My FIRST Time Watching Blazing Saddles & I was NOT Prepared!!! 

I have seen this movie what seems like hundreds of times. It's always amazing to watch someone see it for the first time ! And yes, that was legitimate laughter... Gene Wilder's response of "Morons" was a total ad-lib !!

Here's a brilliant interview with Mel Brooks about the movie... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uv7L6Hrlj58.htmlsi=HEivY5GTVu_hG6ZU

They brought black comedian Richard Pryor in to help write and make sure the jokes were not too over the top or offensive. He not only signed off on all of them but came up with some of the cringe ones on his own.

28:45.."Methodists?" Mel and Richard didn't spare anybody!! Never saw you crack up so..best reaction to Blazing Saddles I've seen yet! My favs--When the Waco KId and Bart tease the KKK guys.."Hey where the white women at?!" Oh yeah, and the thugs getting stopped by the toll booth. I'm not sure they could get away with doing this film today, the PC police would go nuts!! But at least Heddy ( I mean, Hedley) Lamarr WAS an equal opportunity employer...

That was the great thing about movies from back then. They weren't afraid to make fun of things that were politically incorrect.

😂

Fact

I like to think that Seth Macfarlane's A Million Ways To Die In The West, is the spiritual successor to Blazing Saddles.

People often forget how much controversy surrounded it at the time. I think most people generally mean it couldn’t be made by a large studio today. Especially WB.

He actually did remake it... "Paws of Fury, The Legend of Hank"

Mel Brooks had Gene write the lines for the black sheriff and Richard wrote the lines for the gun fighter.

I think sometimes people see a clip from it and think it's a racist comedy, but it's really a comedy *about* racists.

If you like Mel Brooks and musicals you should check out the producers either one is good but i prefer the nathan lane version

Richard Pryor mostly wrote Mongos lines, only pawn in game of life thsts Richard Pryor

Brooks originally wanted Pryor to play Bart. But he declined.

and then hail a cab. perfection.

and continue at Grauman's lol

I love that aspect. Can you imagine having Gene Wilder trying to crack you up?

​@@therealnitrouso2world's most difficult try not to laugh challenge 😂

@@SliderFury1 i wouldn't even TRY to not laugh haha

Not sure I would put it like that. We don't want them meaningless. I think what they are doing is satire and mocking to where something in even the most irrational hate filled brain gets a sense that they might be the bad person.

"Meaningless" is not what he was going for here, the very fact that he intentionally used language like that in the script says that he thinks they are meaningful. It's more about representing the way that the words are applied. Everyone in the film using derogatory terms was portrayed as being an absolute idiot, usually as a result of ignorance and separation. If you notice, none of the townspeople used derogatory language against the Sheriff once he became a part of their community and they knew him as a person. Mel (and Richard Pryor) wanted to associate that kind of language with people who have zero understanding of the world around them and how to navigate it.

@@jlog1c283 EXACTLY.

@@jlog1c283 I agree. Censor or forbid certain terms or language is never a good idea. It makes using those words even more appealing for a certain groups, no matter what. It is the same with 'explicit language warnings' in music. it's been seen almost as a badge of honor. It is always about context. And using terms like Mel Brooks did in this movie is genius. Also he doesn't beliterate the audience, he includes it into the movie in a way you have to laugh at the bad guys without you realizing that you start to see the stupidity of using derogatory terms. And it is entertaining as hell too. I hate to use the term perfection when it comes to Art, but this is damned close to it 🙂 Edit: hope I expressed what I mean in the right way, english isn't my native language

@@shanwyn Look, white people have no place to say that word, period. Having said that yes of course racism is stupid. 🙂

99.9% of college people today would cringe, cry and run screaming for their fuzzy kittens safe spaces. THAT is why 99% of all comics BOYCOTT performing in ANY college or University. The radical leftist Marxist professors have brainwashed two generations of children now. DO NOT send your child to college, university or even Military College. All are INFESTED with DEI and wokeness. I think the US Merchant Marine Academy is still OK. Your child will work in an incredible union with incredible benefits for a mere six months per years and become a millionaire eventually. Top tier officers in the right union on the right ship can make BANK! $200K for ONLY six months work per year. Masters Mates and Pilots. Become a PILOT and the kid is set for LIFE! We are talking multi millionaire. NO WOKE ADGENDAS!

