A Fresh Air interview with Mel Brooks the other day played the sound from the “Puttin on the Ritz” segment in Young Frankenstein. I thought I’d better share that segment.
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When Brooks is on he’s really on but when he’s off he’s really off. “Spaceballs”, “Silent Movie” and “History of the World Part I” were really off. However I thought “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” was a much better movie than the one it parodied, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”. “Blazing Saddles” and “The Producers” were excellent movies. But IMNSHO Brooks’ masterpiece is “Young Frankenstein’. It is a funny movie!
Yes. Brooks can be tedious, and not seldom. But when he’s good he’s good.
Mind you, he said this item was Gene Wilder’s idea! He resisted it. So, really, credit for this goes mostly to Wilder. Brooks mentioned that he thanked Wilder three times when he got the best pic Oscar, for a reason.
The first time I saw this scene, I had to run from the theatre to the bathrooms, because I didn’t want to wet my seat as well as my pants. When the monster first sings “pu-ah-ah-tha-reeeesss”, I totally lost it.
Thanks for the remembered laughs. 🙂
To my eternal disgrace, I got the song reference from the title of the post – and I didn’t recall the movie at all! We used to play Manhattan Transfer a cappella in the military … it kinda stuck. But they were a great quartet, until the pretty one got hit by a tram or something. Brilliant, they were.
Funny though, I do recall when Aigor tells the young doctor “Walk this way”, meeting him at the station. Quirks of time and timing, I guess. Also ageing – did I mention that?
Caitie – I know, same here! And all over again hearing the audio the other day. Shrieks of uncontrollable laughter each time.
r – another that sticks in my mind is “My grandfather’s theories are doodoo!!”
Holy screaming shit. You have no idea how I burst blood vessels in my face laughing at this the first time I saw it. I cannot hear “super duper!” EVER without hearing that. Oh shit. . here it goes. .
Yes I do, because I was the same!!
For me it was “Pardon me, boy, is this the Transylvania station?”
I almost died of laughter, and it was even funnier because no one else in the whole audience got the joke. I’ve always suspected that Mel Brooks thought of that line, and made the whole movie so he could use it.
There’s also the delight that the old couple on the two trains are saying pretty much the same thing – only the second pair say it in German. 😀
I love this film, but its not this bit that gets me crying with laughter. For me it’s when the monster visits the blind man (Gene Hackman) and it all goes rather awry ending with the monsters thumb on fire waiting for it to “glow red”…. Every time 😀
Might not have caught that interview without your tip. Thanks. Was bowled over by the anecdotes about Hitchcock working on the High Anxiety script. Here’s another version of Puttin’ on the Ritz I didn’t know when you first posted this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VGItt9cCgc
Same here – the Hitchcock stuff was great. I loved the silent departure from the screening later followed by a delivery of many magnums of champagne of the rarest of all vintages.