
Warner Bros.
I remember distinctly that the only times I had ever seen or even heard of Mel Brooks prior to 1974’s Blazing Saddles was when he appeared on the TV game show, Hollywood Squares. On that show, he was loud and funny, but I had no idea why he was a celebrity. I was 15 when the R-rated Blazing Saddles was released in theaters but I convinced my mom to take me so I could finally find out who this Brooks guy was.
I found out.
Cut to 50 years later and after half a century of considering Blazing Saddles to be one of the funniest movies ever made, I’m actually working (slowly) on a book to be entitled Saddle Sores, An Annotated Guide to the Humor of Blazing Saddles.
The movie is a favorite with YouTube “reactors,” who are always led to believe that “They could never make Blazing Saddles today!”
That’s true, of course, but not for the reasons they think. My biggest problem with all of the reactions, though, is that they miss so many of the best jokes, gags, and references!
If you’ve seen Blazing Saddles, you probably already know how great it is, although I have encountered a few folks who don’t care for it. I’ve long since lost track of how many times I’ve seen it but I never pass up the opportunity to watch it again and there are still sometimes gags that I get that I had never gotten before!
Although Brooks and his associates masked it as a flat-out zany comedy, and it’s often accused of rampant racism, in actuality the movie is first and foremost an ANTI-RACISM tract. The humor is there to get your attention but, just as in TV’s All in the Family, the ultimate goal is to show how ridiculous prejudice is. You hear the dreaded “N-word” a lot in the picture, but people forget, it was heard on TV fairly often back then, too!
The story is simple.
A black man about to be hanged is appointed the new sheriff of a town in the Old West as part of a plan for corrupt politicians to make money when the railroad comes through. Although the townspeople initially protest the choice, going so far as to threaten him, he becomes their last hope when the outlaws attack. Now that could work as an actual western plot, couldn’t it?
Then toss in anachronistic gags about Gucci, the Count Basie Orchestra, Jesse Owens, Laurel and Hardy, Hedy Lamarr, Hitler, Looney Tunes, and Howard Johnson’s, as well as just plain breaking the fourth wall multiple times—literally in one case—and it becomes something unique.
Warner Bros. reportedly turned down credited co-writer Richard Pryor for the lead, settling instead on lanky, handsome Cleavon Little. Mainly known as a Broadway star, he had only been in a couple of films to date but was at that time starring in a TV comedy called Temperature’s Rising. He is so perfectly cast for the style of humor that it’s hard to imagine anyone could have played the role of Sherriff Bart any better.
Gene Wilder, who had worked for Mel in The Producers six years earlier, came on board as Bart’s eventual sidekick, The Waco Kid, after John Wayne turned it down, Gig Young was fired, and Dan Dailey didn’t work out. It was odd casting considering what they clearly had hoped for but the pair turned out to have great on-screen chemistry.
If anyone could be said to steal the show, though, it’s Harvey Korman. Best remembered as the highly regarded straight man to Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, and Danny Kaye, Harvey’s role as the heartless villain in Blazing Saddles allows him to truly shine on his own for the first—and really only—time.
There are so many other recognizable actors, from Madeline Kahn and Alex Karras to John Hillerman, Dom Deluise, to Slim Pickens and even Mel Brooks himself in two (actually, THREE) roles.
Extras include Mel Brooks commentary, featurettes, and additional scenes.
Could Blazing Saddles be made today?
Absolutely not, but that’s only because it was that once-in-a-lifetime perfect storm of scripting, casting, performance, and directing. Even Brooks, as much fun as many of his other films have been, was never really able to duplicate the anarchic, sophomoric, yet intelligent and socially relevant insanity that was Blazing Saddles.
Booksteve recommends.


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