History Film / BlazingSaddles

-->'''Taggart:''' (finds his henchmen dancing and singing) What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is a-goin' on here?!

** In addition to Hedley Lamarr, the Johnson clan in Rock Ridge includes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Johnson%27s Howard Johnson,]] Creator/VanJohnson, [[UsefulNotes/SamuelJohnson Dr. Samuel Johnson]], and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olsen_and_Johnson Olson N. Johnson.]]

** Most of the townspeople. Howard Johnson, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Samuel_Johnson Dr. Samuel Johnson.]] [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004496/ Van Johnson,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olsen_and_Johnson Olson N. Johnson.]]

** Bart actually delivers the Candygram, has Mongo sign for it, then walks away as the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes theme plays. The box doesn't actually ''explode'' until Mongo opens it. [[BeamMeUpScotty Imitators just yell it as they throw the bomb.]]

** In addition to Hedley Lamarr, the Johnson clan in Rock Ridge includes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Johnson%27s Howard Johnson,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Johnson Van Johnson,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson Dr. Samuel Johnson,]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olsen_and_Johnson Olson N. Johnson.]]
** Doubling as a GeniusBonus, Bart being African-American makes him a Black Bart. It's also a subversion, as in Western lingo, a black bart is a villain. [[invoked]]

Completely, offensively, and unapologetically politically incorrect, ''Blazing Saddles'' also skewers nearly every Western trope listed on this site (and likely a few we haven't thought of yet). Instead of making a serious movie saying "racism is bad", Brooks decided to make a movie where all the racists are idiots, a philosophy he also employed when dealing with Nazis in his movies. Placing sixth on the [[Creator/AmericanFilmInstitute AFI]]'s "100 Years... 100 Laughs" and selected for the UsefulNotes/NationalFilmRegistry in 2006, this is definitely not a movie to skip if you enjoy laughing.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: It's HEDLEY!

-->'''Reverend Johnson:''' Gentlemen, gentlemen, allow not hatred to rule the day. [holds up his Bible] As your spiritual leader, I implore you to pay heed to this good book and what it has to say!\\
[Townspeople shoot the Bible, blowing it apart]\\
'''Reverend Johnson:''' [to Bart] [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Son, you're on your own]].
* AsYouKnow: Everyone in the town is gathered in the church to discuss what to do about the bandits ransacking the town-- and the preacher begins by letting everyone know that bandits are ransacking the town. He even begins his speech by saying, "I don't have to tell you people what has been happening to our beloved town: sheriff murdered, crops burned, stores looted, women stampeded, and cattle raped."

* GainaxEnding: Where to even begin… [[spoiler:First, Bart and Jim recruit the railroad workers and the townspeople to build an exact replica of the town for the villains to attack instead. Not only does this [[RefugeInAudacity succeed,]] but things only spiral out of control after. This ranges from the cast breaking into a completely different set where another movie is being film, to Bart and Jim [[NoFourthWall attending the premiere of the movie itself.]]]]

''Blazing Saddles'' is a 1974 American comedy film directed and co-written by Creator/MelBrooks (with writing help from none other than Creator/RichardPryor), which mercilessly spoofs TheWestern.

* SaltAndPepper: Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid.

** Played with when it comes to BigBad Hedley Lamarr. While you'd probably expect the bad guy in a film from an era with so much bigotry and a black protagonist to be a vicious racist himself, Lamarr shows much less bigotry than his henchmen, Mr. Taggart and Lyle. He doesn't even show as much racism as the InnocentBystanders that the black sheriff is protecting! When hiring outlaws he advertises himself as an [[EqualOpportunityEvil Equal Opportunity Employer]] and specifically mentions in his famous LongList that he wants criminals of many different races and backgrounds working for him. On the other hand, he doesn't hesitate to [[WouldHitAGirl slap Lili around]] and insult her [[AcceptableTargets German ancestry]] when she does a HighHeelFaceTurn. Lamarr is also in charge of appropriating land in Colorado from the local Indians, which he justifies by claiming "they're such children", although there's a chance that this could be chalked up to him playing to his audience, as Lamarr says it while addressing the governor and his cabinet, and events of the film show that Lamarr will say ''anything'' and use any sort of line to manipulate the governor and get what he wants from the man. Lamarr is pretty much in it for the money and power, and race seems to be a secondary concern.

* ExactWords: As soon as Bart pulls himself out of the quicksand, Taggart throws him a shovel and orders Bart to find a good use for it. So Bart does - by [[TapOnTheHead whacking Taggart over the head with it]].

* EvilLaugh: Hedley Lamarr, when he comes up with the idea of sending a black sheriff to Rock Ridge. It becomes an UnevilLaugh when he chokes on the hard candy he's been sucking on.

** Mel Brooks, in the line of outlaws waiting to join Hedley Lamarr's army. He's a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI airplane pilot. He also appears as the Yiddish-speaking Indian chief ''and'' Governor William J. Le Petomane and voices a couple of background characters.
** Count Basie and his orchestra appear in the desert, playing "April in Paris," as Bart rides to Rock Ridge.

** Buddy Bizarre, the director of the musical that gets crashed in the final brawl, is played by Creator/DomDeLuise.

* ACappella: When Lyle requests the railroad workers sing a "nigger work song" they respond with a nicely-harmonized rendition of "I Get A Kick Out Of You" by Music/ColePorter.

** Someone blasts Reverend Johnson's Bible out of his hands when he attempts to make peace between the mob and Bart.

** Bart was originally handed the job of Sheriff [[BatmanGambit in order to disgust and offend the residents of Rock Ridge]]. Unfortunately for Hedley, Bart's far better at the job than he was expecting.

** It breaks down to: if a character is racist/prejudiced, they're going to look like the idiot that makes them. Jim is on Bart's side from the beginning, and he's funny but not pathetic - in fact he steadily regains his past badass nature throughout the movie. Lily and Mongo both make quick [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turns]], and come out looking pretty good.
* {{Cameo}}: Several.
** Mel Brooks, in the line of outlaws waiting to join Hedley Lamarr's army. He's a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI airplane pilot. He also appears as the Yiddish-speaking Indian chief ''and'' Governor William J. [=LePetomane=].
** Count Basie's Orchestra shows up in one scene.
** It seems that the musical being filmed one sound-stage over from the set for Rock Ridge is being directed by Dom Deluise.
--->'''Dom:''' Not in the face! Not in the face!! ''[receives punch to the gut]'' Thank you!

* EstablishingSeriesMoment: When the obnoxious, racist managers try to get the black railroad workers to sing a jaunty "[[JobSong nigger work song]]", they all oblige by singing an ACappella version of "I Get A Kick Out Of You" by Music/FrankSinatra. They then play dumb when they request they sing a more classic song, tricking the racist managers into singing and dancing to "Camptown Races". Their boss then shows up and chews them out for "jump[ing] around like a bunch of Kansas City faggots," all with the black workers laughing at their expense. This sets the tone for a movie full of [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist idiots]], a GuileHero that uses his wits to overcome their nonsense and a lot of anachronistic humor deconstructing TheWestern genre.

* FakeTown: The decoy version of Rock Ridge, where the inhabitants of the real Rock Ridge build the fake town as a trap for outlaws that are threatening their town. Its design is similar to a movie set for an Old Western street scene.
* FalseFlagOperation: Lamarr initially hires a bunch of {{Mooks}} to terrorize the town. When this doesn't work he tries making Bart Sheriff as Plan B.

* TheDreaded: "Never mind that shit, here comes Mongo!"