When I played rugby in college, we had 1 black guy on the team. One day at practice we were in the scrum and the black guy was like, "Hey, where all the white women at!?" The whole scrum collapsed, everybody was rolling on the grass laughing their asses off
When Gene Wilder died, I rewatched this movie and had a good cry at the ending: "Where you goin', cowboy?" "Nowhere special." "'Nowhere Special.' Always wanted to go there..." RIP Gene, thank you for all the good times.
Talking about this film, Mel Brooks has said that his intention was to toss so much ridiculous racist bullshit on the screen that no one could possibly see racism as anything but idiotic. Personally I think he succeeded, and as a result, this film is a fantastic weapon against prejudice. As a bit of quick trivia, if you watch the flatulence scene carefully, you can see Burton Gilliam -- the actor playing Lyle, Taggart's right hand man -- having a hard time controlling his facial expression. According to both Gilliam and Mel Brooks himself, they had to shoot that scene close to a dozen times because everyone involved kept falling apart into laughter over what they were doing. In the shot they finally used, it came close, but no one actually laughed.
It's probably the only reason that Robert Downey Jr didn't get slaughtered for doing blackface, the entire point of him playing an actor who was playing someone who was doing blackface was to show just how wrong blackface is
during your wrap up, you mentioned that the actors probably talked among themselves to figure out their comfort level... As an interesting note; The night before filming began, Burton Gilliam went to Cleavon Little's trailer and said, "I don't think I can do this.." Cleavon said, "we're actors.. we read what's in the script. It's what we do, NOT who we are." Which goes to show you how much of a gentleman and professional Cleavon really was...
It's so weird how the one group of white people who can't say the "N" word are the ones you're willing to pay to say it on-camera? Everybody else says it at Wal-mart for free.
It also speaks to Burton Gilliam's character. I've met the man and he's one of those true blue nice guys who never met a stranger and never has an unkind word for anyone.
Hey! at 4:54c thre's a painting on the wall f his office of the back of a married couple. How many times have I seen this and this is the first time I saw it?
And the song they are playing is "April in Paris". This version is based on the version from Count Basie's 1956 album, also called "April in Paris". That version is one of the definitive versions of the song.
This is definitely Mel Brooks' funniest film, but Young Frankenstein is easily his *best* film. Incredible acting, cinematography, and directing in Young Frankenstein.
I know other people will chew me out for it, but I love "Dracula:Dead and Loving it"(second favourite), but not enough people react to it. "She's ALMOST dead!" "......SHE'S DEAD ENOUGH!"
I had a Asthma Attack watching 'The Producers" in the Theater on it's opening week! ... And that was 1967! When that guy started singing "It's Springtime for Hitler" .... I couldn't breathe!
@@ThreadBomb Yes and she (Marlene) shocked Hollywood as she preferred dressing in versions of men's clothes, as Madeline does later in the picture, when she is seen around the campfire with the Germans.
One of the white actors who played one of the bad guys, Lyle was very uncomfortable saying some of the dialogue to Cleavon Little in particular the N-word. At one point, Little had to take him aside and assured him it was ok and that none of these words were his actual words. And yes other actors had similar concerns. But in the end, everyone knew it was all in the name of comedy. 🙂
Yep. The use of the n-word in this context wasn't meant as an insult to black people, it was meant as an insult to the people who used it. Richard Pryor also used that concept in his comedy.
The horses were actually well treated. Slim Pickens (Taggart) was a real deal cowboy that brought his own horses to the set and he wouldn't stand to see the animals mistreated.
In general, stunt animals are very well treated. Partly because they're expensive. Just like with human stunts having trainers, medics, and other special personnel on set, the animal trainers and sometimes vets will be on set.
But it used to be very different. In the early days of film making, they would make horses fall by attaching a wire to their leg. A lot of horses were badly injured and then put down.
@@ThreadBomb My understanding is that these were real well trained stunt horses. They got an award from the ASPCA for how the animals were not hurt in filming.
RIP wonderful Clevon Little, Madeline Kahn, and Harvey Korman along with the rest of those who have passed since this great classic of Mel Brooks. Thanks for posting this!
To those of us old enough to remember Howard Johnson's motels and their restaurant with many great flavors of ice cream, my favorite visual is the main street where the sign says: Howard Johnson's...One flavor.
Fun fact: The farting scene was considered so crude, when the movie was televised, the sounds were removed. People were confused as to why they were just standing.
when we sat down in our english cinema ,, and when farting commenced, several older ladies got up and waiked out muttering outloud ,,,disgusting ,,,we thought this was going to be a proper western ,,,
John, when I watched it (edited for tv) they dubbed in 'burping' noises, which made no sense, either. hahaha. Who 'burps' from their butt. When i finally saw the actual film version, I was in hysterics. Still makes me laugh like a fool.
Nice reaction. :) Such a great movie, glad you enjoyed it! No matter which movie he always managed to get in jokes about the Nazi's. The bit with the actor playing Hitler who says I'm only in it until the bunker scene always cracks me up 😂 One of those movies that just doesn't get old. Madeline Khan who played Lily Von Schtupp is in a lot of his movies. She was a brilliant actress who sadly died in the late nineties and was only in her fifties. She is excellent in Young Frankenstein as well. Gene Wilder (also in YF) was of course a wonderful actor too and was in a lot of good comedy films, many with Richard Pryor who co-wrote Blazing Saddles. Hope you feel better :)
Do not forget what "schtup" means, Brooks is speaking Yiddish while dressed as a native American chief, the actor playing Hitler has a New York Jewish-American accent, the Nazis give the Hitler-Gruß with their left hands first, Brooks as the cross-eyed governor cannot get the pen back into the holder until he "thinks about his secretary", Dom DeLuise taking the piss out of the gays was classic, too. So many good things about this movie and it is too bad that nowadays the n-word is cut out, it makes it even funnier, especially when Cleavon Little says it. Slim Pickens' "What in the wide wide world o' sports is a goin' on here" quote was hilarious at the time and is one of the few jokes that is no longer topical. I saw this movie when it first came out in 1974 when walking down a street in Denver and just popped in the theatre spontaneously. My stomach was hurting the whole time.
