Blazing Saddles- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1974-Starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, and Slim Pickens

 

Blazing Saddles- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1974-Starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, and Slim Pickens 

Blazing Saddles is set in the American west in 1874.

 Slavery just ended a few years ago and railroad construction is opening the opportunity for new found wealth for those prepared to capitalize.

  The opening scene centers on a group of former slaves and imported Chinese workers laying track in 114 degrees Fahrenheit. When a Chinese worker collapses, the track forman says "Doc that Chink a days pay for napping on the job". Then he asks the black workers to "sing a good old nigger work song like when you were slaves"

When I first saw Blazing Saddles in the theatre 50 years ago I thought it was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Now streaming it on a tablet, I still think that. The racially abusive language is still a little shocking.

The plot centers on the efforts of Hedley Lammar, brilliantly played by Harvey Korman, to get control of the land where the railroad will go through, in the town of Rock Ridge and the efforts lead by Bart, Clevon Little is a complete success in the role, to stop him.

In the  American frontier  a new railroad under construction will have to be rerouted through the town of Rock Ridge to avoid quicksand. Realizing this will make Rock Ridge worth millions, territorial attorney general Hedley Lamarr plans to force Rock Ridge's residents out of the town and sends a gang of thugs, led by his flunky Taggart, to shoot the sheriff and trash the town.

The townspeople demand that Governor William J. Le Petomane, played by Mel Brooks,vappoint a new sheriff to protect them. Lamarr persuades dim-witted Le Petomane to appoint Bart, a black railroad worker about to be executed for assaulting Taggart. A black sheriff, Lamarr reasons, will offend the townspeople, create chaos and leave Rock Ridge at his mercy.

After an initial hostile reception in which he takes himself "hostage" to escape, Bart relies on his quick wits and the assistance of Jim, an alcoholic gunslinger known as the "Waco Kid", played by Gene Wilder, to overcome the townspeople's hostility. Bart subdues Mongo, an immensely strong and dim-witted, yet philosophical henchman sent to kill him, then outwits German seductress-for-hire Lili Von Shtupp at her own game, with Lili falling in love with him.

Upon release, Mongo vaguely informs Bart of Lamarr's connection to the railroad, so Bart and Jim visit the railroad worksite and discover from Bart's best friend Charlie that the railway is planned to go through Rock Ridge. Taggart and his men arrive to kill Bart, but Jim outshoots them and forces their retreat. Furious that his schemes have backfired, Lamarr recruits an army of thugs, including common criminals, motorcycle gangsters, Ku Klux Klansmen, Nazi soldiers, and Methodists.

East of Rock Ridge, Bart introduces the White townspeople to the black, Chinese, and Irish railroad workers who have all agreed to help them in exchange for acceptance by the community, and explains his plan to defeat Lamarr's army. They labor all night to build a perfect copy of the town as a diversion. When Bart realizes it will not be enough to fool the villains, the townsfolk construct copies of themselves.

Bart, Jim, and Mongo buy time by constructing the "Gov. William J. Le Petomane Thruway", forcing the raiding party to send for change to pay the toll. Once through the tollbooth, the raiders attack the fake town and its population of dummies, which have been booby trapped with dynamite. After Jim detonates the bombs with his sharpshooting, launching bad guys and horses skyward, the Rock Ridgers attack the villains with Lili singing with the Nazi soldiers.

The resulting brawl between townsfolk, railroad workers, and Lamarr's thugs literally breaks the fourth wall and bursts onto a neighboring movie set where director Buddy Bizarre is filming a Busby Berkeley-style top-hat-and-tails musical number. Then the brawl spreads into the studio commissary for a food fight and spills out of the Warner Bros. film lot onto the streets of Burbank.

Lamarr escapes the brawl and takes a taxi to hide at Mann's Chinese Theatre which is showing the premiere of Blazing Saddles.

