A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.
Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, Liam Dunn, Danny Goldman, Oscar Beregi Jr., Arthur Malet, Anne Beesley, Monte Landis, Rusty Blitz, John Madison, John Dennis, Rick Norman, Rolfe Sedan, Terrence Pushman
Curator Review
Verdict
A top-tier parody that still works as a loving monster-movie homage, with sharp visual gags, quotable dialogue, and Gene Wilder at his most perfectly wound-up. It’s one of the rare spoofs that feels crafted rather than merely referential, and the black-and-white style gives it extra charm.
Best for
fans of classic comedy
horror fans who enjoy affectionate parody
viewers who like quotable, joke-dense scripts
people interested in old Universal monster aesthetics
Skip if
you dislike broad farce and wordplay
you want straight horror rather than comedy
you prefer modern pacing and contemporary humor
Overview
Mel Brooks turns Frankenstein into a precision-engineered comedy machine, but the joke is not just that it’s funny; it’s that it understands the original genre so well that every visual and tonal beat lands. The black-and-white cinematography, castle setting, and old-school monster-movie atmosphere make the parody feel like a restoration as much as a spoof.
Worth noting
Gene Wilder gives the film its nervous, escalating energy, while Marty Feldman and Peter Boyle supply perfectly tuned comic counterweights. The movie’s humor ranges from elegant to absurd to gleefully filthy, yet it never loses its sense of structure or timing.
Bottom line
What keeps it enduring is how much craft sits underneath the silliness. It’s a comedy with real cinematic discipline, and that’s why the jokes still hit decades later. If you like your laughs wrapped in gothic atmosphere, this is essential viewing.
Top Letterboxd reviews
amaya (4★) · 3542 likes
this movie is the best frankenstein adaptation because they explicitly state how massive the creature's dick is like 4 times
Roberto_ (4★) · 2564 likes
actually... it's young fronkonsteen (1974)
maria (4.5★) · 1667 likes
from child serial killer in a factory to penis enlargement surgeon in transylvania. the range
veronica (5★) · 1404 likes
“werewolf?”“there”“what?”“there wolf. there castle”
this is hands down the funniest movie ever made, it will never ever get old
Mike Ginn (4★) · 1135 likes
When you use forbidden science to give a huge penis to a monster and he fucks your fiancé with it, that’s called hubris.
1975 · Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy · 1h 31m · PG · Curator 9.1/10 (1.2M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, BritBox, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
Shares the same love of period texture, absurd escalation, and quote-heavy comedy that has lasted through generations.
1979 · Comedy · 1h 34m · R · Curator 8.2/10 (811.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A smart, irreverent comedy that pairs historical setting with disciplined satire and memorable ensemble timing.