Why was blazing saddles so successful

Next thing I know, there were or so people circling the theater waiting to see if there were no-shows, trying to get last-minute tickets. So about an hour into the show, I went outside and signed autographs. It was a mob scene. The Springsteen song? The Bing Crosby song. Did wonders for my ego. Right, you could those describe those pretty easily: Two Broadway producers realize they could make more money with a flop than with a hit.

Two guys look for a chair, and find the inequality behind the modern Soviet Union. This was different. You could have such fun with this. So I call Andy up and I say, listen, would you come do this with me if I direct it?

But we need a black guy. Let me stop you there for a second. Why, exactly, did you need to use that word so much for the movie? Well, because the idea of a black sheriff — which Andy already had in his first draft — is great, but all the bad guys are going to call him that.

He had a hero who spoke like a resident of Harlem in a Western town in I mean, the juxtaposition of it was just great. So I called up a friend of mine, this guy who was a brilliant writer and the best stand-up comic of all time: Richard Pryor.

I like this. But the bad guys can say it. They would say it! Brooks wanted to give something new a go when thinking about the type of music the film would feature. As a consequence, he came up with something that has never been done before: using foreground instead of background music.

Brooks, alongside John Morris, also composed the title song for the film. It all started when an actress called Hedy Lamarr was a star on the rise in MGM films in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

However, she and Brooks eventually managed to settle the matter out of court. Mel Brooks had only started writing the script when his wife gave birth to their son, Max. As though his financial status was not stressing him enough, Brooks now felt as though he had to take make this project and make it into the best piece of work he possibly could.

Towards the end of the film, Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid are chased throughout the Warner Brothers backlot by all people that they upset.

Brooks then had him sign a waiver and left him in the film since he had no idea what was happening. Madeline Kahn was working on Mame before she joined the cast of Blazing Saddles. Mame was a film adaptation of a Broadway show by the same name, which starred Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur. However, Kahn was fired from Mame the day before she began shooting for Blazing Saddles.

It was Lucille Ball who claimed it was very evident that Kahn did everything in her power to get fired, including displaying poor acting skills, all so she could accept the role of Lili von Shtupp. Due to his success when adapting The Producers to the stage, Brooks was approached several times with requests that he would adapt Blazing Saddles for Broadway, too.

I got away with it then. Blazing Saddles is seen as one of the greatest comedy films of all time — and Brooks could not be prouder about this fact. Brooks explained that he had hoped to cast Madeline Kahn as Lili von Shtupp since he was familiar with her comedic skills from her off-Broadway work.

However, when Kahn arrived at the audition, she picked up on a different vibe from Brooks, as he asked to see her legs. Once being cast as a member of Blazing Saddles , Gene Wilder began his most famous bromance years. The studio did not enjoy having the dubious Pryor in the movie and suggested Little.

Luckily, Brooks loved the proposal because of the perfect way he delivered his lines and granted the part to Little. However, since Gilliam genuinely liked Cleavon Little, he felt uncomfortable using such crude language that meant to offend him — even if it in the script.

Mel Brooks received a lot of criticism from the studio about this film, but despite all of their demands to cut inappropriate scenes, Brooks only ended up taking out one scene from its original cut. In the cut scene, Sheriff Bart is seen visiting Lili von Shtupp in her dressing room.

John Wayne was the most celebrated star in western films for three decades. For this reason, Brooks wanted to include the Duke in his film.

Gene Wilder will always be associated with the brilliant comedian that is Mel Brooks; however, without the great film that is Blazing Saddles , this never would have happened. Brooks cast Wilder in The Producers, which aided in his decision when hiring as he needed someone he knew he could count on. Wilder accepted the part of the Waco Kid — but only if Brooks was willing to consider another film that he had written. Max has gone on to have an impressive writing career of his own, focusing largely on zombie stories like World War Z.

You can check out his official site here. The pilot for a spinoff TV series called Black Bart was filmed in Unfortunately, it never got picked up.

But of course! What does that matter when Alex Karras is knocking a horse cold with a right sock to the jaw? BY Mark Mancini. Blazing Saddles was the first movie to incorporate audible flatulence. Mel Brooks was awarded the prestigious Bafta Fellowship in Image source, Shutterstock. Blazing Saddles was the highest-grossing Western of all time, until Dances With Wolves was released in Young Frankenstein opened in Newcastle with its London previews starting on 28 September.

Image source, Getty Images. Related Topics. Comedy Mel Brooks Film.