 

Available on Amazon Prime Video

 

To Be or Not to Be - Directed by Mel Brooks - Starring Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft - 1982 - inspired by Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 version of Two or Not to Be

 To Be or Not to Be is a 1983 American war comedy film directed by Alan Johnson, produced by Mel Brooks, and starring Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Tim Matheson, Charles Durning, Christopher Lloyd, and José Ferrer. The screenplay was written by Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan, based on the original story by Melchior Lengyel, Ernst Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer. The film is a remake of the 1942 film of the same name.

Fredrick Bronski runs a large ensemble show out of Warsaw. Despite the relative success the show receives, the majority of the cast are annoyed by the fact that Fredrick nitpicks who does what, in particular his wife Anna, whom he regularly tries to undermine despite her getting the lion's share of audience praise. This leads her to begin a flirtation with bomber pilot Andre Sobinski, who she invites to come to her dressing room when Fredrick's begins the "To be, or not to be" speech from Hamlet. Their fling is cut short by the Nazi invasion of Poland, forcing Sobinski to return to his squadron.

As the Bronski Theater struggles to remain open in spite of Gestapo censorship, Sobinski and the rest of the Royal Air Force's Polish squadron commiserate with Polish radio broadcaster Dr. Siletski, who tells them he is returning to Poland and talks them into giving him messages to family members and members of the Polish Underground. However, when Siletski fails to recognize Anna Bronski's name, despite having claimed to have lived in Warsaw, Sobinski becomes suspicious. He consults with British intelligence, who realize that Siletski is a Nazi sympathizer who intends to deliver the names to the Gestapo. Sobinski air drops into Warsaw and meets up with Anna and Fredrick, who have been forced to move in with Anna's dresser Sasha after their home was turned into Gestapo Headquarters.

After arriving in Warsaw, Siletski has Anna brought to his room at the former Europa Hotel (which was turned into German Military Headquarters) to ask her about Sobinski's personal message. Convinced that it has no military significance, he invites Anna to return for dinner. Returning home, Anna explains the situation to Fredrick and Sobinski, and realizing that Siletski and Gestapo leader Colonel Erhardt have never met, they decide that Frederick will pose as Erhardt. Actors dressed as Gestapo members interrupt Anna's date with Siletski and take him to "headquarters," the Bronski Theater. Frederick successfully retrieves the list from Siletski but unwittingly blows his cover when he reacts to news of Anna's liaisons with Sobinski. Siletski tries to escape through the theater, but Sobinski shoots him down. This forces Fredrick to pose as Siletski to retrieve a copy of the list and get Anna out of the hotel.

The ending is very exciting with a hilarious surprise at the conclusion 

Available on Amazon Prime video

Young Frankenstein- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1974 - Starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman and Teri Garr

 

Young Frankenstein- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1974 - Starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman and Teri Garr 

Fifty years ago Mel Brooks, with an incredibly talented cast, gave the world one of the funniest most brilliant comedies ever done, Young Frankenstein.

Inspired by Mary Shelly's novel, the movie begins with the grandson of Victor Frankenstein, played by Gene Wilder,giving a lecture at an American medical college in New York.  A student asks him about his feelings on his grandfather's work focusing on bringing corpses back to life. He is so against his work that he insists his name be pronounced differently.  He tells the class his grandfather's work was total nonsense.  In the class room is a man has come five thousand miles, from Transylvania to bring him the will of his great grandfather, Baron Von Frankenstein.  He has inherited the castle where his grandfather worked,

After a bizarrely repressed goodbye at the train station with his finance, played perfectly by Madeline Kahn, he sets out  for Transylvania. In nezrly every seen in the movie there are marvellous comic moments (" pardon me boy is this the Transylvania station")

At the Transylvania Station he is picked up by Igor, played by Marty Feldman and accompanied by Terri Garr playing his lab assistant. 

I do not wish to reveal more of the plot to first time viewers of the movie.

I love this movie.  In these darking times I needed this movie.

