[Bart reaches for his gun.]
Jim [played by Gene
Wilder]: “Oh no, don't do that, don't do that. If you shoot him, you'll
just make him mad.”— Blazing Saddles
(1974), story by Andrew Bergman, screenplay by Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg,
Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, and Alan Uger, directed by Mel Brooks
What might make Jim say a thing like that? Maybe
because Mongo (played by ex-NFL legend Alex Karras, pictured) is strong enough
and crazy enough to punch out a horse?
Blazing Saddles, premiering
50 years ago today, is among the most uproarious farces in the Mel Brooks
filmography. I have briefly posted several times before on this: about its wacky homage to western hero Randolph Scott, Brooks’ filming of the hilarious campfire scene, and how Gene Wilder replaced the alcoholic Gig Young in the role of Jim.
Maybe at some point, I’ll pay tribute to Madeleine
Kahn’s great Marlene Dietrich parody. But today, I think I’ll take note of how
Mongo was played to the hilt by Karras—described by Brooks, in a 2016 interview with TMZ, as “"very bright, very creative, very fun on the set….He
didn't actually do any passing of gas, but he did everything else."
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