Fifty years ago, Mel Brooks unleashed upon the cinematic world Blazing Saddles (1974), and the silver screen has never been the same.

The parody film that pokes fun at Hollywood Westerns also managed to make a major statement about race while becoming the one of the funniest films to ever grace cinemas. A box-office blockbuster and now a classic comedy, here are but a few items you should probably know about comedic oater before you give it another watch.

Blazing Saddles was the first film to feature audible farts

The campfire scene, in which the powerful aftermath of beans is seen taking hold of a group of cowboys, was both funny and a film first. Prior to that scene, never before had audible breaking wind ever been depicted on the big screen.

In an interview with Collider, actor Burton Gilliam, who played Cowboy Lyle, stated that the scene was not easy to film:

“We did that scene probably 35 times from different directions. We probably did it a hundred times. The first couple of times we did it, naturally we were doing our very, very best, but after a few times unless you’re absolutely super human, we had to bring in the extras and let them do some scenes off camera or something.”

The Native Americans in the film are speaking Yiddish

Blazing Saddles includes a flashback scene when Cleavon Little’s Bart is recounting how his family moved West and encountered a group of Natives. When approached, the Chief (played by Mel Brooks) uses Yiddish to communicate to his tribemates at his surprise to find out that they are Black, and thus sparing the family.

This is a bit of a jab at Hollywood Westerns, which had often cast non-Natives at the time in the roles of Indigenous people.

The town of Rock Ridge uses the same set from the original Westworld

Sci-fi fans might find the town of Rock Ridge a bit familiar, and for good reason. Fans of the original Yul Brynner film Westworld (1973) will recognize the cowboy township immediately, as both sets made use of Warner Bros. Laramie Street set about a year apart.

Also filmed on that legendary set was Vacation, High Noon, Roots, The Great Race, and The Muppet Movie.

It’s all in the name…

Most of the character names have a double meaning. For example, Lili Von Shtüpp is a bit of a dirty joke for anyone who speaks Yiddish, as “shtüpp” is slang for fornication.

Governor Lepetomane is an homage to Joseph Pujol, whose stage name was Le Pétomane. He was a French (f)artist, a flatulist who could break wind on command and used it as part of a comedy act. (How very appropriate for Blazing Saddles…)

And famously, villain Mayor Hedley Lamarr was a play on famous actress Hedy Lamarr, who proceeded to sue Mel Brooks over the use of her name in the production. The matter was settled out of court.

There is an Easter egg for Mel Brooks’s The Producers

When Bart and Jim head out to catch Lili Von Shtüpp’s act, a few piano notes can be heard as the camera pans on her poster. Those notes are from the chorus to “Springtime for Hitler,” the theme song from The Producers, the 1967 Mel Brooks comedy also starring Gene Wilder as corrupt theater producer Leo Bloom.  

Frankie Laine sang the theme song without knowing it was a comedy

Singer Frankie Laine was well known for his heartfelt Western ballads and was considered one of the best cowboy crooners of the time. His voice was iconic, having sung the tunes to Gunslinger, Rawhide, Rango, and The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo. With that in mind, Mel Brooks wanted to capture the earnestness of his voice in the song and was afraid that if he knew it was a comedy, Laine wouldn’t take the project seriously.

So, he didn’t tell him it was a comedy.

As a result, Blazing Saddles is saddled with one of the best and authentic cowboy ditties of the silver screen.  

The role of Sheriff Bart was meant for Richard Pryor, who helped write the script

In 1974, Richard Pryor was a superstar and Mel Brooks was a huge fan. The part of Sheriff Bart was developed with Pryor in mind. But sadly, while Pryor made a name for himself on the comedy scene, he also made a name for himself on movie sets as execs and suits were wary of the comedian due to his struggles with drugs at the time. Prior (no pun intended) to shooting, Pryor was arrested on drug-related charges and the studio did not wish to be associated with the comedic legend.

However, Brooks refused to do the film without him.

According to Brooks, Pryor urged the helmer to stay on the project and helped him find Cleavon Little for the role of Bart.

“We looked at maybe 20 actors and Cleavon really stood out as being the most handsome and sharp.”

Mel also brought on Pryor as a writer, who gave his “blessing” on some of the more controversial parts of the scripts. In Scott Saul’s Becoming Richard Pryor, Brooks stated:

“​​If you have three Jews in a room, you’re going to be very skittish about writing jokes about a Black man — what’s permissible, what isn’t permissible… Richie gave us license, which was an enormous gift.”

Pryor also came up with the character of Mongo.

The ‘YES/NO’ on the back of Mongo’s bull is a reference to an outdated safety practice

Back in the 1950s and ‘60s, buses and large vehicles with large turn radiuses would have the words “Yes” and “No” painted on the back of their bodies to indicate to drivers which side was safe to pass on.

That Mongo’s bull has similar markers is a joke that his bull is as big as a bus.

There is a hidden Hebrew joke on the poster

On the poster on the Chief’s headband it reads “פשר לכסח,” which translates to “Posher l’Kesach,” or “Posher for Kassover,” a Spoonerism for “Kosher for Passover.” This detail also ties in with the previously mentioned gag, from a flashback, in which the film’s Native Americans speak Yiddish.

Mongo punching a horse was based on a true event

Early in his career, Mel Brooks was a writer on the celebrated variety show Your Show of Shows, starring Sid Caesar. Known for his physical prowess as well as his comedy, Caesar was an imposing figure. He was often referred to as the “Strongman of Comedy.”

A well-known story about the host was that while on vacation with his wife, the two went horseback riding when the mare that was carrying his beloved threw her to the ground. In a fit of rage, he punched the horse between the eyes, knocking it out.

Brooks used the story as inspiration for Mongo.