Madeline Kahn is so funny in everything. Mel Brooks makes excellent use of her again in Young Frankenstein and History of the World Part 1. Also, see her in Clue if you haven't. 🔥 Mel always tries to humiliate Hitler's memory whenever he can. For the best example, see the original The Producers.
And you have to watch a most underrated movie now, What's Up Doc, 1972, Madeline Kahn's debut role she made with stars Ryan O'Neil and Barbra Streisand.
Campfire scene. It's pretty bad when you're afraid to light a match and you're sitting in the audience. Speaking of matches, you used to be able to strike wooden matches on just about any rough surface.
That's why the modern matches are called _safety_ matches: half of the chemical formula for ignition (white phosphorus, I believe) is in the strike pad, so the only way to ignite them is either the pad or touching them to an _already_ burning flame. (or equivalent source of heat, obviously.) No more matches igniting in pockets from accidental friction! 😁
The language was very intentional. This was satirizing racism. That was the entire point, to take something very serious and turn it on its head. No one in the cast thought twice about it. It's a shame that you could never make this film today. We could still use this kind of satire.
1. Brooks not only breaks the 4th wall he tramples all over it until it's dead to the world. 2. The preacher is the same guy Gene Wilder knees in the groin at the beginning of Young Frankenstein. 3. Yes, they're smoking joints. 4. 'You know, morons" was adlib by Wilder and Little's reaction was real. 5. Madeline Kahn(RIP) also played Elizabeth in Young Frankenstein. 6. Gene Wilder said he would take the part of The Waco Kid only if Brooks would direct Young Frankenstein.
Why does everyone ignore High Anxiety. It's so much funnier than Robin Hood, Men in Tights. I'd put it third after Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, with Silent Movie and Space Balls rounding out his top 5.
Again: a really fun trip down memory lane. Great job. Thank you! I also recommend 'Young Frankenstein at some point. Running commentary: At 5:15 Sadly, Robert Ridgely did not play the executioner in Brooks' 'History of the World Part 1' . Mel sure loved his executioners, didn't he? He did play a flasher in Mel's movie 'High Anxiety' though. At 7:19 Howard Johnson's (or HoJo's as we called it here) was once the largest restaurant chain in America and were famous for their 28 flavors of ice cream. Their restaurants were easily spotted by their orange roof and turquoise accent colors. Their frozen Mac 'n Cheese was available in supermarkets and was the best ever (aside from homemade). Before microwaves and the blue box instant stuff, you cooked HoJo's Mac 'n cheese, which came in a rectangular aluminum container, in an oven, for about 45 min IIRC . It was so creamy and had the best cheesy/fine bread crumb crust on top. Now I'm hungry. There was a local restaurant that opened in my area named 'Blazing Salads' around this time to take advantage of the publicity. At 18:48 Mongo was played by Alex Karras, an ex Detroit Lions NFL player during the 1960s who was elected to the Hall of Fame. His nephew Ted (3rd generation NFL player) is now on the New England Patriots roster. 19:10 'Strike Anywhere Matches' had a special tip and were made with real wood and were great for camping while in Boy Scouts. Burton Gilliam played Lyle, the Camptown Races guy. "Gilliam was so uncomfortable using the N word that he apologized to his friend Cleavon Little (sheriff) who had to remind him that the slur was simply in the script and was treated unambiguously negatively since he was playing a villain. The epic Madeline Kahn starred in a bunch of Mel Brooks movies., including 'Young Frankenstein'....wink, wink, nudge, nudge
Yesssssss!!!! You did it!!!! Another amazing reaction, as always!!!!!And I love how you research always about the movie, the actors etc... you are really cool. Well, the coolest I could say :)
31:00 It's "The French Mistake"; the words are the moves. "Throw out your hands "Stick out your tush "Hands on your hips "Give 'em a push "You'll be surprised "You're doing the French mistake! "Voila!"
Mel Brooks wrote the lines for the black actors and Richard Pryor wrote the lines for all the white actors they both thought it would be funny and fair Damn it worked
700 subscribers?! Looks like you crushed it! Love this reaction, I love your authentic reaction, definitely not overstated or exaggerated. Love it. This is my first of yours looking forward to checking out the others! Best of luck in this brave new world of yours. I think you'll do very well.
If you want to see another great (but somewhat dated) Mel Brooks movie, be sure to check out "The Producers." It's a fantastic movie that also features Gene Wilder. It was such in incredible movie that decades after the movie was released, it was brought to Broadway as a play (a musical, considering that it's the story of the producers of a musical play!) The play starred Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane.
I lived across the street from the W/B water tower at 36:33 when they filmed this scene and me and my best friend Bronco watched them film it all day and we got a free studio lunch. Pretty cool.
@@cybergeek11235 Not knowing every reader by name, I would have to resort to: To Whom It May Concern. Too many words and it loses that folksy no-hard-feelings bonhomie charm of the closing. Best. Leo.
One of my FAVORITE movies of all time! I'm impressed by everyone's acting. And like you, I am not "offended" by the "horse stuff". I am more impressed with the "horse ACTING" (stunts) I think people who get all offended by that, are degrading that impressive talent of the trainers AND the horses themselves!
You talked over the "Morons' line....one of the funniest takes by Gene Wilder in the film... go back and watch that sequence again...he and the Sherrif in close-up
Howard Johnson's was a popular restaurant and motel chain in the US throughout the 60s and 70s. They were pretty iconic and just about everywhere. It was a motel that had a restaurant/ice cream parlor. They were known for their iconic red tiled roofs. They also advertised their many flavors of ice cream. It's kind of a running gag throughout the film. Any reference to the name Johnson is a gag about the hotel/restaurant chain. "Johnson" is also a euphemism for the male sex organ in America so there's an extra layer in some of the jokes
I like that Harvey Korman was always correcting people about his character name. Look up who Hedy Lamarr was, she is a brilliant woman and the references to her were outstanding! (spoiler: She co-developed something we take for granted now that our society couldn't function without in this day and age)
Korman has the same problem in several movies. I just wish Brooks would have had just one scene that brought Korman and Tim Conway together. You owe it to yourself to watch those.
