Putting on the Ritz Young Frankenstein

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.

"Puttin' on the Ritz," an Irving Berlin number from 1929, was introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film of the same name— Puttin' on the Ritz. However, the most familiar film version is a song-and-dance routine by Fred Astaire in the 1946 movie Blue Skies, a movie that also starred Bing Crosby.

As such, the film is a parody of the horror film genre in general, being shot in black and white and using many techniques reminiscent of the 1930s filmmaking of the iconic Universal films. Young Frankenstein also references many of the other film adaptations and stage productions of Frankenstein.

Brooks co-wrote the movie with Wilder, directed it, and even provided some voices for it. (See 5 Things You Didn't Know About Young Frankenstein to learn which voices are his.) But he didn't act in it.