The cringe is the most hilarious part of the film. you KNOW it's wrong, and it keeps. going. on.

It's genius because the Mick is taken out of the stereotypes that use the crappy behaviours and it's actually an empowering film for the lead character

Right there next to "Gen Z discovering Leslie Nielson" and "Gen Z discovering 80s fantasy movies" :D

Such a good memory, Raymond. Mel Brooks was a hoot.

So Brilliant!

Now there's a story - what fun!

The one with the pen, when the guy says "think of your secretary" OMG

Working my job one day at a warehouse and no kidding I saw one of those too AND swung it around, except I said "This thing's defective." Nobody around me really got the reference though and it just made me feel old.

Every clueles lawyer I have to deal with, just trying to rack up billable hours on their clients' dimes, I think, "We must protect our phoney baloney jobs!"

I got a similar reaction to a line from Monty Python Holy Grail when I quoted it at the top of Glen Pass in the Sierra. A guy said something and I responded with that line (can't remember what it was) and he shot back with another line. He was backpacking with his family, and I believe his wife literally said "oh, my God" with an eye roll.

Yep, I still use that line.

Yes, funny at face value and almost all reactors laugh at that point, when they stop cringing and realize it's ok to laugh and get where this movie is coming from too.

I said the same thing. Easily the most quoted line of BS. And the fact that its a black Sheriff saying it to the KKK is priceless.

Oh yeah. "Where da white women at?" So many layers to that joke. Absolutely fantastic.

Back in high school band (early 80s), we had an away game in a town where a known klansman had recently made a bid for mayor. When we got to the school, one of the black guys in the band stepped off the bus and shouted that line. Everybody cracked up! Band, parents, band director, everyone!

Brooks didn't even tell Lane it was for a comedy. That's why it sounds so soulful and real.

Reminds me of when Dalton took his role as Skinner in Hot Fuzz. They based thr character around him, and he was like "Yo I wanna do that"

I think it's a reference to the saying, "I'll hang you and the horse you rode in on."

@@jeffdavis593 it’s actually referring to someone who is well endowed as being “hung like a horse”

There were a few improvisions that Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder did to each other. Another was when Cleavon Little is reading the letter from Lily, He used the accent she was using and it caused Gene Wilder to spit out his drink because he was laughing....

Yep. It will stand the test of time, and be hilarious in 200 years.

Uh - That's Cleavon Little in the movie. From Wikipedia: "Pryor was Brooks's original choice to play Sheriff Bart, but the studio, claiming his history of drug arrests made him uninsurable, refused to approve financing with Pryor as the star." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazing_Saddles#Casting That said, Sherriff Bart's role was obviously written with Pryor in mind.

While it didn't win any, it did get three nominations, one of them being for Madeline Kahn for Best Supporting Actress. Also, I guess Harvey Korman knew he was risking a Best Supporting Actor nod, as his character mentions just before attempting to destroy Rock Ridge.

Yes, that was an improvisation by Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little's reaction was 100% natural.

I believe it was originally scripted as "Mormons" but Gene had other ideas.

Some of the greatest movie lines of all time were improv

@fredkeeler1234 true words man, true words

Facts

they knew gold when they saw it.

He broke character because the line was ad libbed

@@fullmetalcrusader it's such a cute moment and really sells their friendship.