Oh! Come On Michael! I am a Londoner, not an American. For all, I know she could have been the co-invented of an early version of frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication, originally intended for torpedo guidance
The old-timer with the "authentic frontier gibberish" actually has a character name, Gabby Johnson. He's one of the many Johnsons in the film but the Gabby part is a tip of the hat to actor George "Gabby" Hayes. Hayes looked a lot like Gabby Johnson and spoke a bit like him too. Gabby Hayes was the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy, John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Randolph Scott (yes, the one mentioned in Blazing Saddles) in many Western films.
It was written by Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor. Supposedly Prior wrote the "black" jokes and Brooks wrote the Jewish jokes. Although the language is offensive, it's the racists that are the butt of the jokes. It punches up.
The Band was Count Basie's famous world famous band and they played the music. In the Westerns trail food was beans thus the parody. Joint and high pitched voice was used in the '70s for Marijuana.
Not only dogs, but dolphins and seals can also be highly trained to perform tricks. There are also animals in the circus that can perform highly advanced stunts and tricks.
Randolph Scott was a leading man in so many westerns up until this point, but Hollywood started sidelining him when his decade-long relationship with Cary Grant leaked out. I think Brooks felt the injustice of this and so in effect, gave him a standing ovation.
I think there’s a lot American-ism that may not be entirely understood by non Americans. It’s a satirical look at American history and culture and the “western” a popular form of entertainment either in film, TV, radio or books throughout American history. The English colonies that would become the US began on the east coast spreading west and they often traveled in wagon trains through Indian territory.
Very British reaction to American comedy. You could tell a lot of the humor flew over her head. British humor often does the same to me. Mel Brooks wrote a lot of very nuanced and unique humor and it often takes a couple of viewings to understand.
I hope you're feeling better now. Really enjoyed your reaction 😀. I hope you'll watch more Mel Brooks films, in particular High Anxiety and Young Frankenstein. I beseech you to watch High Anxiety for 3 reasons. Firstly, it is a loving homage to Alfred Hitchcock and his films. Secondly, High Anxiety hasn't been reviewed by every TH-camr so it will be more unique. Lastly, it is just as funny as Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. There are other very good ones like Space Balls and Silent Movie, the latter would be very weird to do a reaction to, since there is only one spoken word in the entire film. The joke is who speaks that word. Anyhoo, Thanks for giving us some of your time, even though you weren't feeling so hot.
Several of the actors nearly quit of the use of the N word, it took Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks doing a great deal of begging and in one case tripling the pay of the actor to get them to do it. While filming, Burton Gilliam (Lyle, the henchman of Taggart (Slim Pickens)) was having a difficult time saying the word "nigger", especially to Cleavon Little, because he really liked him. Finally, after several takes, Little took Gilliam off to the side and told him it was okay because these weren't his words. Little jokingly added, "If I thought you would say those words to me in any other situation we'd go to fist city, but this is all fun. Don't worry about it."
25:48 Zippers were not used in men's trousers until the 1920s. Also, there was a line here that Mel Brooks cut; Cleavon was going to respond with "I hate to disillusion you, ma'am, but you're sucking on my arm".
Great reaction House of Mash! you didn't butcher the movie and we got to watch it with you without you talking all over the movie or constantly stopping it every 5 seconds to say nothing like other reactors have which destroys the reaction and enjoyment of the movie! I have watched 6 different reactors reactions to Blazing Saddles...yours is tops! thanks!
It is amazing for sure, but I'd suggest Drunken Master 2/Legend of Drunken Master. With Jackie Chan, first. Just because he's th master of martial arts comedy and it has one of, if not the greatest fight scene ever
This movie was SO influential. Took satire to a whole new level. For me, if I'm being honest, it's a little dated. Some of the jokes don't quite land and it's certainly not my favorite Mel Brooks film (SPACEBALLS). But it's crazy to think what he got away with, even back then. And all he had to do was constantly break the fourth wall throughout the whole movie (haha). Pretty brilliant. He only got better at that imo, but this was certainly him at his most controversial. This is quickly becoming one of my new favorite reaction channels. If you haven't already seen them, I would love to see a PULP FICTION, JOKER or SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION episode. If you're looking for something a little cultier, I suggest TRUE ROMANCE or FOUR ROOMS. They probably won't get the votes but well worth your time. :)
Another fun fact I don't know if you ever heard of wizards of Waverly place but the actor who played the dad his dad was the director who said don't hit me in the face in the fight scene
They're smoking weed and you talk funny when you're trying to hold your hit. It was 40 years ago and 40 years after millions of Jewish people were killed. If the "bad guys" were idiots and lost we were cool with accurate portrayals. "Even the Irish" was real in places. These two guys were "brothers" at the end. Progress and wisdom won out.
Had a great time watching with you. One thing though. You have a talent for talking over punchlines. Just watch the timing of those and you'll do just fine. Best of luck to ya.
To explain some cultural references now lost, "Howard Johnson's" was once a large national chain of motels and family restaurants known for having several house flavors of ice cream, hence the "One flavor" gag at the ice cream parlor and a character named Howard Johnson. Also, in keeping with the running joke of everyone in the town named Johnson, there was an influential comedy team in the '40s, Ole Olson and Chic Johnson, who did the kind of anarchic jokes that Brooks employs in this movie, hence why there's a character named Olson Johnson.
Also, Madeline Kahn's character is effectively a parody of actress/chanteuse Marlene Dietrich, and specifically Dietrich's performance in the western DESTRY RIDES AGAIN. Kahn frequently lampooned her, most notably on the first season of "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" where she played Dietrich being interviewed by Gilda Radner parodying American news anchor Barbara Walters, who also had a similar "w" speech affectation to the point where Gilda's character was named "Baba Wawa."
19:06 -- Strike anywhere matches. They have a dot of white phosphorus on the tip and you can light them on any rough surface. Much harder to find these days.
@@callmeshaggy5166 --- Can't get them here in New York, but you can get them in other places like Pennsylvania. When I was there, I picked up like four boxes and should have gotten more. Hell, even the red phosphorus is getting scarce and now we have shitty "green tip" wooden matches that barely light..
@@davidr1050 When I was a boy we used to cut the heads off the strike anywhere kind and fill ping-pong balls with them to make Hallowe'en bombs. You just threw them against a hard surface and the friction inside set them off. Boom!
