Y-Comedy: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
I really wanted to watch a film starring Madeline Kahn. When I was looking for a literary agent last year, I came across one who had named her pet Madeline in tribute to Madeline Kahn. And I had no idea who that was. When I looked her up, I found this video:
“What will it take me to have the stage presence of this woman?” I thought.
She does not just sing a song. She’s basically acting with words that carry a melody. And her voice, her face expressions. So of course I had to watch her in movies too! She had a small part (for a big star) in a movie that started with Y, so that’s the movie I chose: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974) by Mel Brooks.
I thought her name would never come up!
I kinda understand why she only has a few appearances in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. She steals every scene she’s in, she would’ve overshadowed both Dr. Frankenstein and his creature!
Since I had forgotten her face (since watching that video last year), I thought for a moment that she was the blonde playing Inga (Teri Garr), Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant in Transylvania (is it Germany’s old or fictional name? I should look it up). She had appeared briefly on the platform of a train station, as a horny person who doesn’t want to be touched, and it was a glorious moment of cinema:
ELIZABETH (Madeline Kahn): Oh, my sweet darling.
Dr. FREDERICK FRANKENSTEIN (Gene Wilder): Oh, my dearest love.
ELIZABETH: I'll count the hours that you're away.
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Oh, darling, so will I.
He tries to kiss her… She dodges.
ELIZABETH: Not on the lips.
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: What?
ELIZABETH: I'm going to that party at Nana and Nicky's. I don't want to smear my lipstick.
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Of course.
MAN OFF-SCREEN: All aboard!
ELIZABETH: Oh, dear!
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Well, I guess this is it.
ELIZABETH: Freddy, darling, how can I say in a few minutes what it's taken me a lifetime to understand?
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Won't you try?
ELIZABETH: All right. You've got it, mister. I'm yours--All of me. What else can I say?
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: My sweet love--
He attempts to hold her face in his hands. She dodges.
ELIZABETH: The hair! Just been set.
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Sorry. Sorry.
ELIZABETH: I hope you like old-fashioned weddings.
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: I prefer old-fashioned wedding nights.
ELIZABETH: You're incorrigible!
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Does that mean... you love me?
ELIZABETH: You bet your boots it does.
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Oh, my only love--
He tries to hug her… She dodges.
ELIZABETH: Taffeta, darling.
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Taffeta, sweetheart.
ELIZABETH: No, the dress is taffeta. It wrinkles so easily.
MAN OFF-SCREEN: All aboard!
ELIZABETH: There goes that horrid man again. Hurry. Before I make a fool of myself.
Frankenstein is sexually frustrated, he hasn’t been able to lay a finger on her and now they should part ways. He tries at least to hold her hand… She dodges.
ELIZABETH: Aah! The nails! Oh!
Dr. FRANKENSTEIN: Sorry. Goodbye, darling.
ELIZABETH: Goodbye, Freddy.
And they elbow bump!
They were ready for Covid! So cute!
That was hilarious. I wonder if the late Catherine O’Hara ever drew her inspiration from Madeline Kahn. Because that scene with Gene Wilder could’ve easily been remade by O’Hara and Eugene Levy!
The film wouldn’t have been the same without Marty Feldman either
Igor (played by Marty Feldman) was deliciously hilarious
First of all, I didn’t know these were the actor’s real eyes. Spain has Rossy de Palma, Hollywood had Marty Feldman. That scarcity is pitiful.
Dr. Frankenstein points at Igor’s hunch and tells him that he happens to be a good surgeon, he could help him with that hunch. To which Igor replies, “What hunch?”
Favorite scene
When Dr. and his creature dance together.
Philsophy
The philosophical questions in my head ever since: if your dead tissues are reanimated, are you alive? Is the creature alive or animated? Can the creature be free? Is Frankenstein’s creature a robot? Are IVF babies creatures?
Up next on my watchlist: A film that starts with Z and that will be the end of the challenge!
Since I’m moving my stuff out of my apartment on the 25th (tomorrow), including the ladder shelf where I put my projector, I might spend the next 3 weeks without watching anything (my stuff may move on the 25th, but I’ll start paying rent from August 15). OR I’ll just put the projector on the floor… I think the floor will do.