Blazing Saddles

Plot

On the American frontier of 1874, a new railroad under construction will have to be rerouted through the town of Rock Ridge to avoid quicksand. Realizing this will make Rock Ridge worth millions, territorial attorney general Hedley Lamarr plans to force Rock Ridge's residents out of the town and sends a gang of thugs led by his henchman Taggart to shoot the sheriff and trash the town.

Not wanting to go with Reverend Johnson's suggestion to leave, the other prominent citizens named Johnson lead the other townspeople in demanding that Governor William J. Le Petomane appoint a new sheriff to protect them. Lamarr persuades dim-witted Le Petomane to appoint Bart, a black railroad worker about to be executed for assaulting Taggart. A black sheriff, Lamarr reasons, will offend the townspeople, create chaos and leave Rock Ridge at his mercy.

After an initial hostile reception in which he takes himself "hostage" to escape, Bart relies on his quick wits and the assistance of Jim, an alcoholic gunslinger known as the "Waco Kid", to overcome the townspeople's hostility. Bart subdues Mongo, an immensely strong and dim-witted, yet philosophical henchman sent to kill him, then outwits German seductress-for-hire Lili Von Shtupp at her own game, with Lili falling in love with him.

Upon release, Mongo vaguely informs Bart of Lamarr's connection to the railroad, so Bart and Jim visit the railroad worksite and discover from Bart's best friend Charlie that the railway is planned to go through Rock Ridge. Taggart and his men arrive to kill Bart, but Jim outshoots them and forces their retreat. Furious that his schemes have backfired, Lamarr has Taggart put out an ad for the enlistment of every criminal in the west. Answering the ad are a group of common criminals, motorcycle gangsters, Middle-eastern criminals on dromedaries, Nazi soldiers, and Ku Klux Klansmen.

East of Rock Ridge, Bart introduces the White townspeople to the Black, Chinese, and Irish railroad workers who have all agreed to help them in exchange for acceptance by the community, and explains his plan to defeat Lamarr's army. They labor all night to build a perfect copy of the town as a diversion. When Bart realizes it will not be enough to fool the villains, the townspeople construct copies of themselves.

Bart, Jim, and Mongo buy time by constructing a fake tollbooth in the raiders' path, forcing them to send for change to pay the toll. Once through the booth, the raiders attack the fake town and its population of dummies, which have been booby trapped with dynamite. After Jim detonates the explosives with his sharpshooting, launching the attackers skyward, the townspeople and workers attack the raiders as Lili sings with the Nazi soldiers.

The resulting brawl between townspeople, railroad workers, and Lamarr's thugs literally breaks the fourth wall and bursts onto a neighboring movie set where director Buddy Bizarre is filming a Busby Berkeley-style top-hat-and-tails musical number. The melee then extends into the studio commissary for a food fight and spills out of the Warner Bros. film lot onto the streets of Burbank, California.

Lamarr escapes the brawl and hails a taxi, instructing the cabbie, "Drive me off this picture!" He hides at Mann's Chinese Theatre, which is showing the premiere of Blazing Saddles. As he settles into his seat, he sees onscreen Bart arriving on horseback outside the theatre. Bart blocks Lamarr's escape and shoots him in the groin. Bart and Jim then enter the theater to watch the end of the film.

Back in the film, Bart announces to the townspeople that he is moving on because his work is done and he has grown bored with protecting them. Riding out of town, he finds Jim, still eating his popcorn, and invites him along to "nowhere special". The two friends briefly ride into the desert before dismounting and boarding a limousine which drives off into the sunset.