The offensive language was intentional to the overall lesson of the story. Context and purpose are the most important things to consider. It takes a high level of sophistication and literary skills to understand how the language was used in this film. Just like answering the questions in an English literature and comprehension exam, it takes a lot of critical thinking to read between the lines, understand the author's (director's) main message and not jump to conclusions based on one own's perceptions.
The YES and NO on the back of Mongo's bull refers to a time when American school buses had YES and NO painted on the back, to remind drivers which side of the bus was safe to pass on. Since American children disembark on the right-hand side, it was forbidden to pass the bus on that side.
In this movie, there are so many references to the 1930s and 40s that go completely over the heads of young viewers. Not all of it is in the IMDb trivia section!
Fun fact the greatest comedian of all time the late great richard pryor was supposed to play the black bart part but the movie studio wasn' able to come up with deal with him so he suggested Cleavon little for it
John Wayne was asked first to be in the movie, but he declined thinking it would hurt his image. However John Wayne LOVED the film & asked to be invited to the private screening. Also for all you P(C)ussies out there, much of the dialog was written or contributed to by Richard Pryor. Kudos to this channel for not editing out the Nwords.
The scene where Lili asks "Is it twue what they say about you people?" is one of the few cut scenes Brooks did for this movie. The original, after Lili exclaims "It's twue!!" is Cleavon saying "You know you're sucking in my wrist, yes?" P.S. For a time the Irish weren't liked in the US, mainly because the original settlers were mostly English Protestant. For a long time on the east coast you would see Help Wanted signs with the proviso "No Irish Need Apply!"
30:12 This gag first appeared in "Bored of the Rings", a 1969 parody of "The Lord of the Rings" written by the guys who later founded "National Lampoon"; a toll booth is hastily erected to prevent the Black Riders from crossing at the Ford of Bruinen.
"Hey, where the white women at!?"🤣🤣 That line is still one of the funniest lines ever to me.
I still think the funniest is when he's saying all the bad people he wants to destroy Rock Ridge and his last line is "and Methodists".
@@jd190d hahaha, oh yeah. "....Bull dykes and Methodists!" That was a hell of a rant he went on.
Someone has gotta go back a get a shitload of dimes.
@@waynethayer5127 🤣🤣
When I played rugby in college, we had 1 black guy on the team. One day at practice we were in the scrum and the black guy was like, "Hey, where all the white women at!?" The whole scrum collapsed, everybody was rolling on the grass laughing their asses off
When Gene Wilder died, I rewatched this movie and had a good cry at the ending:
"Where you goin', cowboy?"
"Nowhere special."
"'Nowhere Special.' Always wanted to go there..."
RIP Gene, thank you for all the good times.
And Clevon was already waiting for him.
Another Great Gene Wilder movie is the Frisco Kid with Gene and Harrison Ford.
And Wilder is holding the same cup of popcorn that he had in the movie theatre.
I read the comment and your reply and may never be able to watch the movie again the same way. So thanks but curse both of you jk sorta ❤️🤪😈
@@gracesiegel7849 RIP Gene.
Talking about this film, Mel Brooks has said that his intention was to toss so much ridiculous racist bullshit on the screen that no one could possibly see racism as anything but idiotic. Personally I think he succeeded, and as a result, this film is a fantastic weapon against prejudice.
As a bit of quick trivia, if you watch the flatulence scene carefully, you can see Burton Gilliam -- the actor playing Lyle, Taggart's right hand man -- having a hard time controlling his facial expression. According to both Gilliam and Mel Brooks himself, they had to shoot that scene close to a dozen times because everyone involved kept falling apart into laughter over what they were doing. In the shot they finally used, it came close, but no one actually laughed.
It's probably the only reason that Robert Downey Jr didn't get slaughtered for doing blackface, the entire point of him playing an actor who was playing someone who was doing blackface was to show just how wrong blackface is
during your wrap up, you mentioned that the actors probably talked among themselves to figure out their comfort level... As an interesting note; The night before filming began, Burton Gilliam went to Cleavon Little's trailer and said, "I don't think I can do this.." Cleavon said, "we're actors.. we read what's in the script. It's what we do, NOT who we are." Which goes to show you how much of a gentleman and professional Cleavon really was...
I heard that the shovel to the head scene was added because the actor wanted his character to pay for his language and behavior.
It's so weird how the one group of white people who can't say the "N" word are the ones you're willing to pay to say it on-camera? Everybody else says it at Wal-mart for free.
It also speaks to Burton Gilliam's character. I've met the man and he's one of those true blue nice guys who never met a stranger and never has an unkind word for anyone.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Except that the one who got hit was Slim Pickens, not Burton Gilliam.
@@evanhorton2520 whose character was also acting racist.
Am I the only person amazed at how good Harvey Korman was with the paddle ball?
9:12 Most people are staring at different globes in that scene.
@@MrVvulf In the words of Harry Anderson "Big deal - you've seen one, you've seen 'em both."
@@kevinhenderson5928 True enough. But for whatever reason, they've attracted men like moths to a flame for thousands of years.
Hey! at 4:54c thre's a painting on the wall f his office of the back of a married couple. How many times have I seen this and this is the first time I saw it?
I marvel at it every time, Kevin.
The musicians that Cleavon Little rides up to are the legendary big band leader Count Basie and his orchestra.
And the song they are playing is "April in Paris". This version is based on the version from Count Basie's 1956 album, also called "April in Paris". That version is one of the definitive versions of the song.
@@BigSleepyOx Did NOT know that! I just knew that was Count Basie and his Orchestra.......April in Paris. I heard of it.
At first I thought it must be Cab Calloway until I saw Cab in a more recent video.
And Mel Brooks little joke that every movie has background music, this was foreground music.
This is definitely Mel Brooks' funniest film, but Young Frankenstein is easily his *best* film. Incredible acting, cinematography, and directing in Young Frankenstein.
Apt distinction.
I agree, This movie is funnier but there is something about Young Frankenstein that transcends its satirical intention.
They’re both great.
Two different approaches to comedy: over the top silly and subtle humor
I know other people will chew me out for it, but I love "Dracula:Dead and Loving it"(second favourite), but not enough people react to it.
"She's ALMOST dead!"
"......SHE'S DEAD ENOUGH!"
I had a Asthma Attack watching 'The Producers" in the Theater on it's opening week! ... And that was 1967! When that guy started singing "It's Springtime for Hitler" .... I couldn't breathe!
