10 things you didn't know about Blazing Saddles
Mel Brooks' first 2 movies, "The Producers" and "The Twelve Chairs" were hits with the critics, but at the box office, not so much. Their offbeat combination of cerebral comedy and old-fashioned slapstick didn't catch the public's fancy. So for outing #3, Mel chose to go with a gut-punch…"bathroom" humor and salty language, what used to be called "sophomoric," and laid on super thick. No holds barred, nothing and no one spared…to put it mildly: "unsubtle." The result was the greatest Western spoof of all time, and if cynics saw this as throwing in the towel, movie-goers responded: Please, more towels!
Here are 10 things perhaps you didn't know about "Blazing Saddles."
1) Sheriff Who?…The original concept came from novelist and fledgling screenwriter Andrew Bergman. (He would go on to write and/or direct such hits as "Fletch," "Soapdish," "The Freshman, "Striptease" and many more.) His offbeat idea was to plunk a modern-day Black Militant down in the middle of the old Wild West…his draft was titled "Tex X," referencing of course Malcolm X. Mel thought "Black Bart" sounded better, but the ultimate title came to him, says he, while in the shower. And not for nothing, but did you ever notice the initials of "Blazing Saddles"?
2) No Star for You…After his first 2 movies were practically one-man efforts, Mel longed for the collaborative days he spent writing for "Your Show of Shows" in the 1950s…among his cohorts had been Neil Simon & Carl Reiner. Thus he recruited a group of writers, including Bergman, and a young comic he admired, Richard Pryor, who then seemed the obvious choice to play Black Bart…Mel had at first considered James Earl Jones. But he soon discovered that with Pryor's reputation for drug use, and the nature of his standup material, no one in Hollywood would bankroll the project. Thus Pryor remained a writer, and the lead went to Cleavon Little. But one story Mel remembered from the good old days lead to…
3) Punching a Gift Horse in the Head…Sid Caesar, besides being screamingly funny, was also apparently a very violent person. As he recounts in his 1982 autobiography, he was once trail-riding when his wife Imogene Coca's horse began giving her trouble. After she dismounted, he faced the recalcitrant steed…and proceeded to coldcock it between the eyes, knocking it senseless. Oh, really? Well, that's what he says, and Mel had heard the story when it supposedly happened, inspiring the famous scene where Mongo (Alex Karras) does the same.
4) Woof!…Ever wonder what the Indians are saying in Yiddish? Chief Mel and 2 braves trot over to the wagon on their pinto ponies…Mel gives them the once-over, and yes, that is Rodney Allen Rippy, of "Take Life a Little Easier (Jack in the Box Theme)" fame: "Schwartze! (Blacks!)" The braves threaten them with tomahawk and spear, but Mel says: "Na, na, seit nicht meshugge. (No, no, don’t be crazy.)" Then comes Mel’s famous shout, which I always thought was a call to prayer or something, but it’s not that. "Los’ im gehen!! (Let them go!) Cop a walk, it’s alright!" They say thank you and start to move off. "A wie Gesund! (Take care…literally…Stay healthy.) Take off. Hast du gesehen in deine Leben? (Have you ever seen anything like that in your life?) They darker then us! Woof!"
Now "lassen ihn gehen" as I said means literally “let them go.” Pronounced “loz im gain” or sometimes by Gentiles “lossum game,” it’s carny slang, and means: "Quit fleecing the rube, cut the game short, that’s the Sheriff’s son, what are you nuts?" In general, people wouldn’t know what it meant...but there’s a story told about it being said, and the mark, who was Jewish, commenting: “So why didn’t you lossum game me $50 bucks ago?”
5) A Real Gassss…Mel's Governor Le Petomane is named after Joseph Pujols who performed under that name at Paris's Moulin Rouge in the late 1800s. His act was, honest to goodness, flatulence…punctuating stories with various "sound effects," doing melodies, even blowing out candles. And he was a huge hit. Suffice to say, Chapter 3 of his short biography published in 1985 is titled: "Muscular Control Astonishes the French Doctors." Mel also has a cameo in the outlaw recruitment line wearing an aviator's costume. And he does a couple of voices…I won't tell you which, but if it sounds like him, it probably is. In the church scenes, watch for Gene Wilder's future wife Gilda Radner, and Mel's wife Anne Bancroft.
6) Oh You Wacky Kid..The Waco Kid was originally seen as an older character…Dan Dailey was first on board, but was to ill to proceed. Johnny Carson (!!) was asked and refused. Scenes were actually filmed with Gig Young, but he really was drunk and later that day collapsed on the set. The "OK, you win" call went out to Gene Wilder, who had originally wanted the part, but Mel saw him more in the Hedley Lamarr role, to which Gene had said "No thanks." Funny how things turn out sometimes.
7) Honey, I Shrunk Rock Ridge…As was bound to happen, a TV pilot was filmed…but if there was ever a movie that couldn't translate to the small screen, "Blazing Saddles" has to be it. Still, they tried. It was pretty much all Andrew Bergman, with virtually no input from Mel. It was called "Black Bart," with Lou Gossett Jr. and Steve Landesberg in the lead roles. CBS aired it quietly in 1975, over and out. It also featured obnoxious child actor Poindexter Yothers, brother of Tina "Family Ties" Yothers. For good measure it's included as a bonus on the DVD.
8) Steady, Pilgrim…John Wayne was approached to make a cameo appearance. After reading the script, he had to decline, as he couldn't appear in a movie that, um, rambunctious, saying: "But I'll be the first in line to see it!"
9) A Torch Song to Light the Way…Mel wrote the title theme and advertised in the trade papers for a "Frankie Laine type" to sing it…instead, the real deal showed up. The story is that Frankie didn't know the movie was a comedy, and Mel didn't want to tell him. Now I suppose that's plausible…the lyrics are written pretty much straight…the only hint that something might be amiss: "He made his blazing saddle a torch to light the way!" OK, in hindsight, the dude's rig is on fire, but it could have simply meant that it was festooned with glittering gold folderol that reflected the blazing noonday sun, right? Still, you think Frankie Laine didn't know what he was getting into with Mel Brooks, for gosh sakes?
10) And Don't Call Me "Shirley"…But let's face it, Mel Brooks is full of stories. He claims that actress Hedy Lamarr threatened to sue over his naming Harvey Korman's character "Hedley Lamarr," and they settled out of court. What I say is: Why try to track this one down and spoil the fun? Trouble is, it fits a little too neatly with the scene where Hedley bristles when Le Petomane gets his name wrong, but the Governor says: "What are you worried about? This is 1874. You'll be able to sue her!" Anyway, Mel says he was flattered that she noticed.
More groovy stuff from Stolf daily at stolf.wordpress.com and deepfriedhoodsiecups.wordpress.com…and till next month, rock on, doo-dah! doo-dah!
