BLAZING SADDLES

(February 1974, U.S.)

In my humble opinion, comic director Mel Brooks has produced three categories of films. There's the great; THE PRODUCERS, BLAZING SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. There's the reasonably decent; HIGH ANXIETY, HISTORY OF THE WORLD-PART I and SPACEBALLS. Finally, there's the downright fucking awful; LIFE STINKS and DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT (it's such a shame that THIS was Brooks' film swan song). So I'm pleased to be able to focus on the great with BLAZING SADDLES.

It surprises me that many would credit AIRPLANE (1980) with creating the genre of the outrageous, spoof comedy that spawned other franchises like THE NAKED GUN and SCARY MOVIE. Really, it was this satirical western that started it all. Among other things, the film exposes the racism obscured by myth-making Hollywood accounts of the American West, but in a highly satirical way, with the film's hero, Sheriff Bart (played by Clevon Little) being black. The film is also full of anachronisms, from a Jazz band in the Wild West to a rustler referring to the Wide World of Sports to Nazis and a camel waiting in the line for villains to a Yiddish-speaking Indian chief (played hilariously by Brooks). Seriously, what's not to laugh at?

Now, once and for all, let's me clear up a common misconception that I've been hearing from fans of this film. The line that goes, "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" did not, I repeat DID NOT originate from BLAZING SADDLES. A variation of it was spoken in the Humphrey Bogart classic, THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) and it goes like this, "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges." BLAZING SADDLES is spoofing the line! Understand?

Favorite line or dialogue:

Gabby Johnson: "I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin' bushwackin', hornswagglin' cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter!"
Olson Johnson: "Now who can argue with that?"