Watched quite a few these reaction videos of Blazing Saddles and NOBODY commented or even acknowledged Count Basie's cameo.
Young folks just don't know. But also, the Cuban percussionist, Mongo Santamaria.
Madeline Kahn's accent was a combination parody of Marlene Dietrich, a German actress and Elmer Fudd the cartoon character.
And she actually was an extremely good singer.
I don't think there was any Elmer Fudd in it. Dietrich was famous for her speech impediment.
@@ThreadBomb I love your handle.
@@ThreadBomb Yes and she (Marlene) shocked Hollywood as she preferred dressing in versions of men's clothes, as Madeline does later in the picture, when she is seen around the campfire with the Germans.
One of the white actors who played one of the bad guys, Lyle was very uncomfortable saying some of the dialogue to Cleavon Little in particular the N-word. At one point, Little had to take him aside and assured him it was ok and that none of these words were his actual words. And yes other actors had similar concerns. But in the end, everyone knew it was all in the name of comedy. 🙂
Yep. The use of the n-word in this context wasn't meant as an insult to black people, it was meant as an insult to the people who used it. Richard Pryor also used that concept in his comedy.
Slim Pickens (Taggart) refused the role at first as well. He also had to be reassured by Pryor and Little that the language was acceptable.
@@r.awilliams9815 I heard somewhere that the shovel to the head was added because he wanted his character to get his comeuppance.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Richard Prior had a hand in the screenplay...he probably wrote it.
@@dirkbogarde44 Yep, I knew that. Cool handle ya got there.😁👍
The horses were actually well treated. Slim Pickens (Taggart) was a real deal cowboy that brought his own horses to the set and he wouldn't stand to see the animals mistreated.
In general, stunt animals are very well treated. Partly because they're expensive. Just like with human stunts having trainers, medics, and other special personnel on set, the animal trainers and sometimes vets will be on set.
But it used to be very different. In the early days of film making, they would make horses fall by attaching a wire to their leg. A lot of horses were badly injured and then put down.
A Sioux Indian chief that speaks german.
@@kevinknight3606 he's speaking Yiddish - Mel Brooks (who plays the chief) is Jewish.
@@ThreadBomb My understanding is that these were real well trained stunt horses. They got an award from the ASPCA for how the animals were not hurt in filming.
Mel Brooks, when he played the Indian Chief, spoke Yiddish.
RIP wonderful Clevon Little, Madeline Kahn, and Harvey Korman along with the rest of those who have passed since this great classic of Mel Brooks. Thanks for posting this!
Don't forget Gene Wilder slim Pickens and the guy hedley Lamar
Gene Wilder ad libbed the "morons" at the end of that line and that was Cleavon Little's actual surprised laugh.
One of the best lines ever.
To those of us old enough to remember Howard Johnson's motels and their restaurant with many great flavors of ice cream, my favorite visual is the main street where the sign says: Howard Johnson's...One flavor.
At least he "...kept his glasses clean"!
The next Mel Brooks film you should react to "Young Frankenstein."
Classic
Yes, a hundred times yes
Yes!!!
Fun fact: The farting scene was considered so crude, when the movie was televised, the sounds were removed. People were confused as to why they were just standing.
when we sat down in our english cinema ,, and when farting commenced, several older ladies got up and waiked out muttering outloud ,,,disgusting ,,,we thought this was going to be a proper western ,,,
John, when I watched it (edited for tv) they dubbed in 'burping' noises, which made no sense, either. hahaha. Who 'burps' from their butt. When i finally saw the actual film version, I was in hysterics. Still makes me laugh like a fool.
Of all the things to censor in a Mel Brooks movie lol!
Didn't US TV dub horse neighing sounds for the farting? How unfunny / nonsensical would that have been?
Nice reaction. :) Such a great movie, glad you enjoyed it! No matter which movie he always managed to get in jokes about the Nazi's. The bit with the actor playing Hitler who says I'm only in it until the bunker scene always cracks me up 😂 One of those movies that just doesn't get old. Madeline Khan who played Lily Von Schtupp is in a lot of his movies. She was a brilliant actress who sadly died in the late nineties and was only in her fifties. She is excellent in Young Frankenstein as well. Gene Wilder (also in YF) was of course a wonderful actor too and was in a lot of good comedy films, many with Richard Pryor who co-wrote Blazing Saddles. Hope you feel better :)
Do not forget what "schtup" means, Brooks is speaking Yiddish while dressed as a native American chief, the actor playing Hitler has a New York Jewish-American accent, the Nazis give the Hitler-Gruß with their left hands first, Brooks as the cross-eyed governor cannot get the pen back into the holder until he "thinks about his secretary", Dom DeLuise taking the piss out of the gays was classic, too. So many good things about this movie and it is too bad that nowadays the n-word is cut out, it makes it even funnier, especially when Cleavon Little says it. Slim Pickens' "What in the wide wide world o' sports is a goin' on here" quote was hilarious at the time and is one of the few jokes that is no longer topical. I saw this movie when it first came out in 1974 when walking down a street in Denver and just popped in the theatre spontaneously. My stomach was hurting the whole time.
Madeline Kahn is so funny in everything. Mel Brooks makes excellent use of her again in Young Frankenstein and History of the World Part 1. Also, see her in Clue if you haven't. 🔥
Mel always tries to humiliate Hitler's memory whenever he can. For the best example, see the original The Producers.
And you have to watch a most underrated movie now, What's Up Doc, 1972, Madeline Kahn's debut role she made with stars Ryan O'Neil and Barbra Streisand.
@@scottjo63 Clue, and What's Up, Doc? Yes!
Campfire scene. It's pretty bad when you're afraid to light a match and you're sitting in the audience. Speaking of matches, you used to be able to strike wooden matches on just about any rough surface.
That's why the modern matches are called _safety_ matches: half of the chemical formula for ignition (white phosphorus, I believe) is in the strike pad, so the only way to ignite them is either the pad or touching them to an _already_ burning flame. (or equivalent source of heat, obviously.) No more matches igniting in pockets from accidental friction! 😁
They're smoking the devil's lettuce lol
The language was very intentional. This was satirizing racism. That was the entire point, to take something very serious and turn it on its head. No one in the cast thought twice about it.