Cast

• Cleavon Little as Bart, a black railroad worker who becomes the sheriff in Rock Ridge
• Gene Wilder as Jim the Waco Kid, an alcoholic gunslinger who allies with Bart
• Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr, a crooked territorial attorney general who is frequently called Hedy Lamarr, much to his annoyance
• Slim Pickens as Taggart, a minion of Lamarr
• Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp, a German seductress-for-hire that Lamarr tries to use on Bart
• David Huddleston as Olson Johnson, a high-ranking prominent inhabitant of Rock Ridge
• Liam Dunn as Reverend Johnson, the reverend of Rock Ridge
• Alex Karras as Mongo, an immensely strong underling of Taggart who rides a zebu and sides with Bart
• John Hillerman as Howard Johnson, the owner of an ice cream parlor in Rock Ridge
• George Furth as Van Johnson, a barber in Rock Ridge who alerts Bart of Mongo's arrival and describes Mongo to him
• Claude Ennis Starrett Jr. as Gabby Johnson, Rock Ridge's resident town drunk
• Mel Brooks as:
  • Governor William J. Le Petomane, the governor of Rock Ridge's unspecified U.S. territory
  • A Yiddish-speaking Native American chief in Bart's backstory
  • Aviator Applicant, a nod to Howard Hughes that auditions to join Hedley's gang
  • Voice of German Dancer (uncredited)
  • Voice of Grouchy Moviegoer (uncredited)
• Carol Arthur as Harriett Johnson, a teacher who lives in Rock Ridge
• Richard Collier as Dr. Sam Johnson, a doctor who lives in Rock Ridge
• Charles McGregor as Charlie, the best friend of Bart
• Robyn Hilton as Miss Stein, the secretary of Governor Le Petomane
• Burton Gilliam as Lyle, a railroad supervisor who works for Lamarr and Taggart
• Dom DeLuise as Buddy Bizarre, a film director whose musical called French Mistake gets crashed by the brawling Blazing Saddles actors
• Count Basie as himself, he and his orchestra play "April in Paris" in the middle of the desert as Bart rides towards Rock Ridge to assume the post of sheriff
• Sally Kirkland as a studio commissary cashier (uncredited)
• Patrick Labyorteaux as Harry (uncredited)
• John Alderson as Gum Chewer (uncredited)
• Ralph Manza as Joey (uncredited), an actor in the studio commissary who is portraying Adolf Hitler.

Cast notes:

• "Le Petomane" refers to Joseph Pujol, a performer in 19th-century France who was a professional flatulist using "Le Pétomane" as his stage name.
• Carol Arthur (Harriett Johnson) was DeLuise's wife.
• "Olson Johnson" is a reference to the vaudeville comedy team Olsen and Johnson, "Howard Johnson" to the now-defunct Howard Johnson's restaurant chain, "Van Johnson" to the actor Van Johnson, and "Dr. Samuel Johnson" to the 18th-century English writer by that name.

Production

Development

The idea came from a story outline written by Andrew Bergman that he originally intended to develop and produce himself. "I wrote a first draft called Tex-X" (a play on Malcolm X's name), he said. "Alan Arkin was hired to direct and James Earl Jones was going to play the sheriff. That fell apart, as things often do." Mel Brooks was taken with the story, which he described as "hip talk1974 talk and expressionshappening in 1874 in the Old West", and purchased the film rights from Bergman. Though he had not worked with a writing team since Your Show of Shows, he hired a group of writers (including Bergman) to expand the outline, and posted a large sign: "Please do not write a polite script."

Brooks described the writing process as chaotic: Bergman remembers the room being just as chaotic, telling Creative Screenwriting,

Title

The original title, Tex X, was rejected to avoid it being mistaken for an X-rated film,

Casting

Richard Pryor was Brooks' original choice to play Sheriff Bart, It has been alleged that the studio, claiming his history of drug arrests made him uninsurable, refused to approve financing with Pryor as the star. However, by 2013, it was acknowledged that Brooks had in fact abandoned plans to have Pryor star in the film by early 1972, with the claim about Pryor being "uninsurable" because of a "drug arrest" only being spread by Brooks in the time after Pryor's death in 2005. According to Michael Schultz, who knew Pryor and also attended the film's theatrical exhibition, Brooks feared that Pryor would overshadow him. After that, Dan Dailey was Brooks' first choice for the role. Gig Young was cast, but he collapsed during his first scene from what was later determined to be alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and Gene Wilder was flown in to replace him.

Johnny Carson and Wilder both turned down the Hedley Lamarr role before Harvey Korman was cast. Madeline Kahn objected when Brooks asked to see her legs during her audition. "She said, 'So it's THAT kind of an audition? Brooks recalled. "I explained that I was a happily married man and that I needed someone who could straddle a chair with her legs like Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again. So she lifted her skirt and said, 'No touching.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 6, 1973, and wrapped in early May 1973. Brooks had numerous conflicts over content with Warner Bros. executives, including frequent use of the word "nigger", Lili Von Shtupp (Kahn)'s seduction scene, the cacophony of flatulence around the campfire and Mongo (Alex Karras) punching out a horse. Brooks, whose contract gave him final cut, declined to make any substantive changes, with the exception of cutting Bart's final line during Lili's seduction: "I hate to disappoint you, ma'am, but you're sucking my arm." When asked later about the many "nigger" references, Brooks said he received consistent support from Pryor and Little. He added: "If they did a remake of Blazing Saddles today [2012], they would leave out the N-word. And then, you've got no movie." Brooks said the use of the slur was to show how despised, hated, and loathed the black sheriff was. Brooks said he received many letters of complaint after the film's release.

