The plot of "Blazing Saddles" is all about people who are shocked after a black man is appointed as the sheriff in their town.
So, why is the title "Blazing Saddles"?
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7Also bear in mind the scene with the aftermath of the beans for dinner.. saddles be blazin' – Amaranth Blanket Mar 9 '17 at 4:59
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There is a brand of hot chili sauce by the name "Blazin' Saddle". I don't know if the sauce - or the name for certain after-effects of too much hot chili - pre-date the movie though. – Brian Drummond Mar 9 '17 at 21:06
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I too always assumed the title was a reference to the effects of too much beans on your saddle when you're riding, either A) proverbial "hot fire" comes out of your butt to set your saddle ablaze or B) for the alternate def. of blaze "used in various expressions of anger, bewilderment, or surprise" if thats how people feel about the sheriff and their saddle can be said to be metonymous with the cowboy – chiliNUT Mar 10 '17 at 3:32
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From IMDBs trivia page about the movie
In the DVD commentary, Mel Brooks said that the working title for the film was "Tex X", as a reference to black Muslim leader Malcolm X. It was then switched to "Black Bart", then to "The Purple Sage". In either case, neither he nor the other writers thought those were great titles. Brooks says that one morning he was taking a shower and the words "Blazing Saddles" suddenly popped into his head. When he got out of the shower, he pitched the title to his wife, actress Anne Bancroft, who liked the idea, and that's how the movie ended up with its title.
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11You might also think that it came from the song. ♫ He rode a blazing saddle...♫ , but the song was written for the movie. ...in fact, Mel Brooks never told Frankie Laine that the theme song "Blazing Saddles" was for a comedy. Laine thought it was a dramatic western. – BruceWayne Mar 8 '17 at 23:03
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9@BruceWayne - You'd think the mere fact that it was Mel Brooks asking for it should have been a tip-off. – T.E.D. Mar 9 '17 at 18:58
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1You could add that in the Wild West the saddles would've been very hot... quite literally blazing! It would be extremely uncomfortable riding days on end with hard leather saddles. – Restioson Mar 11 '17 at 6:18
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I think that “blazing pistols” refers to a sort of film genre.
When Rooster tells the girl about the time he faced down seven horsemen by riding straight at them with blazing pistols, she says "I admire your poise," as though congratulating a ballet dancer.
From a review of True Grit.
Rather than double-crosses and blazing pistols, this film is more about existential yearnings and philosophical debates.
From a review of Hail, Mafia!
And it seems to me that in choosing the title "Blazing Saddles," Brooks was making a joke, directing our attention away from the excitement of a gunfight and to the possibility that when a cowboy gets onto a horse that has been standing in the sun he might find the saddle warm against his backside.
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2I think it's something like this. It sounds like a thousand old-style westerns, until you stop and think about how silly it sounds. Like the poster, which shows Bart on a rearing horse. At first you don't notice that he's wearing sunglasses, or that the Indian chief in the background is wearing a war bonnet emblazoned with Hebrew characters! – Shawn V. Wilson Mar 9 '17 at 23:54