It's a shame that you could never make this film today. We could still use this kind of satire.
17:58 As Mel Brooks told Slim Pickens, "You'll be the first person to fart in motion picture history!"
Top Secret! - by the filmmakers behind Airplane! - plays a lot with movie conventions too, it's their most insane film.
Without doubt one of the funniest films ever made
Check out YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. That was the next Mel Brooks movie after Blazing Saddles. Gene Wilder stars in it.
Young Frankenstein and Silver Streak. Two great Gene Wilder movies.
You left out "The Producers", arguably his best
26:24 You cut another great line here: "Mongo only pawn... in game of life".
She's good at that. Different cultures put emphasis on different things
Richard Pryor, one of the writers, was a black comedian and was supposed to play the main part. He encouraged Mel Brooks to use the n-word.
He used it a lot in his comedy. He was ground-breaking in that way.
1. Brooks not only breaks the 4th wall he tramples all over it until it's dead to the world.
2. The preacher is the same guy Gene Wilder knees in the groin at the beginning of Young Frankenstein.
3. Yes, they're smoking joints.
4. 'You know, morons" was adlib by Wilder and Little's reaction was real.
5. Madeline Kahn(RIP) also played Elizabeth in Young Frankenstein.
6. Gene Wilder said he would take the part of The Waco Kid only if Brooks would direct Young Frankenstein.
The next Mel Brooks movies you should see are:
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Spaceballs
History of the World: Part 1.
She literally just watched Men in Tights
Why does everyone ignore High Anxiety. It's so much funnier than Robin Hood, Men in Tights. I'd put it third after Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, with Silent Movie and Space Balls rounding out his top 5.
@@robstoll7542 Feel free to skip Life Stinks though. I am not surprised I never see that one talked about.
Why does EVERYONE not mention "The Producers"!!?? Easily the best beides Young Frankenstein.
@@robstoll7542 LOVE High Anxiety. But, again, what about "The Producers"??! Dang it!
Young Frankenstein is probably the next best. Mostly written by Gene Wilder but directed by Mel Brooks
Madeline Kahn's accent was a parody of Marlene Dietrich.
As was her stage act.
Again: a really fun trip down memory lane. Great job. Thank you!
I also recommend 'Young Frankenstein at some point.
Running commentary:
At 5:15 Sadly, Robert Ridgely did not play the executioner in Brooks' 'History of the World Part 1' . Mel sure loved his executioners, didn't he? He did play a flasher in Mel's movie 'High Anxiety' though.
At 7:19 Howard Johnson's (or HoJo's as we called it here) was once the largest restaurant chain in America and were famous for their 28 flavors of ice cream. Their restaurants were easily spotted by their orange roof and turquoise accent colors. Their frozen Mac 'n Cheese was available in supermarkets and was the best ever (aside from homemade). Before microwaves and the blue box instant stuff, you cooked HoJo's Mac 'n cheese, which came in a rectangular aluminum container, in an oven, for about 45 min IIRC . It was so creamy and had the best cheesy/fine bread crumb crust on top. Now I'm hungry.
There was a local restaurant that opened in my area named 'Blazing Salads' around this time to take advantage of the publicity.
At 18:48 Mongo was played by Alex Karras, an ex Detroit Lions NFL player during the 1960s who was elected to the Hall of Fame. His nephew Ted (3rd generation NFL player) is now on the New England Patriots roster.
19:10 'Strike Anywhere Matches' had a special tip and were made with real wood and were great for camping while in Boy Scouts.
Burton Gilliam played Lyle, the Camptown Races guy. "Gilliam was so uncomfortable using the N word that he apologized to his friend Cleavon Little (sheriff) who had to remind him that the slur was simply in the script and was treated unambiguously negatively since he was playing a villain.
The epic Madeline Kahn starred in a bunch of Mel Brooks movies., including 'Young Frankenstein'....wink, wink, nudge, nudge
Yesssssss!!!! You did it!!!! Another amazing reaction, as always!!!!!And I love how you research always about the movie, the actors etc... you are really cool. Well, the coolest I could say :)
31:00 It's "The French Mistake"; the words are the moves.
"Throw out your hands
"Stick out your tush
"Hands on your hips
"Give 'em a push
"You'll be surprised
"You're doing the French mistake!
"Voila!"
Mel Brooks wrote the lines for the black actors and Richard Pryor wrote the lines for all the white actors
they both thought it would be funny and fair Damn it worked
700 subscribers?! Looks like you crushed it! Love this reaction, I love your authentic reaction, definitely not overstated or exaggerated. Love it. This is my first of yours looking forward to checking out the others! Best of luck in this brave new world of yours. I think you'll do very well.
If you want to see another great (but somewhat dated) Mel Brooks movie, be sure to check out "The Producers." It's a fantastic movie that also features Gene Wilder. It was such in incredible movie that decades after the movie was released, it was brought to Broadway as a play (a musical, considering that it's the story of the producers of a musical play!) The play starred Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane.
Hold me, touch me..
I'm wearing a cardboard belt!
Springtime for Hitler and Germany. Also do not forget how funny "Get Smart" was. I hope that Brooks reaches 100 and beyond.
Gene Wilder actually improvised the "You know… MORONS!!" line on the spot.
12:17 You cut my favourite pun; "... a laurel, and hearty handshake ..." is a direct reference to the legendary comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy.
"1 Flavor" lol
20:17 - He legitimately broke character in that moment
I lived across the street from the W/B water tower at 36:33 when they filmed this scene and me and my best friend Bronco watched them film it all day and we got a free studio lunch. Pretty cool.
From many of the same people who brought you this movie: Young Frankenstein (1974). Best. Leo.
how come you have a closing salutation but not an opening one?
@@cybergeek11235 Not knowing every reader by name, I would have to resort to: To Whom It May Concern. Too many words and it loses that folksy no-hard-feelings bonhomie charm of the closing. Best. Leo.
One of my FAVORITE movies of all time!
I'm impressed by everyone's acting. And like you, I am not "offended" by the "horse stuff". I am more impressed with the "horse ACTING" (stunts)
I think people who get all offended by that, are degrading that impressive talent of the trainers AND the horses themselves!