Music

Brooks wrote the music and lyrics for three of Blazing Saddles songs: "The Ballad of Rock Ridge", "I'm Tired", and "The French Mistake". He also wrote the lyrics to the title song, with music by composer John Morris. In an interview with Terry Gross, Laine said that he did not know at the time that Blazing Saddles was a comedy.

The choreographer for "I'm Tired" and "The French Mistake" was Alan Johnson. "I'm Tired" is a homage to and parody of Marlene Dietrich's performance of Cole Porter's song "I'm the Laziest Gal in Town" in Alfred Hitchcock's 1950 film Stage Fright, as well as "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)" from The Blue Angel.

The orchestrations were by Morris and Jonathan Tunick.

Lawsuit

During production, retired longtime film star Hedy Lamarr sued Warner Bros. for $100,000, charging that the film's running parody of her name infringed on her right to privacy. Brooks said that he was flattered and chose to not fight it in court; the studio settled out of court for a small sum and an apology for "almost using her name". Brooks said that Lamarr "never got the joke". This lawsuit would be referenced by an in-film joke where Brooks' character, the Governor, tells Lamarr: "This is 1874; you'll be able to sue HER."

Release

The film was almost unreleased. "When we screened it for executives, there were few laughs," said Brooks. "The head of distribution said, 'Let's dump it and take a loss.' But [studio president John] Calley insisted they open it in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago as a test. It became the studio's top moneymaker that summer."

The world premiere took place on February 7, 1974, at the Pickwick Drive-In Theater in Burbank; 250 invited guestsincluding Little and Wilderwatched the film on horseback.

Reception

While Blazing Saddles is now considered a classic, critical reaction was mixed upon initial release. Vincent Canby wrote:

Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, calling it a "crazed grab bag of a movie that does everything to keep us laughing except hit us over the head with a rubber chicken. Mostly, it succeeds. It's an audience picture; it doesn't have a lot of classy polish and its structure is a total mess. But of course! What does that matter while Alex Karras is knocking a horse cold with a right cross to the jaw?" Gene Siskel awarded three stars out of four and called it "bound to rank with the funniest of the year," adding, "Whenever the laughs begin to run dry, Brooks and his quartet of gag writers splash about in a pool of obscenities that score belly laughs if your ears aren't sensitive and if you're hip to western movie conventions being parodied."

Critics often perceived Blazing Saddles as inherently "un-cinematic", defying some expectations for Hollywood filmmaking in the era, often displaying production style associated with Broadway theater and US television variety shows. This was in part due to its "simplistic framing" and the casting of Harvey Korman, known for The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967–1978), which was similarly "low on characterization and story, instead opting for a high volume of one-liners and visual gags." Typical to this perception, Variety wrote: "If comedies are measured solely by the number of yocks they generate from audiences, then Blazing Saddles must be counted a success ... Few viewers will have time between laughs to complain that pic is essentially a raunchy, protracted version of a television comedy skit."

Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called the film "irreverent, outrageous, improbable, often as blithely tasteless as a stag night at the Friar's Club and almost continuously funny." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post was negative, writing: "Mel Brooks squanders a snappy title on a stockpile of stale jokes. To say that this slapdash Western spoof lacks freshness and spontaneity and originality is putting it mildly. Blazing Saddles is at once a messy and antiquated gag machine." Jan Dawson of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Perhaps it is pedantic to complain that the whole is not up to the sum of its parts when, for the curate's egg that it is, Blazing Saddles contains so many good parts and memorable performances." John Simon wrote a negative review of Blazing Saddles, saying: "All kinds of gagschiefly anachronisms, irrelevancies, reverse ethnic jokes, and out and out vulgaritiesare thrown together pell-mell, batted about insanely in all directions, and usually beaten into the ground."

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 74 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "Daring, provocative, and laugh-out-loud funny, Blazing Saddles is a gleefully vulgar spoof of Westerns that marks a high point in Mel Brooks' storied career." On Metacritic, it has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Ishmael Reed's 1969 novel Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down, a satirical take on the traditional Western, has been cited as an important precursor or influence for Blazing Saddles, a connection that Reed himself has made.

Box office

The film earned theatrical rentals of $26.7 million in its initial release in the United States and Canada. In its 1976 reissue, it earned a further $10.5 million and another $8 million in 1979. Its rentals in the United States and Canada totaled $47.8 million from a gross of $119.5 million, becoming only the tenth film up to that time to pass the $100 million mark. The movie was also an outlier in that it became a historically huge box office hit from an early-year release; it would be 44 years until another movie whose official release date was in February would be the year's number 1 film, when Black Panther earned that honor in 2018.

