Blazing Saddles (1974)

In order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black Sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Mel Brooks (screenplay), Norman Steinberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cleavon Little	...	Bart
Gene Wilder	...	Jim
Slim Pickens	...	Taggart
Harvey Korman	...	Hedley Lamarr
Madeline Kahn	...	Lili Von Shtupp
Mel Brooks	...	Governor 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

Storyline

The Ultimate Western Spoof. A town where everyone seems to be named Johnson is in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, Hedley Lemar (Harvey Korman), a politically connected nasty person, sends in his henchmen to make the town unlivable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor (Mel Brooks). Hedley convinces him to send the town the first Black sheriff (Cleavon Little) in the west. Bart is a sophisticated urbanite who will have some difficulty winning over the townspeople.

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Plot Keywords:

absurd humor | railroad | spoof | cowboys and outlaws | wagon train attacked | 

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Taglines:

Mel Brooks and the West! Together for the last time!

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Yiddish German

Release Date:

7 February 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Bart

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,600,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$119,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Crossbow Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Numerous scenes were cut from the film, including one where Bart tricks Mongo into diving for treasure and a scene with the Governor touring the fake Rock Ridge with the press. The latter scene was added in the TV broadcast. Many scenes were shortened, thus to add more time this was put in. These are included on the Blu-ray release.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 21 mins) Towards the end of the movie, Taggart kicks over a building and discovers the town is fake. Soon thereafter, the building, "Livery and Saddle Shop", is shown back upright and is then blown up.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

Karl Lukas is credited (as Karl Lucas) in opening credits only.

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Alternate Versions

Previous versions shown on TV in the UK show Mongo's blackened face after the Candy Gram explodes. In all release versions, the scene fades out before we see Mongo's blackened face.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Last of the Wild Horses (1994)

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Soundtracks

I'm Tired
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Performed by Madeline Kahn

User Reviews

Blazing Saddles

Howling comedy from Mel Brooks about the Old West with a script that keeps you laughing all the way through and a cast of characters right up there with the Marx Brothers. Kahn is especially tempting as a Marlene Dietrich-like performer, while director Brooks has a fine little cameo as a befuddled and distracted governor. The skits and sight gags are constant. One of the funniest films ever made!