Young Frankenstein - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[tom]

A couple who are talking on the train near the beginning of the film are having the same conversation in English, then in German.

[riley]

According to her autobiography, "Shirley, I Jest", Cindy Williams was cast as Elizabeth for a while. Madeline Kahn was originally cast as Elizabeth, and then she started having a scheduling conflict with another movie she was filming and had to bow out. So Williams, who had also auditioned for Elizabeth, stepped in and took over the role for awhile. Then Kahn's schedule cleared up, Mel Brooks fired Williams and replaced her with Kahn.

[wesley]

Mel Brooks initially thought that the "Walk this way" gag was too corny and wanted it cut from the film. But when he saw the audience's reaction to it one night at a screening, he decided to leave it in.

[claude]

It's been rumored for many years that the scene where Frederick accidentally stabs himself with a scalpel wasn't in the script, and that Gene Wilder accidentally did it for real, but continued the scene. This is false. In fact, if you look closely enough, you can see the square patch under Wilder's pant leg which the scalpel was meant to stab.