You talked over the "Morons' line....one of the funniest takes by Gene Wilder in the film... go back and watch that sequence again...he and the Sherrif in close-up
Howard Johnson's was a popular restaurant and motel chain in the US throughout the 60s and 70s. They were pretty iconic and just about everywhere. It was a motel that had a restaurant/ice cream parlor. They were known for their iconic red tiled roofs. They also advertised their many flavors of ice cream. It's kind of a running gag throughout the film. Any reference to the name Johnson is a gag about the hotel/restaurant chain.
"Johnson" is also a euphemism for the male sex organ in America so there's an extra layer in some of the jokes
Many people also miss the joke that everyone in the town is named Johnson, meaning they are all inbreds.
Same executioner, but the patch is on the other side lol.
Considering how much methane would have accumulated around the campfire, it would've gone up like Hiroshima.
Dont worry or be sorry.. I got the flu twice... wasnt good. But hope you feel better👍🏽 also great reaction.
I like that Harvey Korman was always correcting people about his character name. Look up who Hedy Lamarr was, she is a brilliant woman and the references to her were outstanding! (spoiler: She co-developed something we take for granted now that our society couldn't function without in this day and age)
She actually sued Brooks over this movie. Hence the line "Whaddya worried about? This is 1874, _you_ can sue _her_ "
Korman has the same problem in several movies. I just wish Brooks would have had just one scene that brought Korman and Tim Conway together. You owe it to yourself to watch those.
The Toaster ?
@@Isleofskye Dang, you guessed it. Here's your Blue(tooth) ribbon. Wear it proudly.
Oh! Come On Michael! I am a Londoner, not an American.
For all, I know she could have been the co-invented of an early version of frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication, originally intended for torpedo guidance
21:03 Yeah, the animal activists taking issue with a scene in a film in which no animals were hurt is why rational people ignore animal activists.
The old-timer with the "authentic frontier gibberish" actually has a character name, Gabby Johnson. He's one of the many Johnsons in the film but the Gabby part is a tip of the hat to actor George "Gabby" Hayes. Hayes looked a lot like Gabby Johnson and spoke a bit like him too. Gabby Hayes was the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy, John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Randolph Scott (yes, the one mentioned in Blazing Saddles) in many Western films.
"But we don't want the Irish!" 29:08
I hope you feel better, I enjoy your reactions so much.
It was written by Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor. Supposedly Prior wrote the "black" jokes and Brooks wrote the Jewish jokes.
Although the language is offensive, it's the racists that are the butt of the jokes. It punches up.
You should watch Spaceballs, it's Mel Brooks funniest film and is the greatest parody ever
This was hilarious! I'll definitely have to see it for myself!
The Band was Count Basie's famous world famous band and they played the music. In the Westerns trail food was beans thus the parody. Joint and high pitched voice was used in the '70s for Marijuana.
Scarface, Jaws, Exorcist, Diehard. Just to mention a few goodies 😜 worth looking into !
When Mel Brooks is playing the chief, he’s speaking Yiddish.
The popcorn is from the movie theater.
27:32 That's also Mel Brooks wearing a baseball cap, oversized dark glasses, white scarf and a brown leather bomber jacket.
Not only dogs, but dolphins and seals can also be highly trained to perform tricks.
There are also animals in the circus that can perform highly advanced stunts and tricks.
Randolph Scott was a leading man in so many westerns up until this point, but Hollywood started sidelining him when his decade-long relationship with Cary Grant leaked out. I think Brooks felt the injustice of this and so in effect, gave him a standing ovation.
I think there’s a lot American-ism that may not be entirely understood by non Americans. It’s a satirical look at American history and culture and the “western” a popular form of entertainment either in film, TV, radio or books throughout American history. The English colonies that would become the US began on the east coast spreading west and they often traveled in wagon trains through Indian territory.
Enjoying your reactions very much ! This is a classic movie comedy.
A movie that makes being racist seem so ridiculous. Great movie, definitely one of the best
Very British reaction to American comedy. You could tell a lot of the humor flew over her head. British humor often does the same to me. Mel Brooks wrote a lot of very nuanced and unique humor and it often takes a couple of viewings to understand.
I hope you're feeling better now. Really enjoyed your reaction 😀. I hope you'll watch more Mel Brooks films, in particular High Anxiety and Young Frankenstein. I beseech you to watch High Anxiety for 3 reasons. Firstly, it is a loving homage to Alfred Hitchcock and his films. Secondly, High Anxiety hasn't been reviewed by every TH-camr so it will be more unique. Lastly, it is just as funny as Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles.
There are other very good ones like Space Balls and Silent Movie, the latter would be very weird to do a reaction to, since there is only one spoken word in the entire film. The joke is who speaks that word. Anyhoo, Thanks for giving us some of your time, even though you weren't feeling so hot.
Several of the actors nearly quit of the use of the N word, it took Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks doing a great deal of begging and in one case tripling the pay of the actor to get them to do it. While filming, Burton Gilliam (Lyle, the henchman of Taggart (Slim Pickens)) was having a difficult time saying the word "nigger", especially to Cleavon Little, because he really liked him. Finally, after several takes, Little took Gilliam off to the side and told him it was okay because these weren't his words. Little jokingly added, "If I thought you would say those words to me in any other situation we'd go to fist city, but this is all fun. Don't worry about it."
25:48 Zippers were not used in men's trousers until the 1920s. Also, there was a line here that Mel Brooks cut; Cleavon was going to respond with "I hate to disillusion you, ma'am, but you're sucking on my arm".
You should watch Mel Brooks' Dracula: Dead And Loving It!
Indeedy the acting, directing, producing, writing, editing, creating, sound effects, comedy, and other aspects of the film is extra bonus here yeah
Fun fact #2: The "morons" bit Wilder said was completely ad libbed, causing an actual laugh from Little.
I think she missed the "morons" line. Shame, it's the best line in the movie
Great reaction House of Mash! you didn't butcher the movie and we got to watch it with you without you talking all over the movie or constantly stopping it every 5 seconds to say nothing like other reactors have which destroys the reaction and enjoyment of the movie! I have watched 6 different reactors reactions to Blazing Saddles...yours is tops! thanks!
