ADSactly Comedy: Mel Brooks
Hello dear @adsactly readers,
Here we are again with another post in our comedy history series. Thinking about who should come after ‘The Goons’, I struggled to come up with a figure from roughly the same period in time and who was more or less as big as the people we’ve talked about before. And it took me a while, but it finally hit me in the end – Mel Brooks.
Sure, we’re crossing the pond for this one, but you guys don’t mind, do you?
The reason Mel Brooks popped into my head was that when Monty Python did ‘The Holy Grail’ (I think), they got in terrible trouble with Mel Brooks because he said they stole his idea, which wasn’t true, obviously. But still, an interesting connection, I would say, between two of the greatest comedy acts in history.
Like with many great comedic minds, Mel Brooks’ irreverent wit and inane funniness came at a great price – his father died of kidney failure at the tender age of 34, when Brooks (nee Marvin Kaminsky) was only two years old. As a child, he was weak and sickly and frequently bullied by his peers.
Brooks, who changed his name as a teenager, sought refuge in comedy and worked as an entertainer in his youth.
He also served in the army, briefly, during World War II. He worked to defuse bombs and also helped put on shows for servicemen, as did the Goons, whom we talked about in our last post.
Given that at present, Mel Brooks is ninety-two years old and his career has spanned over seventy years, we will not go into the specifics and the actual chronology of it. Rather, I thought it would be interesting to think back to some of his most memorable films.
What set Brooks’ comedy apart was its snarkiness, the satire and the cruelty of his humor. His film, particularly those with a historical background were funny, but were also biting commentaries on the recent and not so recent past of the human race. And while that’s something he shares with Monty Python, the satire skillfully combined with comedy, I do feel that Mel Brooks’ work was more… real, tougher, in a way.
It’s also interesting to understand how Mel Brooks’ films parodied other popular genres at the time. As someone who didn’t grow up in that era and didn’t actually see the films being parodied, Brooks’ stuff certainly offers a view into a time gone by.
1. The History of the World Pt. I
Brooks as a waiter at the Last Supper src
This is my personal favorite, which is why we’ll start with it. The film mocked the “trendy” period costume dramas and historical films that were so popular back in the day.
It consists of four main parts, the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution.
In-between, there are skits, such as the Old Testament, where Moses is seen coming down the mountain with three tablets (fifteen commandments) but drops one, cutting them down to ten commandments.
Then, there is the infamous Spanish Inquisition musical scene, which I will leave you to enjoy below, in its entirety.
And then, there is the hilarious French Revolution, featuring appearances by King Louis XVI, a sex-maniac who tries to sleep with every noble woman at court, including a young lady pleading for her senile father to be let out of jail. With Mel Brooks himself as the King, the young lady in question played by the talented comedy actress Pamela Stephenson and the father none other than Spike Milligan himself, hilarity ensues.
At the end of the film, we see a preview for a Part II that sadly never happened, but would have featured World War II and Hitler, a parody of Star Wars and a Viking funeral. It’s believed that the second part was not released on purpose, as the whole film is a reference to Sir Walter Raleigh, who wrote The History of the World, while in prison, but only the first part, as he was beheaded before he could write the second.
2. Young Frankenstein
Another Brooks classic, this one is a re-imagining of old horror movies, particularly the 1931 version of Frankenstein. It features a stellar cast, with legendary Gene Wilder as the grandson of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein, Madeline Kahn as his fiancee and the inimitable Marty Feldman as Igor, his henchman.
Even if you’re not a fan of old-school horror films, this one is definitely a great watch, as it doesn’t so much focus on the story itself, but on the timing of the gags, which really stay with you long after the movie has ended.
It’s considered by many Mel Brooks’ best work.
3. Blazing Saddles
Incredibly, also considered one of his best movies, ‘Blazing Saddles’ was released in the same year as ‘Young Frankenstein, 1974. And I’d like to just take a moment to appreciate how prolific Mel Brooks was. Wow.
Basically, ‘Blazing Saddles’ tells the story of a black sheriff (played by Cleavon Little) who arrives in a small cowboy town, that is definitely not ready to receive him. Once again, it’s a comedy, but a ‘real’ comedy, and amid gags and puns and innuendos, it deals with very real subjects, such as the obvious racism of Hollywood cowboy movies at that time.
The town is hostile toward the new sheriff and he only seems to find a friend in an alcoholic gunslinger, by the name of Waco Kid, brilliantly played by Gene Wilder.
