Rylander Theatre to host Mel Brooks night

AMERICUS — Two classic comedies by Mel Brooks — “History of the World, Part 1” and “Young Frankenstein” — are on the double-feature bill for a special movie night Saturday at the downtown Rylander Theatre.

The screening of “Young Frankenstein” during what is being called “Mel Brooks Movie Night” will come a week and a half after the star of the 1974 film, Gene Wilder, who appeared in several of Brooks’ comedies, died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

Heather Stanley said the plan for the twin-bill had been in the works for some time.

“Mel Brooks had been the plan all along,” she said. “We have had these booked for a while. We just weren’t sure which features we’d get the licensing for.”

The evening will start with “History” showing at 7 p.m. Following a brief intermission, “Young Frankenstein” will start around 9 p.m. Tickets for the pair are $15 or $10 for one of the films. The event is eligible for complimentary tickets for members of Friends of the Rylander.

Stanley said the two films, each set in a historical context, are typical of Brooks’ broad and often bawdy style of comedy. Organizers of the event remind theater-goers that each film is rated R.

“We just want to let people know that Mel Brooks movies do contain adult situations and language,” Stanley noted.

“History of the World, Part 1” is a comedic attempt to sum up world events from the dawn of mankind in the Old Testament to the French Revolution through a series of vignettes. Brooks plays several roles, including Moses, in a cast that includes Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Gregory Hines and Sid Caesar, with Orson Welles narrating.

“Young Frankenstein,” meanwhile, is presented in black and white, the style of old horror movies. Wilder portrays the grandson of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a man who has taken to changing the pronunciation of his name to put distance between himself and his mad scientist grandfather before he creates his own monster, played by the late Peter Boyle. Other cast members include Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Gene Hackman, Leachman, Kahn and Brooks.

Stanley said she is planning more movie nights at the Rylander. Next month, she wants to get the community into the “spirit” of Halloween with the help of the theater’s Moller organ, a 1928 instrument that is one of only three theater pipe organs in Georgia theaters.

“We’re hoping for our October event to have a silent horror film that has live accompaniment on our wonderful Moller pipe organ,” she said.

The film will depend on the organist and his or her repertoire.

“We have done ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ with live accompaniment before,” Stanley said.

Tickets for Saturday’s double feature are available online at rylander.org. Tickets for one of the two movies must be purchased directly through the Rylander box office, which is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.