Kung fu hustle is a comedy masterpiece, Stephen chow is a genius and this movie is satire gold hilarious and so cool
It is amazing for sure, but I'd suggest Drunken Master 2/Legend of Drunken Master. With Jackie Chan, first. Just because he's th master of martial arts comedy and it has one of, if not the greatest fight scene ever
trivia in this film - the letter 'A' is said 356,432 times in this film as part of the script
This movie was SO influential. Took satire to a whole new level. For me, if I'm being honest, it's a little dated. Some of the jokes don't quite land and it's certainly not my favorite Mel Brooks film (SPACEBALLS). But it's crazy to think what he got away with, even back then. And all he had to do was constantly break the fourth wall throughout the whole movie (haha). Pretty brilliant. He only got better at that imo, but this was certainly him at his most controversial.
This is quickly becoming one of my new favorite reaction channels. If you haven't already seen them, I would love to see a PULP FICTION, JOKER or SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION episode. If you're looking for something a little cultier, I suggest TRUE ROMANCE or FOUR ROOMS. They probably won't get the votes but well worth your time. :)
Another fun fact I don't know if you ever heard of wizards of Waverly place but the actor who played the dad his dad was the director who said don't hit me in the face in the fight scene
@29:10, I love this part. The Big Lebowsky ( AKA Santa Clause ) himself.
Also check out Gene Wilder and Madeline Khan in Brooks' "Young Frankenstein".
They're smoking weed and you talk funny when you're trying to hold your hit. It was 40 years ago and 40 years after millions of Jewish people were killed. If the "bad guys" were idiots and lost we were cool with accurate portrayals. "Even the Irish" was real in places. These two guys were "brothers" at the end. Progress and wisdom won out.
Cleavon Little died too young, he passed away of colorectal cancer at the age of 53. I really wish he was still around, guy had tons of talent.
Had a great time watching with you. One thing though. You have a talent for talking over punchlines. Just watch the timing of those and you'll do just fine. Best of luck to ya.
Madeline Kahn is absolutely hilarious in Clue.
To explain some cultural references now lost, "Howard Johnson's" was once a large national chain of motels and family restaurants known for having several house flavors of ice cream, hence the "One flavor" gag at the ice cream parlor and a character named Howard Johnson. Also, in keeping with the running joke of everyone in the town named Johnson, there was an influential comedy team in the '40s, Ole Olson and Chic Johnson, who did the kind of anarchic jokes that Brooks employs in this movie, hence why there's a character named Olson Johnson.
Also, Madeline Kahn's character is effectively a parody of actress/chanteuse Marlene Dietrich, and specifically Dietrich's performance in the western DESTRY RIDES AGAIN. Kahn frequently lampooned her, most notably on the first season of "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" where she played Dietrich being interviewed by Gilda Radner parodying American news anchor Barbara Walters, who also had a similar "w" speech affectation to the point where Gilda's character was named "Baba Wawa."
It´s good to be the Governor.
19:06 -- Strike anywhere matches. They have a dot of white phosphorus on the tip and you can light them on any rough surface. Much harder to find these days.
Cuz WP is a controlled substance in most countries due to it's use in explosives
@@callmeshaggy5166 --- Can't get them here in New York, but you can get them in other places like Pennsylvania. When I was there, I picked up like four boxes and should have gotten more. Hell, even the red phosphorus is getting scarce and now we have shitty "green tip" wooden matches that barely light..
@@davidr1050 When I was a boy we used to cut the heads off the strike anywhere kind and fill ping-pong balls with them to make Hallowe'en bombs. You just threw them against a hard surface and the friction inside set them off. Boom!
25:50 right about here, after “it’s twue, it’s twue,” there was a deleted line: “I hate to disillusion you, ma’am, but you’re sucking on my arm.”
Talking easily with something big in your mouth. That takes skill
I love the fact that you can see comedy over racism. Racism is what this movie is about. Laugh at it and have fun not hate.
The offensive language was intentional to the overall lesson of the story.
Context and purpose are the most important things to consider.
It takes a high level of sophistication and literary skills to understand how the language was used in this film. Just like answering the questions in an English literature and comprehension exam, it takes a lot of critical thinking to read between the lines, understand the author's (director's) main message and not jump to conclusions based on one own's perceptions.
A lees crude semi-western comedy that you might enjoy would be THE THREE AMIGOS.
With Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short, it's a lot of fun.
The YES and NO on the back of Mongo's bull refers to a time when American school buses had YES and NO painted on the back, to remind drivers which side of the bus was safe to pass on. Since American children disembark on the right-hand side, it was forbidden to pass the bus on that side.
In this movie, there are so many references to the 1930s and 40s that go completely over the heads of young viewers. Not all of it is in the IMDb trivia section!
Fun fact the greatest comedian of all time the late great richard pryor was supposed to play the black bart part but the movie studio wasn' able to come up with deal with him so he suggested Cleavon little for it
John Wayne was asked first to be in the movie, but he declined thinking it would hurt his image. However John Wayne LOVED the film & asked to be invited to the private screening. Also for all you P(C)ussies out there, much of the dialog was written or contributed to by Richard Pryor. Kudos to this channel for not editing out the Nwords.
The scene where Lili asks "Is it twue what they say about you people?" is one of the few cut scenes Brooks did for this movie. The original, after Lili exclaims "It's twue!!" is Cleavon saying "You know you're sucking in my wrist, yes?"
P.S. For a time the Irish weren't liked in the US, mainly because the original settlers were mostly English Protestant. For a long time on the east coast you would see Help Wanted signs with the proviso "No Irish Need Apply!"
John Wayne knock out a horse he was riding for stepping on his foot. Pay back, he broke the knuckles in his hand.
mel brookes asked john wayne to do a parody in saddles ,,he saw the script and ran ,!!
30:12 This gag first appeared in "Bored of the Rings", a 1969 parody of "The Lord of the Rings" written by the guys who later founded "National Lampoon"; a toll booth is hastily erected to prevent the Black Riders from crossing at the Ford of Bruinen.
You think Spam is still celebrating his suspended sentence?
@@nowthatsjustducky Surely the dragon has come of age by now.
@@rickardroach9075 I thought they aged really really really really slow... Then again if we are going by Human years...
Beautiful lady, great reaction as always!
Fun fact. Back when this was made, the studio had more of a problem with the fart scene than the language used