I was wondering if the scene on the ridge where Bart whispered something to Jim that caused him to laugh hard was also an ad-lib, the laugh looked genuine on Gene Wilder's part

@@TuxKamenoh that would be funny

Not what I was given to understand. My understanding is Pryor wrote all the scenes involving Mongo (there is considerably more Mongo in the TV edit) entirely, and polished other parts - since a good three quarters of the movie involves both black and white actors, it would be highly impractical for the script to be divided up as you say...Brooks would hsve been casting parts for a movie with a script toraling about 15 minutes of runtime with no plot whatsoever. Other trivia, Gene Wilder was not first chouce for Jim either - as partvof Wilder's agreement to take the part and bail Brooks out, Brooks had to help Wilder complete a script Wilder was already working on, and direct the movie - Wilder had planned to write, star, and direct, which he later did, but for t huh isvone, he settled for co-writer and gave ip the director's megaphone. That movie, if course, was Young Frankenstein . Jim and Bart are both left-handed. Slim Pickens camped at the shooting location during filming. The tent he comes out of during the campfire beans scene is where he was actually staying. Pickens also suggested Taggart get clinked with a shovel, as he figured Taggart had it coming.

I certainly respect your opinion, but i personally watched an interview with Mel where he said exactly what i wrote. Possible he simplified it for tv/interview or whatever, but it's straight from the horses mouth

@@MathMan271 It still doesn't make sense. There were *four* credited screenwriters, so its just not possible Brooks wtote for the black actors and Pryor wrote the white actor parts. Did the other two just write the farts and cow moos? And two *more* are credited with the actual story. This was also Pryor's first movie screenplay credit, and only his fifth writer credit overall, no way is he ready to take on that much alone. Brooks probably says that because otherwise it looks like Pryor really just wrote a couple of scenes because so much Mongo is cut from the theatrical version most everybody watches, and he doesn't want to undercut how much work Pryor did.

Pryor was a bit of a loose cannon that the executives didn't want him, that was back when Richard got burnt, high AF.

Amen

All the Indians are jewish, most of the white folks are dumb, unthinking racists, and get outsmarted by the Sheriff with trick stolen from Bugs Bunny cartoons - one of my favourite US comedy movies

there is a sequel. its called "Tropic Thunder" and takes place in vietnam decades after the war. and it is a war movie about vietnam :*]

​@@timetraveler1973sadly younger generations have invented a slang word called cringe. They will be offended at the r e tard scene and RDJ being in black face but not realize it is actually Kurt Lazarus making fun of actors

The funny thing is that they won't let anyone say Shtüpp (yiddish/low german for fuck) but they show the name 'Lili Von Shtüpp' on a large poster next to the door to the saloon.

They didn't tell Frankie it was a spoof on westerns.

Afterwards, they didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth

​@@artembentsionovif I remember correctly Frankie Lane went to the premier and told Mel Brooks that he was embarrassed because he teared up singing it and didn't realize it was for a comedy but loved the film.

based

@@RayNDeereyup ... they were afraid he wouldn't do it for a western spoof......so they just never told him .... then he went to premier and said he liked it and "hadn't laughed so much at a movie in years" .

Also, the song, itself, is a parody (both lyrics and vocals) of the great Marlene Dietrich singing "Laziest Girl In Town". Easily google-able for the curious.

The "clean" version used for TV later actually cut out the sound, so it just looks like a bunch of guys randomly hopping up and down by the campfire. More hilarious than the actual flatulence scene! LOL

Another classic movie that both Madeline Kahn & Barbara Streisand delivered acting gold in was,, "What's Up,, Doc?" (1972) With Barbara also being incredibly attrative,, Causing young boys to old men to have instant crushes on her. 👧 ❤ 👦

Mel Brooks says that the flatulence sounds were recorded by him and anyone he could grab and drag into the foley studio. They're so loud because they discovered during previews that they had to be that loud because the audience's laughter quickly would drown them out.

Madeline was also a trained singer BEFORE she got into comedy and acting. Imagine her having to act out a role that is not only a terrible singer, but also a terrible actress simultaneously. They don't make many like that anymore.

It was the only line that was cut.

