The role of Bart was intended for Richard Pryor, but due to the controversial nature of Pryor's stand-up routines of the day and his background, 'Mel Brooks (I)' couldn't secure financing for the project with Pryor in that role. So Pryor was made a co-writer of the script, and Cleavon Little played Bart. Pryor later got to star in a different western comedy - Adi?s Amigo (1976).

Richard Pryor came up with the character "Mongo".

Production began with Gig Young as the Waco Kid. On the first day of shooting, the scene where the drunk Waco Kid hangs from a bunk asking if Bart is black, Young revealed that he really was indeed drunk (he had had an alcohol problem for years) and proceeded to undergo a physical collapse on set. Brooks shut down production for a day and Gene Wilder flew cross country to take over the role.

In the shot where the show bill for "Lili Von Schtupp, The Teutonic Titwillow" appears, the tune played on the honky-tonk piano in the background is "Springtime for Hitler" from The Producers (1968), also directed by 'Mel Brooks (I)'.

Scriptwriter Andrew Bergman originally named the lead character "Tex X".

Director 'Mel Brooks (I)' plays a character called "Le Petomane", which was the stage name of a popular French performer (Joseph Pujol) from the beginning of the 20th century, who told stories punctuated with flatulence, demonstrated his ability to blow out candle flames from two feet way with his back turned, and performed "La Marseillaise" and popular tunes.

The Indian Chief played by 'Mel Brooks (I)' speaks Yiddish. He says: "Blacks!" "Let them go!" "Have you ever seen in your life?"

One day in the Warner Bros. commissary, 'Mel Brooks (I)' and the other writers were seated at a table opposite John Wayne. The Duke turned and said he had heard about their Western, the one where people say stuff like "blow it out your ass". Mel handed The Duke a copy of the script and said, "Yes, and we'd like you to be in it." According to Brooks, the Duke turned down the offer the next day by saying, "Naw, I can't do a movie like that but I'll be first in line to see it!"

Gene Wilder was originally offered the role of Hedley Lamarr but he didn't feel right for it and told 'Mel Brooks (I)' that he wanted The Waco Kid instead. However, Brooks wanted someone older for The Waco Kid, someone like Dan Dailey. Dailey was originally considered for the role of the Waco Kid but poor health and declining eyesight forced him to decline.

The TV release has several extra scenes that weren't in the theatrical release. - When Sheriff Bart is trying to capture Mongo, after he delivers the "CandyGram for Mongo", it then shows a "draw on the dummy sheriff" game that fires a cannon at Mongo. - A scene where Bart convinces Mongo to go diving down a well for Spanish Doubloons and Bart stops pumping air to the diving suit because it's time for his lunch break. - Escaping from the "bad guy queue", Jim and Bart encounter a Baptism ceremony. - Governor Le Petomane rides into the fake Rock Ridge in a stagecoach and tries to talk to the fake people.

The Hebrew writing on headband worn by 'Mel Brooks (I)' on the movie poster should translate to "Kosher for Passover", but it has a (deliberate) mistake: the first letters were switched, which translates it to something like "Posher for Kassover".

Cameo: [Count Basie] leader of the jazz band in the desert.

Cameo: [Gilda Radner] appears in a scene in the church. She would later become the wife of Gene Wilder (The Waco Kid).

Director Trademark: ['Mel Brooks (I)'] fourth wall: often breaks the "fourth wall", having the actors speak directly to the audience.

A television spinoff series was originally proposed, but never aired. Called "Black Bart", it starred Louis Gossett Jr. (billed as "Lou Gossett") and Steve Landesberg. The show never aired, but the original pilot can be found on the 30th Anniversary Special Edition DVD.

Hedy Lamarr sued 'Mel Brooks (I)' over the use of the name Hedley Lamarr and settled out of

Continuity

(at around 50 mins) When the old woman brings a pie to Sheriff Bart, she places the pie on the window ledge. The camera goes to the Waco Kid and then back to the old woman as you see her put it on the ledge again.

(at around 1h 21 mins) Towards the end of the movie, Taggart kicks over a building and discovers the town is fake. Soon thereafter, the building, "Livery and Saddle Shop", is shown back upright and is then blown up.