My favorite part is when, towards the end of the movie, a fight ensues between railroad immigrant workers and the townsfolk, and Brooks just decides to break the fourth wall, as the fight spills unto a neighboring set. And, running away from the fight, Hedley Lamarr (the main villain of the film) hides inside a cinema showing the premiere of ‘Blazing Saddles’. It’s a deliriously funny movie and only goes to show just how brilliant Mel Brooks is.
4. Robin Hood: Men in Tights
As with many on Brooks’ films, ‘Men in Tights’ is subjective and usually regarded from two extremes – you either love it or hate it. I’ve heard many call it one of his worst films, but I personally think it’s great, so here goes.
Obviously, the film is a parody of the classic Robin Hood movies. It features a similar plot, but riddled with jokes and jabs at the original plot. A scene toward the end, where the evil Sheriff seeks to bed the lovely Lady Marion, but is stopped by her chastity belt particularly comes to mind.
Oh, and it contains a ‘Blazing Saddles’ reference, once again screwing with the fourth wall. When Ahchoo (the son of Robin Hood’s friend, Asneeze) becomes sheriff, the townspeople protest having a black sheriff, to which Ahchoo replies ‘It worked in Blazing Saddles’.
5. The Producers
It feels impossible to talk of Mel Brooks and not mention the film that made his career and marked his debut on the big screen – 1967’s ‘The Producers’. It’s a musical comedy that tells the story of a Broadway producer, who once mingled with the crème de la crème of Hollywood, but now is reduced to an aging, washed-up nobody.
Arriving at his office to audit his company, nervous accountant Leo Bloom (played by an impossibly young Gene Wilder) hatches a plan, realizing that a producer would make a lot more money by producing a sure-fire flop and overselling shares in the production, than by actually making a hit movie.
Obviously, the two set about producing a tasteless musical about the happy home life of Adolf Hitler, where the main song is entitled ‘Springtime for Hitler’. Eventually, the two land in prison and produce an even worse musical, ‘Prisoners of Love’.
Some honorable mentions of Mel Brooks movies would be ‘Spaceballs’, another fan favorite, and a satire after the Star Wars Trilogy; ‘High Anxiety’, a jab at the notorious Alfred Hitchcock suspense films and ‘Dracula: Dead and Loving It’, a spoof on the classical 1931 Dracula, as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’.
Something that stands out in Mel Brooks films is how much he managed to do himself. For most of his movies, he wrote the scripts, directed and produced, as well as starred in many of them, no easy feat, I’m sure.
I hope this post has opened your eyes to a comedy mastermind and perhaps, one of these movies will give you a laugh.
Authored by @honeydue
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My favorite Mel Brooks film only for an honorable mention? Spaceballs is a classic! I watched it again with my wife recently and was a little embarrassed. Mel has mastered the "awkward moments" shtick.
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I'm glad you dedicated a post to Mel Brooks, @honeydue. I knew some of his creations before Monty Python's, maybe that's why it was easier for me to appreciate the group's work. From the first moment I was pleasantly surprised by Brooks' critical and ironic intelligence (between mockery and sarcasm). His irreverent parodies, his metafictional or self-referential play, his genius nonsense, I liked very much. I remember with particular pleasure the films (I'm going to give the titles with which I saw them in Spanish) The young Frankenstein, The last madness of Mel Brooks, The crazy history of the world. It's been a long time since I've seen your films; I couldn't enjoy the latest ones.
Thanks for your great post, @honeydue. Greetings.
Without a doubt, Mel Brooks is one of the greatest in comedy! Not only as an actor, but also as a writer and director. I will always remember Spaceballs (known as S.O.S. Hay un Loco Suelto) directed, written and acted by him, and where he parodied the Star Wars saga. Although I think his Super Agent 86 is one of the series that catapulted him and made him famous in the new generations. An intelligent and brilliant comedian. Thanks for this post, @honeydue.
A great genius indeed. I regret I have not watched all the classics you mention here.
I have to find those and watch them now.
I did grow up watching Get Smart, my first and best source of information about the cold war and the bizarre intrigues of global politics. :)
I think that we in dire need of high quality parodies. The scary-movie-type have become about the only commercial ones and they are well beneath the dignity of criticism.
@honeydue, History is evident that when it comes to Cinema or big event performances the points of cheating is arised.
It's truth or not don't know but that Mark remains there. Stay blessed.
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