Movies by year: 1974

(Avast: here be spoilers, be ye warned!)

We're up to 1974 now, and I had to ponder a bit before deciding what film to share with you. Albert Finney starred as Hercule Poirot in Murder On The Orient Express, which was delightful, and The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three answered the question 'is it possible to take the passengers of a subway car hostage?’ (hint: YES) – but in the end I decided on:

Young Frankenstein

Classic Mel Brooks! Hot on the heels of Blazing Saddles, he tapped Gene Wilder again to play the grandson of the mad scientist Victor Frankenstein. He's terribly embarrassed to be related to such a lunatic, and constantly corrects people's pronunciation of his last name ("It's Frahnk-en-steen"), but when he inherits the old man's castle and laboratory he finds himself drawn to his grandfather's journals and eventually succumbs to the temptation to recreate the famous experiments. Co-starring Teri Garr, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn and the amazing Peter Boyle, it's truly one of the funniest movies ever made, simultaneously a loving homage and perfect parody of the monster movies of the 30s, in gorgeous black-and-white. Tell me you don't have Putting On The Ritz stuck in your head or have the urge to take a roll in the hay after you've seen this. I won't believe you.

So what do you think, good choice? What's your favourite Mel Brooks movie?