A reference to the myth that native Americans are the lost tribe of Israel. It’s a running gag in Cat Balou

On the theatrical poster for the original release of the film, the beadwork on Mel Brooks' headdress says "Kosher for Passover" in Hebrew.

Mel Brooks was also in line with the bad guys as a producer.

Interestingly enough. Alex Karras' first movie role was playing himself in the movie Paper Lion (starring Alan Alda as George Plimpton who was a writer that played one game for the Detroit Lions in a pre-season game for a Sports Illustrated article he was writing...and which was also expanded into a book before being made into a movie). Karras also played the Dad in the TV Series Webster in the 1980s.

@@otherstar1 he also played the crooked sheriff in Porkys.

@@jasonlmeadows Karras also had a mixed-race son, born out of wedlock. The boys name was "Webster."

​@barrycohen311 Webster was his god-child. His best friend had died and he and Ma'am adopted Webster.

And voted into the pro football hall of fame

It's easy to laugh at it because it mocks the racist

being in and around cattle industry...the bull tail is choosining yes or no....majic eightball of the farm

@@darrenbickerstaff5858 I like your interpretation, but I stand by my previous answer. Mongo is being compared to a truck.

I did not know that, about the semis! Thanks!

​@@Svensk7119 No reason you should have known. I was 21 when _Blazing Saddles_ came out in 1974, and I don't remember it; I found it online. I suspect it was actually from the fifties or forties, not the seventies - slightly before my time.

Thanks, never knew that and I saw the movie in a theater it's second run (the cheap theaters)

Which was then satirized by Weird Al in UHF when Raul was accepting new animals for his "Wild Kingdom" show, he got some badgers. He says, "Badgers?! Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!" I laughed so hard at that!

And used in the movie Bubble Boy with Danny Trejo fixing a flat on his motorcycle. The main character (Jake Gyllenhaal) says, "I have patches." and Trejo responses, "PATCHES! ...I could uses some patches!"

Fronkenstien, right?

@@TarossBlackburn You know it, Frodrick

Oh, cool. That’s good to know about the yes/no. I had always assumed that when Mongo needed to make a decision, the big oaf would just flip the bull and see if it came up yes or no.

I've never seen that, but ok. I always thought it was a funny idea to turn the bull's tail into a sort of fortune decider...

Driver's training one of the basic things you learn is to ALWAYS pass on the left.

That's Fronkensteen.

@@mideon84 LOL...I stand corrected.

DOES HE REALLY?!?! can he share some of that talent please?????

@@TheMirandalorianReacts Evidently not. I've been wishing he'd share with me for 50 freaking years and he still won't!

@@TheMirandalorianReacts Mel is one of 18 people to have completed the EGOT; he has 4 Emmys, 3 Grammys, an Oscar and 3 Tony awards to his name. The really fun thing is that he won the Oscar for Best Screenplay for The Producers (if you haven't seen that, it's another with Gene Wilder), and 2 of his Grammys and all 3 of his Tonys are associated with the 2001 Broadway adaptation of the movie.

Never get a drunk to play a drunk.

After that statement Mel should've asked John Wayne to be in the audience in the theater scene.

Mel Brooks took that line out (he had full editing control of the film) because he thought it was just a bit too much.

​@RayNDeere actually, it's was the one joke that the studio said no to.

I've always found that so weird. Without that line, the whole bit becomes a lot more "spicy" because of the suggestiveness. That line diffuses it.

Every scene made reference to things that were popular and well known back then. I would howl in laughter while watching this , but would have to explain everything to my grand kids when we watched it so the would get the humor. Unless you were there when the movie came out initially or have a good knowledge of history from that time, it's not the same.

@@heru-deshet359 Sylvester cartoon as he approaches a bridge in a Venetian gondola: "Ducka you head, Lowla Bridgeada" is not only about Italian accents and a low bridge, it's also about Gina Lollobrigida.

