Young Frankenstein who, as Elizabeth did when abducted by the monster, sings the refrain "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life". After several box office failures (which included now-cult classics "The Producers" and "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory"), Gene Wilder finally hit box office success with a pivotal role in the 1972 Woody Allen film "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)". It was around that time that Wilder began toying around with an idea for an original story involving the grandson of Victor Frankenstein inheriting his grandfather's mansion and his research. Wilder had played around with
Literature in the 1970s such as those of Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, and J. R. R. Tolkien. By 1975, the independence and freedom themes evolved into the swinging singles scene, with "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" by Judith Rossner at number four on the fiction top ten list. Sex hit the top of the non-fiction charts in 1970, with authors taking advantage of the lifted censorship laws on literature in the sixties. "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)" by David Reuben, M.D. took the number one spot, winning out over The "New English Bible" at number two, a