Mel Brooks’ best movie is the 1974...

Mel Brooks’ best movie is the 1974 horror spoof Young Frankenstein (HBO Thursday at 7 p.m.), starring Gene Wilder, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Gene Hackman (in an unbilled cameo as a blind hermit) and, as the monster, Peter Boyle, whose top hat and tails two-step with Wilder doing “Putting on the Ritz” is screamingly funny. (1:45)

Sometimes the elements in a comedy magically fuse and everything clicks. That’s the case with Ron Howard’s 1984 Splash (Disney Friday at 9 p.m.). It’s a mermaid comedy with a great mermaid, Daryl Hannah, and a cast which includes Tom Hanks and, in what remains his finest film work, John Candy. (1:51)