9:48 This was a joke referencing the Howard Johnson chain of restaurants which were famous for their ice cream. No one under 40 would probably get the reference now as the last Howard Johnson closed years ago.

Yep, who would've thought, don't be racist, would be so easy to forget and needed to keep Big reminded to people 🤷

Yeah, people being taught that having their feelings hurt and getting offended are going to be the biggest hurdles they face in life are going to be both extremely disappointed and woefully unprepared for reality.

it goes over most reactors heads, but longtime movie fans get it. And almost no one catches the "What in The Wide Wide World of Sports is going on here?" That was a popular ABC network sports show in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. (i think it went longer but that was its heyday).

Movies like this make me SO VERY HAPPY to be old---we Old Folks get all the jokes!

Actually, it's "...this laurel and hearty handshake."

Wow I have seen this movie a thousand times and I never got it until now laurel and hardy. I used to watch them on tv.

She was also a talented singer. She said she had practice singing "bad" for the movie just as much as she had to practice singing for Broadway.

@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Edit for clarification: I meant that the work that goes into doing it fluently and with no ham-fisted attempts is what makes it great. She put in a lot of work to be a 'bad singer/actress' on command and make it look genuine. That's the sign of talent. Pre-Edit: The age-old adage about telling 'good' from 'great'. Great is being able to convincingly be bad on command without forcing it.

@@dr.burtgummerfan439 I got a notif that you'd replied to a post, but it didn't direct me to the reply. I'm hoping it was my post in THIS comment? I clarified, because I was unsure if you misunderstood the statement or were disagreeing. I have edited accordingly and appreciate drawing attention to the lack of clarity. For the sake of making my notification make sense: I meant that she put in a lot of work to make 'appearing to be a bad actress/singer' in a way that wasn't forced implies a certain amount of desire to showcase talent. It's very hard to be convincingly bad at singing and acting without it being forced. To do both simultaneously is... Way harder. That's the genius of Madeline Kahn. Gone too soon.

@@AdeptusCaeiusIII I had misinterpreted your comment and I posted a response, then I reread what you wrote, so I deleted my reply.

@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Oh! Sorry about the misunderstanding.

I had a feeling! The sherif's laugh felt too genuine to be fake

Mel Brooks encouraged improve. Another reason he is a great director.

Showed up in the studio and had the song in the can in about an hour.

Mel had originally advertised calling for a performer to sing the song in the style of Frankie Laine, because he didn't think he could get Laine. Laine got in touch, asked what it was for, and the reply was it was a Western about racism. Laine came back with his performance, and the rest is history.

He also sung the theme song for the TV western Rawhide

When she said she had heard this song before. I actually think she heard the Rawhide theme before.

Actually the original actor showed up on set for the first day of shooting completely plastered. Brooks needed a replacement, _fast,_ so he contacted Gene. BTW, during the big fight, we had a short scene of Lily leading some German soldiers in a sing along. The song came from the original The Producers.

@@Caseytify That song is a German folk song that is believed to have originated in1820

Mel's wife Anne Bancroft always pressured Mel to have Gene play the part of 'The Waco Kid' but Mel wanted an older actor who could play the role of an old worn out alcoholic better so went with I believe Gig Young (who unknown to all, actually was an alcoholic). That first scene with him hanging upside down did it. He started vomiting up some kind of green slime and was immediately hospitalized. Mel then listened to his wife and call Gene in New York to fly out and take to roll. Moral: listen to your wife! Also Anne and Gene were good friends and had worked together on Broadway in New York. That is actually how Mel met Gene before he and Anne were married and only dating. Mel was waiting for Anne after a show she was in with Gene and Gene came out first and he and Mel hit it off from there.

Thanks, I was wondering if the definition of cringe had changed recently.

In the 70’s, everyone was in on the joke!!!! Sitcoms of the era appealed to everyone even if the show was nothing but black casts or all white casts. To this day if I see Sanford and son, the Jefferson’s, good times, what’s happening, all in the family…… I stop flipping the channels, grab popcorn and enjoy every second.

