Octopus Overlords

Brooks worried about using the racial epithet I've just elided. But his co-screenwriter Richard Pryor insisted he use it — and use it often — consciously putting it the mouths of evil or unthinking characters, so that star Cleavon Little could comically mock or demolish them.

Which he does. Repeatedly. And hilariously....

...'Bury it.'

When studio executives first saw Blazing Saddles, they were not amused. One distributor suggested they "bury it." Others wanted rewrites. But Brooks' contract gave him final cut, and he flat-out refused to make changes.

So on Feb. 7, 1974, the studio opened the film as a test in three cities — NYC, LA, Chicago — considered the most likely to get Brooks' Borscht Belt sense of humor. Critics were dismissive, but even the most negative reviews conceded that audiences were howling.

And word got around. By the time the weather had warmed, Blazing Saddles was playing to long lines in suburban cinemas across the country.

It ended up the biggest box-office hit of 1974

Jaymann wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2024 7:43 pm Too bad it was overshadowed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Jaymann wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2024 7:43 pm Too bad it was overshadowed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.