Synopsis

In the Old West, a Black railroad worker is appointed sheriff of Rock Ridge, a town targeted for destruction by a corrupt politician and the railroad. Facing racial hostility and a scheme to drive residents away, he joins forces with an alcoholic former gunslinger. Their increasingly absurd campaign turns the town's survival into a full-scale assault on Western conventions.

Factoids & Trivia

• Andrew Bergman's original story was developed under the working titles "Tex X" and "Black Bart." The writing team later expanded to include Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Alan Uger, and Richard Pryor.

• The screenplay deliberately draws on Warner Bros. Westerns of the 1930s and 1940s, particularly the formula of a threatened frontier town and its larger-than-life heroes.

• Mel Brooks did not tell Frankie Laine that the title song was for a comedy. Laine therefore performed it as if he were recording a serious Western theme.

• The name Hedley Lamarr was intended as a joke about actress Hedy Lamarr. Lamarr sued over the reference during production, and the dispute was settled out of court. The film's dialogue had already anticipated the possibility of such a lawsuit.

• Madeline Kahn's musical number "I'm Tired" was styled as a comic tribute to Marlene Dietrich's screen persona, especially her performances in classic Westerns and cabaret dramas.

• Principal photography took place from March through May 1973, using Warner Bros.' Burbank backlot along with locations including Vasquez Rocks and the Mojave Desert.

• The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Song. It also won the Writers Guild of America award for comedy screenplay written directly for the screen.

• In 2006, the Library of Congress selected "Blazing Saddles" for preservation in the National Film Registry as a culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film.