Accolades

While addressing his group of bad guys, Harvey Korman's character reminds them that although they are risking their lives, he is "risking an almost certain Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor!" Korman did not receive an Oscar bid, but the film did get three nominations at the 47th Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Madeline Kahn.

In 2006, Blazing Saddles was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Upon the release of the 30th-anniversary special edition in 2004, Today said that the movie "skewer[ed] just about every aspect of racial prejudice while keeping the laughs coming" and that it was "at the top of a very short list" of comedies still funny after 30 years. In 2014, NPR wrote that, four decades after the movie was made, it was "still as biting a satire" on racism as ever, although its treatment of gays and women was "not self-aware at all".

The film is recognized by the American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – No. 6

Adaptations

TV series

A television pilot titled Black Bart was produced for CBS based on Bergman's original story. It featured Louis Gossett Jr. as Bart and Steve Landesberg as his drunkard sidekick, a former Confederate officer named "Reb Jordan". Other cast members included Millie Slavin and Noble Willingham. Bergman is listed as the sole creator. CBS aired the pilot once on April 4, 1975. The pilot episode of Black Bart was later included as a bonus feature on the Blazing Saddles 30th Anniversary DVD and the Blu-ray disc.

Possible stage production

In September 2017, Brooks indicated his desire to do a stage version of Blazing Saddles in the future.

In popular culture

The Rock Ridge standard for CD and DVD media is named after the town in Blazing Saddles.

The 1988 animated television film The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a Western parody. Starring anthropomorphic cartoon dog Huckleberry Hound (Daws Butler), the film is set in the California Gold Rush era and has similar spoofs and gags to Blazing Saddles, as well as depiction of Native American stereotypes. Here, much like Bart, Huck is unexpectedly appointed as a sheriff to defend townspeople.

In 2011, the fifteenth episode of Supernatural season 6 was entitled "The French Mistake", as a reference to the genre defining fourth-wall breaking scene.

The 2022 animated film Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank starring Michael Cera, Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Yeoh and Ricky Gervais, is a loose remake of Blazing Saddles and was originally titled Blazing Samurai. Its creators described the film as "equally inspired by and an homage to Blazing Saddles." Brooks returned to serve as an executive producer for the production, voiced the character Shogun Toshi, and received screenplay credit.

Home media

The film was released on VHS several times and was first released on DVD in 1997, followed by a 30th Anniversary Special Edition DVD in 2004 and a Blu-ray version in 2006. A 40th anniversary Blu-ray set was released in 2014.

For the film's 50th anniversary, it was restored in 4K and released on Ultra HD Blu-Ray on November 4, 2024, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

