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Young Frankenstein |
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ictor Frankenstein, infamous for his disastrous attempts at human reanimation, is a relative whom young Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced Fronkensteen) wishes he didn’t have. When Frederick, an aspiring neural scientist, learns that he has inherited the family fortune in Transylvania, he reluctantly travels to the family castle, where his true destiny awaits—to complete the work begun by his mad ancestor—to create life!
With the help of his faithful servant, Igor (appropriately pronounced Eye-gore and played by the quirky Marty Feldman), and his assistant Inga (played by the lovely Teri Garr), Frederick (Gene Wilder) discovers his great-grandfather’s secret library. Together they reanimate the body of a dead criminal (Peter Boyle.)
There have been many film adaptations of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, but it is argued, despite the fact that it is a comedic send-up, that Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein is one of the best. Blended in with the well-known Brooksian brand of humor are most of the key principles and concepts of the novel and the best of the serious film adaptations, albeit taken to the point of farce.
To evoke the feel of Universal Studios’ 1931 film, Brooks shot his film in black and white, using the original laboratory equipment used in that classic movie. Sideshow Toy presents a trio of action figures from the film—12” Frederick, Igor and the Monster. The figures are painted and decorated completely in black and white, to mimic the film’s format.
Frederick is dressed in surgical scrubs, and has a surgical mask, scalpel, stethoscope, goggles and a journal: "How I Did It—By Victor Frankenstein." Igor is dressed entirely in black, with strange bulges in his limbs, a hood, cape and a human brain in a bell jar, a studded waist-pouch, a ram’s horn trumpet and his short walking stick. The Monster comes with a bowl, a smashed mug, flowers, manacles and an extra hand holding a cigar and whose thumb is on fire.
Monstrously good likenesses
For the past few years, Sideshow Toy has specialized in toys based on entertainment licenses. Its 12" licensed figures have been top-notch so far, often surpassing all other companies’ efforts, with each figure having a boasted 20 points of articulation.
In this set, the weakest entry is the Monster, with stiff neck movement, no wrist or ankle articulation, and each stud-soled boot forming part of his lower leg. However, to make up for this, he has a replacement arm that recalls the scene in the blind beggar’s shack where, attempting to light a cigar, the beggar lights the monster’s thumb instead.
Frederick is a very good figure. His face has Wilder’s crazed look when he makes his mad attempt to reanimate the monster. While he has more than the advertised 20 articulation points, the ankles are slightly weak and loose. Though they move in many directions, the joints are not strong, making standing him up a delicate balancing act.
The star of this trio is Igor, featuring an excellent costume and excellent articulation, beginning with a head and wrists that can tilt at just about any angle. And because he’s wearing ankle boots instead of dress shoes, his ankles have much better support than Frederick. He can bend into any position, and can easily perform his walking-stick scene. ("Walk this way.")
Igor is not perfect, however. He is missing his moveable hump, a key point of comedy throughout the picture. He also comes with a brain that is sadly missing a sticker saying "Do not use this brain—ABNORMAL!" Easy to remedy, though, for anyone with a marker and a piece of masking tape.
Considering the quality of the line, the attention to tiny details and the incredible popularity of this film, Sideshow may have a hit on its hands.
I can’t say enough about Igor. Not only is he an accurate version of the film character, including a note scrawled on his hand to remind him he is supposed to retrieve the brain of H. Delbruck, he makes excellent fodder for kitbashers and customizers like me. With his excellent outfit and his maniacal grin, consider for a moment how he would look as an updated Goblin to a 12" Spider-Man! Too bad there is no Inga, though, but one can always hold out hope for future figures to come! — Sean
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