Blazing Saddles - Production

Production

In the DVD commentary, Brooks explains that the original title of the film, Tex X (as in the name of Black Muslim leader Malcolm X), was rejected, along with Black Bart and Purple Sage. Finally, Brooks concocted the title Blazing Saddles while taking a shower.

Blazing Saddles was Brooks' first film shot in anamorphic format. To date, this film and History of the World, Part I are the only Brooks films in this format.

Brooks had repeated conflicts with studio executives over the cast and content. They objected to both the highly provocative script and to the "irregular" activities of the writers (particularly Richard Pryor, who reportedly led all-night writing jams where loud music and drugs played a prominent role). Brooks wanted Pryor to play the sheriff, but Warner executives expressed concern over Pryor's reliability because of his heavy drug use and the belief that he was mentally unstable. While he kept Pryor as co-screenwriter, Brooks worked with Cleavon Little as Bart. In a similar vein, Gene Wilder was the second choice to play the Waco Kid. He was quickly brought in to replace a sick Gig Young after the first day of filming.

After screening the movie, the head of Warner Bros. complained about the use of the word "nigger", a flatulent campfire scene, and Mongo punching a horse, and told Brooks to remove those elements. Since his contract gave him control of the final cut, the complaints were disregarded and the elements remained. What was removed was a scene in which Bart responded to Lili's attempt to seduce him in the dark by quipping, "I hate to disappoint you, ma'am, but you're sucking my arm." Brooks was asked about the use of the "N-word" in the movie in an interview that appeared in the summer 2012 issue of the DGA Quarterly, the official magazine of the Directors Guild of America. He said that if a remake of Blazing Saddles was made today, they would have to leave out the controversial word, but during filming, he got support for its use from writer Richard Pryor and lead actor Cleavon Little.

Brooks wanted the movie's title song to reflect the western genre, and advertised in the trade papers for a "Frankie Laine-type" sound. Several days later, Laine himself visited Brooks' office to offer his services. Brooks had not told Laine that the movie was a comedy: "'Frankie sang his heart out... and we didn't have the heart to tell him it was a spoof — we just said, 'Oh, great!'. He never heard the whip cracks; we put those in later. We got so lucky with his serious interpretation of the song."

In an interview included in the DVD release of Blazing Saddles, Brooks claimed that Hedy Lamarr threatened to sue, saying the film's running "Hedley Lamarr" joke infringed her right to privacy. This is lampooned when Hedley corrects Governor Le Petomane's pronunciation of his name, and Le Petomane replies with "What the hell are you worried about? This is 1874, you'll be able to sue her!". Brooks says he and the actress settled out of court for a small sum. In the same interview, Brooks related how he managed to persuade John Wayne to read the script after meeting him in the Warner Bros. studio commissary. Wayne was impressed with the script, but politely declined a cameo, fearing it was "too dirty" for his family image. He is also said to have told Brooks that he "would be first in line to see the film, though".