The death of Hollywood icon Gene Wilder last week was felt throughout the film world, and dozens of theaters honored the late actor’s legacy by bringing two of his most famous films, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Blazing Saddles, back to the big screen for a brief time. The celebration of Wilder’s work isn’t ending there, as Fathom Events is also bringing Wilder’s 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein back to theaters for a single screening that will feature a live introduction from director Mel Brooks.
The screening is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 5, and will kick off with a special, live introduction from Brooks that will be filmed on the 20th Century Fox backlot.
First released in December 1974, Young Frankenstein is a loving parody of classic horror films that casts Wilder as a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein who returns to his ancestral home in Transylvania after inheriting the family estate. After discovering the secret entrance to Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory, he becomes obsessed with his ancestor’s work, and eventually decides to pick up where the notorious Dr. Frankenstein left off in his attempts to reanimate the dead.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest comedies ever made, Young Frankenstein was directed by Brooks from a script co-written by Brooks and Wilder. The black-and-white film was made for less than $3 million and has grossed more than $86 million, and was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2003 after being deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” by the United States National Film Preservation Board. Brooks has long considered it his greatest film as a director and writer.
Along with Wilder, the film’s cast also includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, and Gene Hackman.
Tickets are available now for the Young Frankenstein screening at the Fathom Events website, where fans can find participating theater locations.
