Blazing Saddles

Mel Brooks’s film grew out of an Andrew Bergman outline called Tex X, with Alan Arkin set to direct and James Earl Jones to play the sheriff. When that collapsed Brooks bought the rights and hired a writers’ room, posting a sign: please do not write a polite script. The Waco Kid was offered to John Wayne first; he called it too blue for his family image but promised to be first in line to see it. Gig Young took the part, could not carry on past his first scene, and Gene Wilder was flown in. For the title song Brooks advertised for a Frankie Laine type voice; Laine himself turned up and sang it straight, not knowing it was a spoof. The whip cracks came later. He then performed it at the 47th Academy Awards. The film took three nominations there and won none: Supporting Actress (Madeline Kahn), Film Editing, Original Song. Its writers did win the Writers Guild comedy award. Hedy Lamarr sued over the joke on her name; it ended out of court with a small payment and an apology. A good fit if you want the brawl to break the set and spill onto the next stage, the commissary and Burbank’s streets. Not for anyone with no patience for racist slurs repeated on screen.