Excuse me, while I whip this out!

BLAZING SADDLES (1974)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Blazing Saddles" is not my favorite comedy by Mel Brooks. It is uneven and features an ending that takes us somewhere else, which may be the point. More importantly, it does not have the high belly laugh ratio of "Young Frankenstein," his most perfectly uproarious film. "Blazing Saddles" is still funnier and loopier than "High Anxiety" or "Silent Movie" and that is damn good enough.

Describing the plot of "Blazing Saddles" would be insane because I am not sure there is much of one. Bart (Cleavon Little) is a railroad worker who is forced, along with his crew, to sing the stereotypical song, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" to appease some bigoted white men. The joke is they sing something else which doesn't appeal the white folks. Eventually, Bart is made sheriff of Rock Ridge due to a scheme by Attorney General Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) so he can clear out the town (after all, in the Old West, who would want a black sheriff?) The scheme involves building a railroad through Rock Ridge and making a profit. With the help of womanizing, corrupt-to-the-core Governor William J. LePetomaine (Mel Brooks), this should be a cinch. Of course, the townsfolk eventually embrace Bart and his sidekick, the fastest gunfighter in the world, the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder).
At the time "Blazing Saddles" was readying for release, some studio execs scoffed at the racial epithets and the scatalogical humor, namely the famous farting in the campfire scene (and what would you do if you ate baked beans?) It is fascinating that Mel Brooks, who had final cut, got away with what he had. Today's audiences may not be receptive to the racial epithets, but who knows.

"Blazing Saddles" has some classic gags and some moments that will make you go, "huh?" One background gag includes a painting of a wedded couple with their backs turned in Korman's office. As my wife suggested, perhaps this was meant for a punchline that was never filmed. The ending initially left me perplexed years back - the camera pulls back to reveal that the whole movie is made in the Hollywood backlot followed by a tapdance number - and then I realized my counterproductive complaint. When Bart rides into town, Count Basie is playing with his orchestra. And there is a Warner Bros. wink to the Old Looney Tunes cartoons involving a candygram. This whole movie is not meant to just parody westerns - it is Mel Brooks searching for every hook, line and sinker to make us laugh at anything he throws at us. My absolute favorite moment is when the stupid, childlike Mongo (Alex Karras) punches a horse. And I adore Madeline Kahn's wonderful imitation of Marlene Dietrich singing "I'm Tired" (a song created for the film).

There is much to enjoy in "Blazing Saddles," including all the potshots taken at racist white people who are incredibly dumb in this film. I loved the chemistry between Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, who are as engaging and fun to watch together as almost anything else they have ever done. For every gag that works, there is at least one that misfires (the Native American confronting a black family in a carriage is flat). Harvey Korman can also be a bit much at times and I will never understand the appeal of Dom DeLuise. Still, a frantic comedy of bad manners and bad form is all one should expect from Mel Brooks.