeah, he was definitely a great comedian way ahead of his time, hell yeah.
Speaker 1:My dad loved like Richard Pryor, and you know that's what I grew up watching that type stuff.
Speaker 2:What did he die of Syphilis?
Speaker 1:No, Richard Pryor had like the.
Speaker 2:AIDS he had cancer, didn't he?
Speaker 1:Something it was like. Remember he got all messed up.
Speaker 3:I mean he was no saint? I know, yeah, when the crack pipe blew up on his face.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the one scene from the movie I remember and he does comedy about that.
Speaker 3:He actually has a whole skit that he does about being addicted to crack.
Speaker 1:Crack is whack, yeah, but a lot of these guys are torture geniuses.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:They're funny, but look at what's who's, that you know. Good morning vietnam. Uh, robin robin, yeah, robin williams, yeah, he was he was struggling with uh, with depression and stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think he had a disease that was gonna go man anyhow.
Speaker 2:But I guess I too would be depressed if I had, you know, tens of millions of dollars yeah and was, you know, known worldwide like, money can't buy happiness, can't do what they say.
Speaker 3:I just can buy a hell of a lot of cool things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just I don't think you're shopping in the right places you're missing out.
Speaker 3:But it's funny when we do a rating system. I think when, when I, we were talking about that and just it just popped into my head. Being a kid, I remember the terminator movie. I remember trying to watch that as many freaking times as I could before we had to take it back did you love Such a cool like. I've never seen anything like it. It was whole. I think Schwarzenegger was huge at the time.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:And I remember my cousin. Actually he was dropped off at my house and like we watched it like two or three times before even you had to take it back in the afternoon.
Speaker 1:Just can't get enough. Yeah, I just there's some movies like that for sure. But uh, yeah, you know, shout out to our listeners anybody that's going on there. I know a couple you went on there and voted for some more movies. We're gonna try to stick that list. Yeah, I know some of them we're not gonna love, but we know you love them and hopefully you're loving what we're doing here covering these movies. I mean, some of these, uh, I have I've never seen, or only seen bits and pieces, and so you know it's kind of cool. But continue, please continue to vote and give us feedback.
Speaker 3:Hopefully you're enjoying it, and I'd also like to hear from any listeners If you guys would like every so often to hear a not so vintage cinema review we can put something like kind of newer. If you, if there's anything out there that you're really, you know, liking, or something that you think is like a great movie, close to that time, or even if it's a little newer, or even if it's a little newer but something that you just want to hear about, or like want to hear us talk about, just let us know.
Speaker 2:Let us know and we'll direct you to the right podcast.
Speaker 3:Yeah right. Podcast will be Tuesday nights at eight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, so continue to vote, continue to give us ideas and let us know what you like when we cover. So don't forget to find us on Facebook where that list is. On Instagram, instagram at old dirty basement, on Tik TOK at old dirty basement podcast.
Speaker 2:And I guess that's it for now, so we'll catch you where on the flip side If we don't see you sooner, we'll see you later. Peace.
Speaker 3:Thanks for listening to the vintage cinema review and the old, dirty basement. If you dig our theme music, like we do, check out the tsunami experiment, find them on Facebook.
Speaker 1:Their music is streaming on spotify and apple and where great music is available you can find us at old dirty basement on facebook and instagram and at old dirty basement podcast on tiktok. Peace, we outtie 5000.