Our ‘Young Frankenstein’ Quiz is a Roll in Ze Hay

Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) demands the odd pronunciation of his name as a way to distance himself from the work of his grandfather, Victor Frankenstein, the mad scientist who gained infamy decades earlier for his experiments involving the reanimation of dead tissue. In response, his servant Igor (Marty Feldman), the grandson of the original Dr. Frankenstein’s servant, sarcastically asks if the good doctor also goes by “Froderick” while also claiming that his own name is now pronounced “Eyegor.”

Brooks, who was at the height of his creative powers in the 1970s, scored a massive hit earlier in the year with his raunchy Western satire  Blazing Saddles. (Incidentally, Gene Wilder sketched out the initial concept for  Young Frankenstein while shooting scenes for  Blazing Saddles in 1973.)

When Frankenstein and Igor meet at the train station, Igor tells the doctor to “walk this way,” seemingly indicating the direction they should go. But actually, Igor wants Frankenstein to mimic the way he’s walking — hunched over and using a small cane. As they've explained in interviews, the gag helped Aerosmith get unstuck during the songwriting process for their 1975 album “Toys in the Attic.” The result was  "Walk This Way," a song that hit the Top 10 on the “Billboard” Hot 100 twice — once in 1977 and again in 1986, as a collaboration with rap group Run DMC.

One of the film’s (many) running gags involves Igor’s hump arbitrarily moving from left to right. When Dr. Frankenstein notices the hump the first time, Igor deadpans: “What hump?”

The Broadway production premiered in November 2007 and ran for 484 performances. It was nominated for three Tony Awards.