Throughout history, there have always been racial issues and conflicts, with people often being discriminated against and generally being treated as less than human simply based on the color of their skin. Probably one of the most significant of these is the plight of African Americans, which still continues to this day. From being abducted as slaves through much of the 1500s – 1800s, to being depicted as racist caricatures by the likes of Jim Crow and the Warner Bros. Censored Eleven, as well as being segregated and subjected to all sorts of brutality. The Civil Rights movement made strides to ensure racial equality for African Americans, thanks to leaders like Dorothy Height, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Ruby Dee, Thurgood Marshall, and, most famously, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Through their determination and sacrifice, these and many other people were able to create new laws that allowed African Americans to vote, get equal employment opportunities, own property, and generally be free of unlawful discrimination.
Now what the hell does this have to do with a silly comedy poking fun at Westerns?
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Well, dear reader, it turns out that these historical events do have a part to play in Mel Brooks’ 1974 Western spoof, Blazing Saddles. Released in 1974, just six years after the end of the Civil Rights Movement, the movie not only pokes fun at the tropes and conventions of the Western genre, which was very popular in the 50s and 60s, but it also pokes fun at many racial stereotypes and generally makes fun of racists. While one might scratch their heads at a white guy making a pro-African American movie that depicts racists as bumbling idiots, keep in mind that Brooks is Jewish, and Jews know a thing or two about discrimination and being treated less than equal. So, aside from someone like Gordon Parks, Sidney Poitier, or Ivan Dixon, Mel Brooks might be one of the most ideal people to helm this silly little comedy that’s since gone on to be considered one of the greatest comedies of all-time.
The story revolves around a small town known as Rock Ridge, where life is peaceful for its citizens, businesses are booming, and things couldn’t be better. That is, until a corrupt politician named Hedey….I mean HEDLEY Lamarr, played by Harven Korman, wants to destroy the town in order to make way for a new railroad being built. After enlisting the outlaw Taggart, played by Slim Pickens, and his men to ransack the town, killing the sheriff, the citizens beg for the governor to send them a new sheriff. To use this to his advantage, Lamarr constructs a plan: find someone to be the replacement sheriff that would be so hated by the citizens that they will want to leave town, no questions asked. So, he appoints former slave now railroad worker Bart, played by Cleavon Little, to be the new sheriff, where he’s instantly greeted by the citizens of Rock Ridge with contempt and mistrust. However, with the help of an alcoholic and possibly homosexual former gunslinger known as the Waco Kid, played by Gene Wilder, Bart manages to win the town’s trust and helps them fend of the bandits as they try to take over the town.
I’m just going to come right out and say it: Blazing Saddles is my all-time favorite comedy. No, seriously, every time I watch this movie, and I’ve seen it several times, I always find myself roaring with laughter. This movie is just littered with all sorts of memorable gags, from Bart and the other railroad workers singing “I Get a Kick Out of You” and the bandits sitting around a campfire farting incessantly, to Bart defeating the giant Mongo, played by Alex Kerras, with a candy-gram and holding off the outlaws by constructing the “Gov. William J. Le Petomane Thruway.” Though, I have to say that what I think is the funniest moment is a small scene where Bart is just walking through town, minding his own business, when he comes across a little ol’ lady, to which he says, “Good morning, ma’am! And it’d it a lovely mornin’?”, to which the ol’ lady responds with, “Up yours, n***er!” I swear, no matter how many times I see that, it still makes me laugh.
Anyway, I could just quote all of the memorable lines and gags from the movie, but you really should just go and see it for yourself. To talk more about the movie itself, the cast is terrific. You’ve got Mel Brooks’ regulars like Harvey Korman, Gene Wilder, Dom DeLuise in a cameo, and Madeline Kahn, who actually was nominated for an Oscar for her role as the voluptuous Lili Von Shtupp, but you’ve also got some great character actors like Slim Pickens, David Huddleston from The Big Lebowski, Alex Kerras from Porky’s, and John Hillerman from Chinatown. But perhaps, the one who truly stands out is Cleavon Little, who is instantly likable as a lead. He’s incredibly charming, full of charisma, has great comedic timing, is very well-spoken, and just relishes in every scene he has. The script, written by Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Alan Unger, and even Richard Pryor (who was originally cast as Bart before Little got the part), is a thing of beauty, filled with tons of memorable dialogue and great gags, both major set pieces and even small background gags. The direction is top-notch, making it feel like a Western made by the likes of John Ford or Howard Hawks, just with a lot more slapstick and racial jokes. The music is great as well, adding to that Western feel, and the theme by Frankie Laine is instantly catchy.
This is a must-see for anyone reading this. It’s downright one of the best comedies ever made, and Mel and his team should be proud of what they made. The movie was a pretty huge risk for Warner Bros., who were initially hesitant after the executives saw it and didn’t find it funny, but when Mel convinced them to hold a screening for the employees, they changed their minds when they saw how much the regular folks loved it. Sadly, a movie like this could never be made in today’s PC-friendly culture. People would instantly call the film bigoted and racist, without realizing that the racism in the film is played for laughs in that the movie is poking fun at racism and is actively making racists look dumb and villainous. Regardless, Blazing Saddles stands tall as one of the best and most important comedies in cinematic history.
