Weekend Buff

Blazing Saddles (1974)

The new Sheriff is near. Near enough to offer a laurel, and hardy handshake. The Rock Ridge welcome from Blazing Saddles (1974) is as offensive and as funny a scene in all of filmdom. This western film spoof is one of the best comedies of all time and our recommendation for this installment of Weekend Buff.

1974 was a good year for Mel Brooks. His films Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein were both released to critical acclaim. The two films are probably his best, and he and Gene Wilder made audiences across the country howl with laughter.

Brooks and Wilder unleash a laugh a minute with both films, but Blazing Saddles throws barbs at any and all members of the human race. If you can’t make fun of people, who can you make fun of seems to be the premise of the film.

The movie stars Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart and Gene Wilder as Jim, The Waco Kid. The pair are perfect together and give outstanding performances. Bart is appointed sheriff by the corrupt Governor William J. Le Petomane (Mel Brooks) and Attorney General Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) to “encourage” the residents of Rock Ridge to leave the town so they can take the land and sell it to the railroad. An all-star supporting cast of Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, and Madeline Kahn are all fantastically funny. The theme song was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Sheriff Bart and The Waco Kid team up to save the town. In the process they bring all the townspeople together. They defeat racism (mostly) and get Sheriff Bart accepted and admired. In the end, people of all creeds, cultures, and religions are welcome in Rock Ridge. Even the Irish!

The shame is that this film could never be made in today’s environment. The perennially offended would have none of it. The hustlers who claim that the specter of racism lurks around every corner would be screaming. The jokes would be seen as a physical assault. The LBGTQ+ allies would be outraged. There would be protests and the theaters. Mel Brooks would be hung in effigy. Chaos and outrage would rule the day, and tears would run in the streets. To that we say Harrumph!

Blazing Saddles runs the typical hour and 30 minutes. You can rent it from the usual sites for $4 – didn’t find it for free anywhere. This weekend have a laugh. Tell the woke crowd where they can go. Remember America when it was ok to poke fun at ourselves. And enjoy one of the funniest movies of all time.

Little known fact. Brooks asked John Wayne to star as the Waco Kid. He envisioned Wayne as playing the straight man to the cast of comedians. The Duke politely declined but told Brooks that he loved every minute of the film.

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