ArizonaRealCountry.com 17 July 2019 Then there’s the character simply known as “Jim,” a black-clad gunslinger perfectly played by Gene Wilder who was just starting his tenure as part of the Brook’s stock company. The story has it that John Wayne was offered the part of Jim but turned it down while loving the script saying he would definitely be anxious to see the finished product. Western song favorite, Frankie Laine, who had sung many a western theme ditty, among them “Rawhide,” “The Hanging Tree,” and “Gunfight at the OK Corral,” was talked into singing the theme song after being told it was going to be a serious western production. Today, with the exception of “Rawhide” it’s possibly Laine’s best-known song. As popular a film as “Blazing Saddles” was, and still is, it couldn’t be made in today’s political climate. Racial jokes abound, usually at the expense of Cleavon Little’s black Bart character. Produced in a simpler, less heated atmosphere and viewed in the spirit it was made at the time, with a story by black comedian Richard Pryor, it broke the mold as far as comedy westerns, creating its own sub-genre. Unfortunately, today at a time when everything offends somebody in our PC culture, “Blazing Saddles” is a very funny film with the kind of satiric sensibilities that sadly have ridden off into the humorless sunset. Before we go any further I need to explain that B.S. in this instance stands for “Blazing Saddles,” the 1974 western comedy unlike anything that came before or since, breaking some taboos along the way; honestly, have you been able to look the same way at a chuck wagon meal around a campfire? Throwing in large portions of parody, satire, and a dash of farce, “Blazing Saddles” brought a fresh look to comedy films in general, poking fun at old time movie stars like Hedy LaMarr and Marlene Dietrich, and a town comprised of families named Johnson with nods to Howard Johnson and his one flavor of ice cream, plus Van Johnson, Sam Johnson, Gabby Johnson and even a wink to old-time comedy team Olson & Johnson. Timely references to current events, movies and TV programs of the time are poked fun at, Slim Pickens riding in on his horse asking, “What in the wide, wide world of sports, is a going on here?” is a highlight. The fourth wall is constantly broken with the cast giving continuous nods to the audience letting them in on the jokes. The finale literally breaks down the town’s western façades, moving on to Mann’s (Grauman’s) Chinese Theatre, making fun of the star’s cement footprints before going inside to watch their own movie. Originally concocted by comedian-actor Richard Pryor, “Blazing Saddles” was brought to the screen by comedy genius Mel Brooks, with a storyline that throws in everything but the proverbial kitchen sink making sure there’s a joke for everyone to enjoy. The flawless cast includes Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Burton Gilliam, the aforementioned Pickens, and of course Brooks. By Charlie LeSueur Charlie LeSueur, AZ’s Official Western Film Historian. Encore Fellow @ Western Spirit, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. azfilmhistorian@gmail.com, silverscreencowboyz.com B.S. BREAKS THE COMEDY Western Wide Open Clockwise from top: Mel Brooks as a very unpolitically correct Jewish indian chief; Cleavon Little & Gene Wilder as Bart & Jim in “Blazing Saddles”; Burton Gilliam in his breakout role as Lyle; Iconic western character actor Slim Pickens (seen here with Gilliam) as Taggart; One sheet for “Blazing Saddles”; Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp, a spot on impersonation of Marlene Dietrich; Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr, Mel Brooks as Governor Lepetomane