Mel Brooks’ comic masterpiece, which is still popular today as one of the funniest movies ever made, “Blazing Saddle” has a lot of stories to offer from behind the scenes. As crazy as it may appear, the happenings that surrounded the film are as entertaining as the movie itself. Take a look for yourself.

Premiere On Horsebacks

The movie premier saw something that was unprecedented in the history of the film industry. Ditching their fancy cars and limos, the 250 odd guests that attended the premiere entered the drive-in theatre on horsebacks. It is funny because the guests attended the premiere in the fashion the movie characters traveled in the movie.

The Duke Rejected The Script

John Wayne, or more popularly known as The Duke, was one of the most famous stars of western movies. So naturally, Mel Brooks wanted him in his parody movie. However, when Brooks ran into The Duke in the Warner Brothers’ parking lot and offered him to work in “Blazing Saddle” he humbly declined the role.

The Brooks And Wilder Duo

Gene Wilder is always associated with Mel Brooks because of his role in “Blazing Saddles”. Brooks trusted Wilder to be called upon in case of an emergency in casting for movies. There was a caveat when he signed Wilder for Blazing Saddles and that was, if Wilder acted in Brooks’ film, Brooks will act in a movie that Wilder had written.

Knocking A Horse Out

“Blazing Saddles” features a scene where a man confronts Mongo for parking his horse in a no parking zone. The confrontation leads to the man knocking out the horse and Mongo with a punch on the horse’s face.Brooks drew inspiration for the scene from a story his previous boss, Sid Caesar, had told him about a wild horse.

Animal Rights Activists Go Crazy

The scene where Mongo’s horse got punched is one of the funniest scenes in the movie but it sparked some controversy. Animal rights activists all around America were furious about the horse being injured during the scene. In reality, however, the horse was trained to fall on command and so they were no injuries caused.

Brooks Told Off The Producers

The film was screened for the Warner Brothers’ executive producers where Brooks lost his temper. Ted Ashley, the chief executive producer of Warney Brothers, asked Brooks to cut out a few scenes from the movie which they found inappropriate. Brooks threw away all his notes and walked away.