Strange but true: before the dark days of Robin Hood: Men In Tights or Dracula: Dead And Loving It, parody-lover Mel Brooks was capably delivering more hits than misses. Biggest among them (in box-office terms, at least) was Blazing Saddles, a rowdy send-up of the Western genre that clings on to "classic" status thanks to a cracking concept (using the Old West to lampoon racism in '70s America) and Brooks' flair for broad visual comedy and spluttery one-liners.
Despite one uncomfortably dated moment of stereotype-trading (all black men are well-hung!), the former element - involving Cleavon Little's sheriff attempting to overcome the prejudices of the frontier community he's trying to save - remains the stronger. With the help of an excellent cast, Brooks deftly balances the "serious" theme with the extremely silly humour (campfire farting, punching out a horse...).