References

References

1. Stewart, Jocelyn. (February 10, 2008). "John Alvin, 59; created movie posters for such films as 'Blazing Saddles' and 'E.T.'". [[Los Angeles Times]].
2. {{AFI film. 54998
3. "Blazing Saddles (1974)".
4. (August 20, 2023). ""Blazing Saddles" as Postmodern Ethnic Carnival". Studies in Popular Culture.
5. (April 11, 2006). "The Mel Brooks Collection".
6. Faulx, Nadya. (2014-02-07). "'Blazing Saddles,' The Best Interracial Buddy Comedy, Turns 40".
7. "Director and Leading Actors". Getback.com.
8. (December 27, 2006). "Librarian of Congress Adds Home Movie, Silent Films and Hollywood Classics to Film Preservation List".
9. Crick, Robert Alan. (2002). "The Big Screen Comedies of Mel Brooks". McFarland.
10. Davis, Igor. (June 28, 2016). "A Conversation With Mel Brooks".
11. Swinson, Brock. (June 24, 2016). "'It's a Good-Natured Insanity.' Andrew Bergman on Screenwriting". Creative Screenwriting.
12. Pockross, Andrew. (May 9, 2014). "Mel Brooks on Blazing New Comedic Trails in 'Blazing Saddles'". [[Yahoo! Movies]].
13. Swinson, Brock. (January 14, 2016). "Mel Brooks on Screenwriting". Creative Screenwriting.
14. Henry, David (November 5, 2013). ''Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him''. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books. p. 146. ISBN 9781616202712.
15. Rohan, Virginia. (August 22, 2016). "Mel Brooks reveals the stories behind 'Blazing Saddles'".
16. The role of Sheriff Bart went to [[Cleavon Little]], and Pryor remained as a screenwriter instead. Brooks offered the other leading role, the Waco Kid, to [[John Wayne]]. He declined it, deeming the film "too [[Ribaldry. blue]]" for his family-oriented image, but assured Brooks that "he would be the first one in line to see it."Staff (May 20, 2016) [https://philly.metro.us/mel-brooks-on-john-wayne-improv-and-the-presidential-race/ "Mel Brooks on John Wayne, Improv and the Presidential Race"] {{Webarchive. link. (February 25, 2021 ''Metro Philadelphia'')
17. Ross, Martha. (August 29, 2016). "Gene Wilder wasn't Mel Brooks' first choice for 'Blazing Saddles' Waco Kid".
18. Donnelly, Paul. (2005). "Fade To Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries". Omnibus.
19. Parish, James Robert. (2008). "It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks". John Wiley and Sons.
20. White, Timothy. (1979). "The Rolling Stone Interviews". [[Little, Brown and Company.
21. Madison, William V.. (2015). "Madeline Kahn: Being the Music, A Life". [[University Press of Mississippi]].
22. Weide, Robert. (2012). "Quiet on the Set! Mel Brooks: the DGA Interview". Directors Guild of America, Inc..
23. Woods, Sean. (December 4, 2017). "Life Advice from Mel Brooks".
24. (29 July 1987). "A Big Voice in Theme Songs".
25. (2004). "Interview: Mel Brooks – Blazing Saddles". Warner Home Video.
26. Mel Brooks interview, 40th anniversary Blu-Ray release
27. Lozano, Carlos V.. (October 8, 1989). "Death of a Drive-In: Pickwick Theater Shuts Down, Ending an Era for Burbank Moviegoers and Film Makers". Los Angeles Times.
28. Canby, Vincent. (February 8, 1974). "Screen: 'Blazing Saddles', a Western in Burlesque". The New York Times.
29. Ebert, Roger. (February 7, 1974). "Blazing Saddles". Chicago Sun-Times.
30. [[Gene Siskel. Siskel, Gene]] (March 1, 1974). "Shootout at 'Cockeyed Corral'". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 1.
31. Symons, Alex. (2012). "Mel Brooks in the cultural industries : survival and prolonged adaptation". Edinburgh University Press.
32. Symons, Alex. (2012). "Mel Brooks in the cultural industries : survival and prolonged adaptation". Edinburgh University Press.
33. (February 13, 1974). "Film Reviews: Blazing Saddles".
34. [[Charles Champlin. Champlin, Charles]] (February 7, 1974). "Was the West Ever Like This?" ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part IV, p. 1.
35. Arnold, Gary. (March 7, 1974). "'Blazing Saddles' On a Dead Horse". The Washington Post.
36. Dawson, Jan. (June 1974). "Blazing Saddles". [[The Monthly Film Bulletin]].
37. (1982). "Reverse Angle: A Decade of American Film". Crown Publishers Inc..
38. "Blazing Saddles".
39. "Blazing Saddles".
40. Glenn, Joshua. (December 24, 2018). "10 Best Adventures of 1969".
41. (March 28, 1979). "'Blazing Saddles' In 109, $288,194 On New Trail".
42. (January 9, 1980). "Big Rental Films of 1979".
43. (1998). "All-Time Top Film Rentals".
44. (January 1, 1982). "Blazing Saddles (1974)".
45. Ventre, Michael. (June 21, 2004). "'Blazing Saddles' still has big laughs". [[Today (American TV program).
46. Faulx, Nadya. (June 21, 2004). "'Blazing Saddles,' The Best Interracial Buddy Comedy, Turns 40". [[NPR]].
47. "The 47th Academy Awards (1975) Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
48. "Blazing Saddles". [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]].
49. "Film Hall of Fame Inductees: Productions". Online Film & Television Association.
50. "Writers Guild Awards Winners: 1995-1949". [[Writers Guild of America Awards]].
51. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs". [[American Film Institute]].
52. Sabur, Rozina. (September 21, 2017). "'Stupidly politically correct society is the death of comedy', warns veteran comedian Mel Brooks".
53. "RRIP".
54. Handlen, Zach. (February 26, 2011). "''Supernatural'': 'The French Mistake'".
55. (November 3, 2015). "'Blazing Samurai' Lands A-List Voice Talent Led By Samuel L. Jackson".
56. (June 25, 1997). "Blazing Saddles DVD". Blu-ray.com.
57. "Blazing Saddles Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com.
58. "Blazing Saddles Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com.
59. (September 4, 2024). "Blazing Saddles is heading to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for its 50th birthday". Film Stories.