(at around 1h 22 mins) While Taggart and his gang ride into the fake (2 dimensional buildings) Rock Ridge, when Bart and company arrive and the fist fights break out, the buildings are clearly the 3 dimensional set.

(at around 4 mins) Right before, and during, the singing of "Camptown Ladies", the cowboy behind Lyle and to his left (our right) is wearing a white jacket that goes from being buttoned to un-buttoned to buttoned several times.

(at around 28 mins) When Bart arrives in Rock Ridge and the "Welcome Sheriff" banner retracts, it flips once, leaving some of the writing still visible. When Bart walks over to unfurl it again, it is neatly closed with no writing visible.



Factual errors

The movie lists Don Megowan as the gum chewer in Hedley Lamarr's line of villains. Actually, the gum chewer is John Alderson and Megowan was the big guy who went on stage to accost Lili Von Shtupp and got a knee in the groin. Both Alderson and Megowan were fixtures in '50s and '60s westerns.

When Bart is eating breakfast with Lili Von Sht?pp, she offers him a "schnitzel groben" and he declines. The correct German word would have been "grossen" (huge schnitzel ) and the two s's would have been written at "?". English speaking actors would have read the line as "groben" instead of "grossen".

(at around 1h 6 mins) When the gunmen are introduced to the Waco Kid, they pull their pistols out to shoot him and the Kid draws and shoots the guns out of each of their hands. The pistols are all single action revolvers which have to be cocked before they can fire and none of them are cocked to shoot at the count of three.

(at around 1h 28 mins) Hedy Lamarr's footprints do not appear in the concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

(at around 27 mins) When Bart first arrives at Rock Ridge, he is already wearing his sheriff badge. As being named sheriff is specific to each town, he would have been given the badge by the town upon his arrival.



Incorrectly regarded as goofs

(at around 1h 11 mins) In the sign up scene, Hedley Lamarr fires a two shot Derringer three times without reloading. This is a parody of a common "western" goof.

The desk and chair in Gov. LePetomane's office change throughout the movie. This is probably a gag.

(at around 1h 10 mins) When the camera is panning past the bikers who are waiting to apply for the army to take down Rock Ridge, the one on the left moves the handlebars a little too high and you can see that they aren't actually connected to anything. This is not a revealing mistake, but a deliberate sight gag which showed the two "biker cowboys" who have chopper handlebars connected to not to a motorcycle, but to their holster belts, which was obviously shown on purpose as part of the gag, and which was just one of many sight gags seen while the camera pans down the line.

Since the movie breaks the fourth wall frequently, many crew/equipment visibilities may be deliberate.

(at around 35 mins) During the Chess game, the Waco Kid's right hand is steady as a rock, but he says he shoots with his fluttering left hand. But later in the movie when he detonates the dynamite, he shoots with his right hand. His attitude during the discussion during the Chess game suggests he's telling a tall tale.



Revealing mistakes

(at around 48 mins) When the sheriff delivers the candy gram to Mongo, just before Mongo opens the candybox you can see him close his eyes and wince in anticipation of the upcoming explosion.

(at around 1h 2 mins) Mongo is chained to the jail cell, and when Sheriff Bart throws a bucket of water to wake him up, Mongo starts to yawn and innocently breaks free of the chains. The moment immediately before and after the chains break apart, one can clearly detect where the reel has been spliced (probably so the crew could manage the effect of the breakaway chains)

(at around 46 mins) When Mongo bursts into the saloon, the view of the street behind him is revealed to be a painted backcloth when his shadow falls on it.

(at around 1h 27 mins) Toward the end of the movie when we see the marquee at Grauman's Chinese Theater, the title "Blazing Saddles" jumps on the marquee, showing it was superimposed on the film and not actually on the marquee.

(at around 6 mins) When the railroad men are "sinking", the bottom of the screen reveals that they are not.



Miscellaneous

(at around 1h 26 mins) In the pie fight seen at the commissary, you see Hedley Lamarr coming out of the men's room the first time. He's standing in the door and mouths, "What the F?" This is the only reference to the "F" word through the whole movie which is why back in 1974, "Blazing Saddles", was rated R rather than PG. The Motion Picture Association was tighter on what was considered acceptable and what wasn't acceptable for a PG or G rated movie.

