1974: Fifty Years Later / Young Frankenstein

1974 was a landmark year for film, a convergence of exciting
international cinema and the original voices of New Hollywood that
still resonates 50 years later. In our new series we invite a
different guest for each episode to choose a 1974 movie to talk
about, ranging from giant blockbusters to minor cult curios and
everything else in between. Despite the domination of Coppolas,
Polanskis and Cassaveteses, 1974 really belonged to Mel Brooks.
Nearly 50 at the time, the legendary comedy writer had risen from
his Borscht Belt origins to release two classic films in one year,
1974's #1 box office smash Blazing Saddles and trailing all the way
back at #4 highest grossing picture Young Frankenstein. While both
films became instant perennial favorite parodies of then
out-of-style genres, Young Frankenstein is a true love letter to
the Universal Monster movies of yore and a masterfully-made horror
flick that just happens to have jokes in it. We welcome back Pink
Smoke favorite and wig expert Kate Wilkinson to join our chorus of
praise for co-writer Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein
(sorry, Fronk-en-steen), Marty Feldman as Eye-gor, Teri Garr as
Inga, Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher, Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth,
Kenneth Mars as Inspector Kemp, recent Oscar-winner Gene Hackman as
the Blind Man and true 70's superstar Peter Boyle as The Monster -
each performer at the absolute top of of their game. We discuss the
film's origins being deeper than the iconic 1931 James Whale movie,
whether this is more a triumph for Brooks (who was banned from
casting himself) or Wilder (it was his baby) and how it fit into
the comedy mindset of the mid-70's. Wig Wurq on Tumblr:
https://wigwurq.tumblr.com/ Support our Patreon:
www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke site:
www.thepinksmoke.com Christopher Funderburg on X:
twitter.com/cfunderburg John Cribbs on X:
twitter.com/TheLastMachine The Pink Smoke on X:
twitter.com/thepinksmoke Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / “Tea
for Two” Outro music: Marcus Pinn / “Vegas"