David Bianculli

This is Fresh Air.

I'm David Bianculli.

In 1974, Mel Brooks directed and co-wrote one of the greatest film genre parodies in movie history.

Actually, two of them.

Blazing Saddles, his Western parody, came out in February of that year.

And in December, Young Frankenstein premiered, brilliantly lampooning and celebrating horror movies in general and James Whale's 1930s Frankenstein movies in particular.

Because until December, it's still technically the 50th anniversary year of that monster movie comedy.

And because today is Halloween, we decided it would be a Halloween treat to devote today's show to young Frankenstein.

Before that film, writer-director Mel Brooks already had cast Gene Wilder in two of his best comedies, The Producers and Blazing Saddles.

While filming that latter movie with Brooks, Gene Wilder started sketching out an idea for a movie of his own.

It was a comic version of Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein, conceived to have him play the starring role as the grandson of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein.

Wilder asked Brooks to co-write and direct it, and they began work on it immediately.

Young Frankenstein was shot in black and white, and Brooks was so faithful to the pace and look of Wales' original films, he even tracked down and used the original lab equipment from the Frankenstein movies.

He also assembled an astounding cast in support of Gene Wilder.

Two previous Oscar winners, Cloris Leachman and Gene Hackman, eagerly accepted minor roles.

And also in the cast were Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Terry Garr, and Marty Feldman.

In an early scene, Wilder, as the scientist's grandson, is met at the Transylvania train station by his future lab assistant, played by Feldman.

Dr. Frankenstein.

On today's show, we'll listen to archive interviews featuring Gene Wilder, Terry Garr, Cloris Leachman, Peter Boyle, and Mel Brooks himself.

We'll start with Gene Wilder, who spoke with Terry Gross in 2005.