Blazing Saddles (1974)

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:

Interrupted Hanging | n Word | Black Cowboy | Jewish Humor | Fart Scene

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Aug. 2	10:15 PM	CMTV
Sun. Aug. 3	7:15 PM	CMTV

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:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:12A (re-rating: 2008) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2004) | Finland:K-11 (cinema release) (1975) | 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:

The voices for the drunk that Lili Von Shtupp kicks off the stage and the German Soldier that joins her later in the show are both provided by 'Mel Brooks (I)' .

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Toward the end of the film, when the fight spills onto the other set, at one point, it spills into the street. Participants in the scene are seen running out of the studio and around the street corner. As the shot pulls back to follow Hedly looking for a cab, the runners can be seen in the background, slowing to a walk, apparently thinking they are no longer visible. Once they realize they are still in the shot, they begin to run again.

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:

References Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)

Soundtrack:

Camptown Races

Political Correctness Is A Terrible Thing

No doubt pseudo-intellectuals ( Ie People who only think they`re clever ) will claim that BLAZING SADDLES deconstructs the traditional western by pointing out how fundamentally racist the genre is . I`ve no idea how much truth there is in that because I was too busy laughing at what was happening on screen . Yeah the N word figures a lot but let`s not forget one of the screenwriters is a famous black stand up comedian and that everyone be they black , white or Jewish are targets for the outrageous events in this movie so I fail to see what`s racist about it . It is of course politically incorrect but hands up anyone who`s seen a politically correct comedy that made them laugh ?

I won`t bother to go into any detail as to how funny BLAZING SADDLES is except to say I remember seeing it years ago and watched it again at the weekend . Unlike a great number of movies I have fond memories of this is one film that didn`t disappoint me after a long absence