Blazing Saddles: A Western for the Ages

About This Quiz

If you’re a fan of smart slapstick comedies, odds are pretty good you’ve seen Blazing Saddles — more than once.

In the mid-1970s Mel Brooks treated audiences to a satirical send-up of classic American Western movies. In addition to being packed with unforgettable jokes, the film cast a critical eye at some of the racist stereotypes that were so prevalent in the Western films of the old days. The movie was almost scrapped when studio executives saw a screening and didn’t like it. Thankfully, the film was released and became such a hit that it made over $119 million dollars on just a $2.6 million budget and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards. Blazing Saddles was also ranked the 6th funniest movie of all time by the American Film Institute.

So, do you think you’re an expert on this hilarious piece of cinematic satire? Think you know this movie inside and out? Do you remember which character punches a horse? How about the name of the town featured in the movie? You probably remember that everyone in town had the same last name, but do you remember what it was? Do you know which Western movie legend turned down a role in the film, but said he’d be first in line to see it in the theater? You’ll never guess who was originally supposed to star as the sheriff … or maybe you will! Mel Brooks often appears in his own movies, but do you remember how many different roles he played in Blazing Saddles? And how many of the starring actors do you remember? Who played the Sheriff? How about Lili von Shtupp? What about the Waco Kid? If you’re a fan of this movie, you’ll surely know the answers to these and many more questions!

And if you know the movie as well as you think you do, you’ll definitely remember the most quotable lines! Can you finish this one? “These are people of the land. The common clay of the New West. You know…” Or how about, “My name is Jim. But most people call me…” The comic timing of the actors who delivered these lines made them jump off the screen and into our collective movie highlight reels.

In the tradition of great satire, Mel Brooks forced audiences to take a critical look at an ugly side of society and allowed them to laugh at the stupidity of it all. In addition to entertaining audiences, Blazing Saddles essentially became a prototype for a bunch of bi-racial buddy cop films to follow, such as Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hills Cop.

So now that we’ve stoked your memory with fun facts and questions about this time-tested classic of comedic social satire, do you think you can ace the quiz? Saddle up and give it your best shot by taking this quiz!