Blazing Saddles (1974)

Blazing Saddles (1974)

7/10

Starring

Cleavon Little

Gene Wilder

Harvey Korman

Slim Pickens

Madeline Kahn

Mel Brooks

Dom DeLuise

Directed by Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks’ 1974 satirical western comedy is one for the record books. The master comedian put together a spoof above all spoofs, making every other spoof writer wish they could write like him.

The movie goes in the opposite direction of typical Hollywood films, as the hero is a black man in an all-white town. And only Mel Brooks could place German World War II soldiers in a western. His use of anachronism is something to respect. The movie also lacks a dominant character—everyone is just running around doing their own thing. In another movie, this might be annoying, but here, it flies right past you. By the end, you can’t quite remember who was doing what or even their names. All you remember is that you laughed and wondered what silly thing they’d do next.

So, what is Blazing Saddles about? Forget the title—it doesn’t do justice to what happens in the movie. There’s no hard riding or master jockeying. It’s about one man’s selfish ambition to build a railroad through a town called Rock Ridge.

Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman), the man in charge of the railroad construction, decides to buy the land in Rock Ridge for cheap by sending gangs to raid the town. This way, he can build the railroad through it without paying much. The townspeople send a message to the governor for help, and Hedley, the governor’s right-hand man (who makes all the decisions), sends them a black man as their sheriff—a man who was previously set to be hanged. Hedley’s plan is that the new sheriff won’t be able to save the town. But his ingenious idea backfires when the new sheriff, with the help of his deputy, a drunkard named Jim (the “Waco Kid”), rises to the challenge.

The movie was a whopping financial success. Made on a $2.6 million budget, it brought in over $119 million at the box office. The screenplay even had Richard Pryor as one of its contributors.
My favorite quote in the movie is when Harvey Korman says, “You men are only risking your lives, while I am risking an almost-certain Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor!”

The movie did receive Academy Award nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Madeline Kahn, Best Film Editing, and Best Music, Original Song. It didn’t win any, but it’s ranked number 6 on AFI’s 100 Years... 100 Laughs.

If you haven’t had the privilege of seeing this movie yet, you need to. You can’t leave this earth without having watched Blazing Saddles.