Blazing Saddles (1974)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Mel Brooks (screenplay) &
Norman Steinberg (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 February 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Never give a saga an even break!

Plot:

To ruin a western town, a corrupt political boss appoints a black sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Spoof | Governor | Western Spoof | Railroad

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Cleavon Little	...	Bart
Gene Wilder	...	Jim
Slim Pickens	...	Taggart
Harvey Korman	...	Hedley Lamarr
Madeline Kahn	...	Lili Von Shtupp
Mel Brooks	...	Governor William J. Lepetomane / Indian Chief
Burton Gilliam	...	Lyle
Alex Karras	...	Mongo
David Huddleston	...	Olson Johnson
Liam Dunn	...	Rev. Johnson
John Hillerman	...	Howard Johnson
George Furth	...	Van Johnson
Jack Starrett	...	Gabby Johnson (as Claude Ennis Starrett Jr.)
Carol Arthur	...	Harriett Johnson
Richard Collier	...	Dr. Sam Johnson

Also Known As:

Black Bart (USA) (working title)
Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles or Never Give a Saga an Even Break (USA) (poster title)
Tex X (USA) (original script title)
The Purple Sage (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Yiddish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2004) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Portugal:M/12 | UK:12A (re-rating: 2008) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Crossbow Productions

Trivia:

Supposedly, this movie officially marks the first time the sound of farting has ever been used in a film (at least according to the film makers in the DVD Documentary). According to Mel Brooks, they came up with the idea after watching numerous old westerns where cowboys only consume black coffee and plates of beans, thus concluding that such a food combination would inevitably lead to farting.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bart arrives in Rock Ridge and the "Welcome Sheriff" banner retracts, it flips once, leaving some of the writing still visible. When Bart walks over to unfurl it again, it is neatly closed with no writing visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lyle: Come on, boys! The way you're lollygaggin' around here with them picks and them shovels, you'd think it was a hundert an' twenty degree. Can't be more than a hundert an' fourteen.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: Peter's Progress (#7.16)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

I Get a Kick Out of You

"Where the white women at?"

1974 was a very good year for the team of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder; their "Young Frankenstein" (which came out in 1974) is one of the funniest movies ever made, and "Blazing Saddles" (same year) is almost just behind it. It's a bit overrated (but just a bit); I know a lot of people look on this as the funniest movie of all time, but I can't go THAT far. But it is ONE of the funniest movies of all time, and for two such movies by the same director, with the same star, to come out the same year, to be on that list is quite an achievement.

The residents of Rock Ridge (all named Johnson) need a new sheriff. They get one... Bart, played by Cleavon Little, who happens to be black. It's all planned out by Hedley Lamarr (don't call him Heddy!), an employee of the governor (Mel Brooks), in a plot to run the residents out of town so he can have a railroad run through it. At first, the townsfolk aren't happy about this development, but when Bart endeavors to save them from the evil Lamarr, who's played to slimy perfection by Harvey Korman, they warm up to him. Also thrown into the mix is Wilder as "The Waco Kid", a gunslinger who's lost his knack for shooting, Alex Karras as a huge idiot named Mongo , and Madeline Khan as Lily von Schtupp, a parody of Marlene Dietrich, complete with ridiculous German accent. She stands out heads and shoulders above everybody else in this movie, I think, and her song "I'm Tired" ("I'm not a wabbit! I need some west!") is possibly the funniest song ever to appear in a film. This is no doubt the funniest part Madeline Khan has ever had (and she ALSO appeared in "Young Frankenstein"!). It's also a kick to see a pre-"Magnum PI" John Hillerman as Howard Johnson, with an ice cream shop with a sign that screams "1 Flavor"; and Slim Pickens (Taggart, another bad guy) is always a hoot.

The plot is just an excuse to make fun of westerns, racism, and movie-making in general, as demonstrated in the extremely wacky, fourth-wall breaking finale (Watch for Dom DeLuise in these scenes). None of this is really supposed to make sense or be realistic, it's just supposed to be funny, and for the most part it is. It's one of the crassest and crudest mainstream movies in history, and that's it's strength; it often plays just like a Mad movie parody. One example of this that really sticks out is the famous farting scene, which somehow manages to be one of the funniest scenes in the movie, and probably the funniest fart scene ever. But the focus is on the way blacks were treated in the post-Civil War old west, and the movie is merciless in the way it has its ignorant white characters treat the black characters, throwing the n-word around without abandon and giving them the dirty work (at one point, a character says "We can't afford to lose any horses! Send a couple of n****rs!"). The movie finds its heart in the way the initially racist townspeople of Rock Ridge become fond of their black sheriff.

Its spirit, however, is in the hilarious and crude jokes that are thrown all through. This is one funny movie, and with Mel Brooks, that's what's really important.