(at around 49 mins) When Lamarr is in the tub and wants his froggy, Taggart's gun is caught on his chair and he drags it around while searching for the froggy.

During the scene in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hedley Lamarr looks at the footprints of Douglas Fairbanks and wonders how Fairbanks could have perform his stunts "with such little feet". Fairbanks wore size 11 shoes, so his feet can hardly be described as little.

In the opening scene, railroad workers are randomly swinging their picks and shovels around the railroad tracks, not actually digging anything or working on the railroad.

At the end, when Heddy Lamar is trying to shoot Bart with his derringer, he fires one shot, the he motions like he fired a second shot, but nothing happens.



Anachronisms

(at around 29 mins) After Sheriff Bart has accepted the duties of Sheriff, Reverend Johnson holds up a Bible and tells everyone pointing a gun at Sheriff Bart to "Not let anger rule the day." Then out of nowhere the Bible gets a hole shot through it. You can clearly see that no one gathered around the platform has a smoking gun. In 1874 they would have still been using black powder. The smoke would have to clear before they could if they hit anything.



Audio/visual unsynchronized

(at around 4 mins) While the cowboys try to get the railroad workers to sing, the cowboys sing and the banjo player plays the banjo but no sound is heard at all.

(at around 53 mins) No surprise that Lily is lip syncing, but it is really obvious as she emerges from behind the curtain. She is singing the word "hound", but her lips don't match that word.

(at around 1h 21 mins) During the destruction of the Fake Rock Ridge, Taggart yells, "It's a fake! We've been suckered in!", but his mouth does not move.

(at around 25 mins) When Sheriff Bart is making his ride to Rock Ridge and he encounters Count Basie, Basie's band are not playing the music heard on the audio track. This is easily recognized if you watch the band's drummer, who isn't even playing his drum kit, let alone the actual drum patterns heard in the music.

(at around 18 mins) Hedley Lamarr and the Governor are talking about taking away 200,000 acres of land from the Indians the Governor asks what it will cost and Hedley Lamarr get out a box of toys. Before the governor can shoot the cigar out of his mouth, you already hear the sound of him blowing it out before the cigar has started moving.



Crew or equipment visible

(at around 56 mins) During Lili Von Shtupp's musical performance, the soldier that provides a chair for her to rest in, throws his rifle down on the ground when explaining how "tired" she is. The rifle hits the stage floor and slides, bursting the stage light in front of him. The sound of the light exploding can be heard through the singing and music.

(at around 6 mins) While Bart and his companion are on the handcart a black cable can be seen in front of them between the tracks.

(at around 1h 26 mins) When Slim Pickens is punched in the cafeteria and he slides to the cash register, the platform under him can be seen, as are the rails it rides on.



Errors in geography

When Hedley Lamarr takes a taxi from Warner Bros studios, it's day time. When he arrives at the Grauman's Chinese Theater it's night time. But it's only a 15 minute drive.



Plot holes

During the railroad construction scene at the beginning Taggart tells Lyle 'The surveyors say they may have run into some quicksand up ahead' and tells him to send two men to go and check it out. However, the two men sent drive their handcart over already laid tracks into the quicksand, surely something those constructing this part of the track would have noticed when doing so.



Character error

(at around 1h 27 mins) Toward the end of the film, when the fight spills onto the other set, at one point, it spills into the street. Participants in the scene are seen running out of the studio and around the street corner. As the shot pulls back to follow Hedley looking for a cab, the runners can be seen in the background, slowing to a walk, apparently thinking they are no longer visible. Once they realize they are still in the shot, they begin to run again.

At the final fight scene in fake Rock Ridge, if you watch the extras fighting, you can see Mongo actually start fighting Gabby Johnson, who is actually one of the townspeople on Mongo's side.

The Waco Kid says (and shows) that he shoots with his left hand, but when he demonstrates his speed on the draw a few seconds later by "grabbing" the chess piece before Bart can close his hands on it, he used his right hand, which wouldn't be his "fast" hand because it's not his shooting hand with which he draws his gun.

(at around 6 mins) When Bart and Charlie exit the chain gang scene on the handcar to check out the quicksand up ahead, they are singing "Camptown Ladies" in Bb. The next shot shows them continuing to pump away on the handcar but the key has sharpened to C.