Today marks the 100th birthday of actor, comedian, writer, director, producer and all-around mensch Mel Brooks.
In honor of the occasion, I went to the Brattle Theatre both yesterday and today to take in several of his films - Young Frankenstein, History of the World, Part I and The Producers.
Alas, Blazing Saddles was not part of this retrospective. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention seeing Blazing Saddles in the presence of the man himself in October 2016 when he was a mere lad of 90. At the time, I wrote, "Mel Brooks has lived a full life and yet he has so much more to do." Indeed, Spaceballs: The New One is due to come out in April 2027. Let us hope that he is there for the premiere.
Until then, here are my thoughts on what I saw yesterday and today.
Young Frankenstein (1974)
The proceedings began yesterday afternoon with Young Frankenstein. I should mention that I saw Young Frankenstein at the Brattle during my Memorial Day Reverie in 2024. Since my last viewing of the film, both Teri Garr and Gene Hackman passed away leaving Brooks the last living link to the film.
There was enthusiastic and uproarious laughter to Young Frankenstein from start to finish. The laughter was spread around all the main cast members - Gene Wilder (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein - That's Frankensteen), Peter Boyle (The Creature), Marty Feldman (Eye-gor), Cloris Leachman (Frau Blücher) (cue the horse sound), Teri Garr (Inga, Frederick's lab assistant and later wife), Kenneth Mars (Inspector Kemp) and Madeline Kahn (Elizabeth, Frederick's fiancée and later the wife of the Creature). An honorable mention goes to Hackman who played a blind man who wishes to befriend The Creature who has unexpectedly come into his home only to cause The Creature one agony after another.
As hilarious as Young Frankenstein is, it remains faithful to the story crafted by Mary Shelley more than two centuries ago while also using some props created by Kenneth Strickfaden which were part of the original Frankenstein movie from 1931. As I noted in my previous dispatch on Young Frankenstein, the intro music produced by John Morris is melancholic. While it is among the funniest films ever committed to celluloid, Mel Brooks made it with the utmost care and seriousness.
History of the World, Part I (1981)
This was the second half of the Saturday afternoon double feature with Young Frankenstein. I first saw History of the World, Part I 40 years ago during a Canadian Jewish Congress sponsored camping weekend outside Peterborough, Ontario. It was the same program which would culminate in my only trip to Israel two years later.
To give you an idea how well received History of the World, Part I was received, we watched it on two consecutive nights, and the second viewing was just as funny as the first. Early in the film there is a depiction of Sid Caesar dropping a stone on a young man's foot and he reacts by wailing. Immediately after this scene I exclaimed, "And this is how heavy metal was invented," to a big laugh. It was one of the first times I ever remember people laughing with me than at me. So, I did it again the following night. They laughed with me again.
History of the World, Part I was also popular in the Goldstein household. The film culminates with the early days of the French Revolution. In this vignette, Mel Brooks portrays both Louis XVI and Jacques, the piss boy. In the years which followed, if I ever found myself in an undignified position in a work setting, I would tell my family that I was the "piss boy". During my unpleasant two months with soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, I referred to myself as the "parliamentary piss boy".
Needless to say, History of the World, Part I holds a special place in my heart. Yet I was disappointed by the audience reaction to this film compared with both Young Frankenstein and The Producers. Perhaps they were uncomfortable with Dom DeLuise uttering "faggot" during his portrayal of Emperor Nero in the Roman Empire vignette. Or maybe they didn't like it when Mel Brooks would say "It's good to be the king!" after Louis XVI would make advances at various young, well-endowed women.
I must admit that in a world of resurgent anti-Semitism, I did feel a tad uneasy with the musical number during the Spanish Inquisition sequence. There is always the risk of minimizing the suffering Jews endured. On the other hand, our ability to laugh even in the darkest of times has helped ensure our survival.
Of course, certain actors will get a warm reception no matter what. In the case of History of the World, Part I this would apply to both Madeline Kahn as Empress Nympho during the Roman Empire skit and Harvey Korman as the Count de Monet (a.k.a. Count the Money) in the French Revolution skit.
I suspect that most people prefer both Young Frankenstein and The Producers in higher regard than History of the World, Part I. But for me, History of the World, Part I is second only to Blazing Saddles amongst Mel Brooks' filmography.
The Producers (1967)
Fast forward to today which marked the first time I had seen The Producers in almost 25 years. I previously viewed it at the Harvard Film Archive which is situated less than a mile away from The Brattle. At the time I saw the film at the Harvard Film Archive, it had been revived on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick playing Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, respectively. The Broadway production of The Producers would win 12 Tony Awards. Of course, Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder would play these roles in the film version.
Aside from the film's basic plot, I did not remember much of the actual story. The one thing I clearly remember from that screening was how big a reception Gene Wilder got when he showed up on the silver screen. Today wasn't that much different. There is simply something about Wilder's manic charisma which transcends generations.
The film's basic plot has Bloom, a young high-strung accountant, join forces with failed Broadway producer Bialystock to produce a Broadway flop as they are convinced it will make them more money than a hit. In order to guarantee this outcome, they produce the most offensive play they can find - "Springtime for Hitler" written by an ex-Nazi soldier Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars). Bialystock and Bloom's plan backfires when "Springtime for Hitler" becomes a hit after L.S.D. (Dick Shawn) portrays Hitler as a stoner.
As with the Spanish Inquisition scene in History of the World, Part I, I do have some unease with "Springtime for Hitler". Yes, Brooks is mocking the Nazis just as he mocked racism in Blazing Saddles and anti-Semitism in History of the World, Part I. Yet what struck me was Franz Liebkind's monologue comparing Hitler and Churchill:
Nobody ever said a bad word about Winston Churchill, did they? No! "Win with Winnie!" Churchill! With his cigars. With his brandy. And his rotten painting, rotten! Hitler, there was a painter. He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon! Two coats!
This monologue is as funny now as it was nearly 60 years ago. The difference now is that there is a critical mass of people who believe Churchill was the bad guy in WWII and this narrative is being legitimized by the likes of Tucker Carlson.
Don't get me wrong. The Producers is a funny film. I'm only afraid of those who view the Nazis as the good guys having the last laugh.
Whatever my fears, Mostel, Wilder, Mars and Shawn deliver manic performances which continue to evoke manic laughter. The foundation of these manic performances was Mel Brooks' screenplay which would earn him an Oscar.
Epilogue
It is delightful that Mel Brooks made it to 100. Perhaps he will live long enough to become the 2,000-Year-Old Man after all. G-d willing!!!
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