Blazzing Saddles- A 1974 Comedy Directed by Mel Brooks - Starring Clevon Little, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Kormman and Slim Pickins

 

Available on Netflix and for purchase on YouTube 

Blazzing Saddles- A 1974 Comedy Directed by Mel Brooks - Starring Clevon Little, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Kormman and Slim Pickins

I first saw Blazing Saddles in a theater in America in 1974. I thought it was incredibly funny, maybe the funniest movie I had ever seen.  Seeing it again 49 years later on Netflix I still feel that way.  All of the stars have passed away.

Blazing Saddles has something to offend everone! 

The film is a parody of the Western genre, and it lampoons many of the conventions of Westerns, such as the portrayal of Native Americans and Mexicans as villains. Blazing Saddles is also known for its use of racial humor, which was controversial at the time of its release. However, the film has since been praised for its groundbreaking humor and its social commentary.

Blazing Saddles was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $119 million at the box office and receiving three Academy Award nominations. 

Young Frankenstein- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1976 - Starring Gene Wilder, Terri Garr, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Madeline Kahn

 

Young Frankenstein- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1976 - Starring Gene Wilder, Terri Garr, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Madeline Kahn

Frederick Frankenstein (played by the brilliant Gene Wilder), the esteemed grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, is determined to distance himself from his family's dark legacy. However, when he inherits his grandfather's estate in Transylvania, he finds himself drawn back into the world of mad science. 

With the help of Igor (the hunchbacked assistant, played by the scene-stealing Marty Feldman), Inga (a seductive Transylvania native, played by Teri Garr), and Frau Blücher (whose name will forever be linked to neighing horses, played by Cloris Leachman), Frederick creates his own monster (brought to life by the unforgettable Peter Boyle).

Young Frankenstein was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $86 million at the box office and earning two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song Score. It is now considered a classic comedy film and is often cited as one of Mel Brooks' best works.

Young Frankenstein has had a lasting impact on popular culture, inspiring numerous parodies and references in other films, television shows, and even video games. The film's iconic characters and lines, such as "Puttin' on the Ritz" dance scene, have become ingrained in pop culture history.

The film is full of Mel Brooks' signature brand of humor, which is both silly and sophisticated. The film is also very quotable, with lines like "Puttin' on the Ritz" and "Walk this way" becoming instant The cast is superb, with Gene Wilder delivering a particularly memorable performance as the uptight Dr. Frankenstein. Peter Boyle is also perfect as the gentle monster, and Marty Feldman is hilarious as Igor. And Terri Garr steals every scene, for me.

To Be or Not to Be - A 1983 Film Directed by and Starring Mel Brooks with Ann Bancroft - inspired by the 1938 Film by Ernst Lubitsch

 To Be or Not to Be - A 1983 Film Directed by and Starring Mel Brooks with Ann Bancroft - by the 1938 Film by Ernst Lubitsch 

"When "To Be or Not To Be" was originally made, by Ernst Lubitsch in 1942, the Nazis were in Poland, which gave a certain poignancy to every funny line. Lubitsch's stars were Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, both specialists in underplaying. Brooks and Bancroft go in the opposite direction, cheerfully allowing farce, slapstick, pratfalls and puns into the story, until the whole movie seems strung together like one of the revues in Bronski's theater." Roger Ebert

It has been at least 30 years since I last watched the 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be by Mel Brooks, I had never yet heard of Ernst Lubitsch.

I really liked the 1967 version of the Producers and Blazing Saddles i saw earlier in the month so I was confident I would like today's movie. And I did,

The movie starts in Warsaw about 1939, just before the Germans invade Poland. Everything centers on a theatrical group. The main figures in the company are Joseph Bronski(Mel Brooks) and his Wife Anna (Carole! Lombard).

I do not wish to reveal the plot to first time viewers so I will just make a few observations.

The on screen chemistry between Ann Bancroft and Mel Brooks, her husband is marvelous.  The depiction of life in a theater company brought to life the characters, egos, and cultural conflicts involved.  Brooks is a master at making even Nazis funny.  Gestapo headquarters is scary.  The trick the theatrical company plays on the Nazis was so much fun to watch. The ending is gratifying