Rightwingers don't get that for example Archie Bunker was being satirized, they LOVE him. Norman Lear, Carroll O'Connor,, and Rob Reiner are and were all good liberals. RIP Carroll #The70s

@@treetopjones737that’s not true. I’m what you would call a “right winger” and we knew exactly what Archie Bunker was. We were not laughing with him we were laughing at him because his opinions on race and religion were so ridiculous. I’m Italian and catholic and the jokes I laughed the hardest at were the ones about Italians and Catholics.

Conservative viewers understood that Archie was a bigot, and they appreciated that the show made it clear that his views were outdated and wrong. At the same time, the show also poked fun at liberal views and showed that they had their own problems and flaws. In doing so, the show presented a nuanced and balanced view of both political viewpoints, and encouraged viewers to consider both sides.@@treetopjones737

Same here,,

I agree Young Frankenstein is incredible for Gene Wilder too

Watch Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder and the whole cast will leave you in stitches. I'm 65 and went to see Blazzing Saddles at the Drive in when I was 16. LOL 😂

Blazing Saddles is absolutely hilarious in many ways, but I actually think Young Frankenstein is Brooks' best, funniest movie.

"That's Fronk-un-steen"! ... 😉🤣😎 ^v^

That's amazing!!!

@@TheMirandalorianReacts, the singer's name is Frankie Laine. He actually sang music for Western genre films during the height of their popularity in the 1940s/'50s. My dad was a big fan of those movies, if my childhood memory serves - he had a couple of the man's records in the house. First time I saw the film (I was 12yrs old in 1974, but sneaked in to the theater to see it) and heard that voice, I wondered what on earth Mel had done to pull off that trick!

@panamafloyd1469 I forgot the guy's name, good reminder!

Yes and Mel Brooks wanted a singer who "sounded like" Frankie Laine. But ended up actually getting him

@@rickwoodham4570IIRC the ad called for a "Frankie Lane type." They never expected Lane himself to apply.

The "stinking badges" bit (near the end) is a reference to Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart. Good movie if you haven't seen it.

Schtinzengoupen was long rumored to have been Hitlers real last name. Keep in mind Mel is Jewish and when playing the Indian Chief, he spoke German ...too many others

⁠@@barrykeller4875No, was speaking Yiddish.

And it was reported that the guy got really pissed when he knew it was for a comedy.

That honestly makes it even better!!!

I'm so glad the younger generation are discovering this movie and seeing it's not as much of a bogey man, as it is a mockery of one. Racism isn't an institution or an organisation with some shadowy, evil aims and means, and codewords that shall never be uttered lest you be racist yourself. It's just idiots, small-minded, and simple people being themselves. And they should be treated as a laughing stock. An intelligent person knows the difference between racism and satire, and I see a lot of young people loving this movie. This and Tropic Thunder. There's still hope in this newest generation.

Loves. The great man is still with us!

@@shugaroony typo....fixed

And how did she like it?

@@B0mber44 Unfortunately she left the company shortly after and I never found out.

I knew it!!

Hedley Lamarr was more than just an actress. She designed a guided missile. Her designs helped people create the mobile phone. She never got the credit she deserved.

@@DarrenEden-ub4vjshe got awards for it late in life

​@@DarrenEden-ub4vjthat's Hedy....lol

That's one of the best lines of the movie, from The Big Lebowski and Santa Clause himself. "OK, we'll give some land to the n...... and the c......., but we won't take the Irish!"

I'm sure the story is real but hatred and discrimination against Irish immigrants in America was absolutely a huge thing in the 19th century.

@@dubbleplusgood Not as much as blacks and Chinese. I mean blacks were slaves up till 1865. The Chinese could not own land or needed special licenses to run a business, and immigration was restricted by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

The actor who delivered the line was of Irish descent, so he was well aware of the true discrimination of the time. Irish need not apply.

It ended up being a historically accurate joke.