Synopsis

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, a respected American medical lecturer, inherits his infamous grandfather's Transylvanian estate and becomes drawn into the family tradition of reanimating the dead. With the help of an eccentric assistant and a determined lab assistant, Frederick creates a living creature, setting off a chain of comic disasters while he struggles to escape his ancestor's legacy and accept his own attraction to mad science.

Factoids & Trivia

• Gene Wilder originated the film's basic idea and wrote the first draft of the screenplay. He and Mel Brooks later developed several additional drafts together.

• The film was shot in black and white to recreate the visual style of the classic Universal horror films, particularly James Whale's *Frankenstein* and *Bride of Frankenstein*.

• Much of the laboratory equipment came from the original machinery created by Kenneth Strickfaden for the 1931 *Frankenstein*. Brooks located Strickfaden living in the Los Angeles area, where he had stored many of the props.

• Strickfaden received a prominent screen credit for the film, correcting an omission from the original *Frankenstein* productions.

• The medical school scenes were filmed at the University of Southern California. The "Puttin' on the Ritz" sequence was shot at the Mayfair Theatre in Santa Monica.

• The production reused old MGM backlot sets for several exterior scenes. Those sets were later demolished when the property was sold for redevelopment.

• Released on December 15, 1974, the film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound.

• In 2003, the Library of Congress selected *Young Frankenstein* for preservation in the National Film Registry.