One of the most creative minds in the entertainment industry, Mel Brooks has achieved more than most in his career: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Producer, actor, writer, composer—no matter what title you give him, the one that fits the man best is comedian. He’s a master of humor, and he’s given us some of the best comedies in cinema. And with them, some of the best comedic characters. They’re set in a literal world where witty jokes are the norm; participating in a comical, open storyline that’s comfortably devoid of mind-blowing plot twists. Everything about a Mel Brooks movie is straightforward and to the point, and so are his characters. Personally, I think that’s what makes them so successful. What you see is what you get. You don’t have to delve deep into their psyche to understand who they are; it’s quite clear on the surface.
This list is made up of My Top 5 Mel Brooks Characters. These are the ones that are most memorable to me because of their quirks. There’s no such thing as a normal Mel Brooks character, and if he ever made one we probably wouldn’t like him very much. Now, you may notice that the list is lacking females. Sadly, the more memorable characters for me are not women. That’s not to say the women in his movies are not funny. They’re a scream, but they don’t always stand out as much, in my opinion. Although, if I had to pick a 6th, it would probably be Princess Vespa from Spaceballs.
#5. Igor (Young Frankenstein)
The classic horror story Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley is responsible for creating more than one modern-day horror character stereotype—the evil scientist/mad doctor and his creation, the damned monster, and the deformed assistant. But in Young Frankenstein (1974), based closely on the original Shelley character by the same name (but pronounced as “ahy-gohr”), Igor (Marty Feldman) steals the show. Swathed in a black cloak, hunchbacked and ugly as sin, with black, beady eyes that never face the same direction—physically he’s everything we expect. It’s when he opens his mouth that we realize he’s not the normal assistant. He’s not as moronic as the original character, for one thing. He can speak in complete sentences and without a growly accent. Don’t mistake his having some smarts as him being normal, though. He’s still very insane. Even more so, however, is his attitude towards his master, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder), and… well, everything else. Where the original Igor was mentally retarded and seemingly intimidated by the Doctor’s intelligence, “Ahy-gore” is so far from intimidated that he has no problem mocking Frederick (pronounced FROH-dur-ik) as much as he can.
#4. Jim “The Waco Kid” (Blazing Saddles)
Let me start off by saying I’m not the biggest Gene Wilder fan. He’s a talented guy, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something about him that just doesn’t work for me (it might be his voice, but that’s another topic for another day). But that only goes to show you how great Brooks is at creating and directing his characters, because Jim is one of my favorites. He’s a washed-up old gunfighter with more booze in his veins than blood. Having an illustrious career as “The Waco Kid,” the fastest draw in the west, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, it seems. He recalls how many lives he’s taken and comments, “I must’ve killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille.” His constant remorse over the actions earning him his reputation is part of his motivation for helping the town full of Johnsons keep their land from greedy hands. Luckily, that guilt-fueled alcoholism didn’t destroy his sense of humor, because he’s responsible for some of the funniest lines in the movie. Yeah, they’re mostly racist ones (this movie isn’t exactly PC), but I think Jim deserves some credit for being the only white character in the entire movie that is neither scared of, nor angry towards the new black sheriff Bart (Cleavon Little). In that way, this classic old west gunfighter is ahead of his time.
#3. Blinkin (Robin Hood: Men in Tights)
Manservant to the Loxleys, Blinkin (Mark Blankfield) is dedicated to his job and loyal to his masters. So much so that he doesn’t let a little thing like being blind stop him from doing his job for the last Loxley left, the noble Sir Robin (Cary Elwes). Even when the Loxley home is repo’ed and Robin is destitute, Blinkin continues to attend his young master. He becomes an outlaw, one of Robin’s original Merry Men, and does everything he can (and technically can’t: like taking the night watch), stealing from the rich for the benefit of the poor. So he can’t see? So what! He’ll leap into battle swinging his sword like any other man. No matter that he’s fighting a pole and not a soldier. He’s involved! In fact, Blinkin’s disregard for his handicap seems to be, at times, like a blind spot (pun not intended but enjoyed). It’s as if he doesn’t realize that his being blind is a problem. Admirable, but it’s clearly something of a problem for the other Merry Men—accidentally punching Little John (Eric Allan Kramer), grabbing Ahchoo’s (Dave Chappelle) bits instead of shaking his hand—but none of them speak out against him. Why? Because faithful, selfless Blinkin is trying, dammit! And that’s good enough for them.
#2. Count Dracula (Dracula Dead and Loving It)
It’s been a while since I saw this movie, but it’s stuck with me for so many reasons, not least of which is Leslie Neilsen’s portrayal of the infamous vampire, Count Dracula. Since his literary creation by author Bram Stoker, there are so many different interpretations of Dracula in literature, films, TV, etc. Like the characters of Frankenstein, he’s a stereotype that most, if not all vampires in horror today are based on. And almost version of the Count depicts him as a charming but ruthless monster, wearing the face and demeanor of a man in order to feed on the living for sustenance. Well, in Dracula Dead and Loving It (1995) some of that stays true, but there are lots of things that don’t follow the vampire handbook to the T. This movie was the first time in my life I saw a completely different kind of Count. Dracula is charming (I mean, he’d have to be to have three wives, right?) and has no shame flirting with the ward of the Seward household, young Lucy (Lysette Anthony). And he could still be considered ruthless, seeing as he openly using hypnotism to gain a manservant in the prim solicitor Thomas Renfield (Peter MacNicol) and feeds on defenseless women in their own backyard. But this Dracula is not as terrifying as his previous portrayals, all of which made him a confident predator. He’s far from infallible, having to constantly clean up after Renfield’s mistakes or his own bumbling. My favorite example of his clumsiness is when he slips on wet bat poop and falls inelegantly down the stairs of his castle. He’s the most human interpretation of Count Dracula there is and it works so well in this world of Brooks’s.
#1. Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)
When making a list of pure evil, Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) from Star Wars (1977) is bound to end up pretty high on that list. So you’d think that as an obvious parody of the sci-fi villain, Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) would also end up on that list, right? In Spaceballs (1987), Lord Dark Helmet, so named because of his ridiculously oversized black Vader-like helmet, is the dastardly henchman of President Scroob (Mel Brooks), leader of Planet Spaceball. He’s a bad guy, all right, but he’s far from fearsome. Like any great Brooks character, he screws up left and right, and blames it on everyone but himself. What makes Helmet such a hilarious character is what a reverse he is to the evil Darth Vader he’s based on. Where Vader is tall, commanding, and powerful, Helmet is a short, skinny nerd. When his mask is down he speaks in with authority, but when we see his face his tone becomes whiney, matching his wimpy appearance. He curses off his right hand man, Colonel Sandurz (George Wyner) and punishes his insubordinates by setting a schwartz laser on their manly bits. Then, when no one is watching he plays with his dolls, acting out a scene where he beats Lonestar (Bill Pullman) and earns Vespa’s (Daphne Zuniga) attentions because, as he puts it, “Druish princesses are often attracted to money and power, and I have BOTH! And YOU KNOW IT!” So really, when you take everything into account, Dark Helmet is just a scraggly nerd who plays with dolls to cope with loneliness, while relying on excessive force and a false bravado in order to hide his numerous insecurities (sounds more like Anakin from the prequel trilogy, am I right?). So it’s no wonder the poor guy will never end up on a list of pure evil. He’s still my number 1, though.
