Cleavon Little stars as the newly hired black sheriff who teams up
with Gene Wilder to foil the railroad-building scheme of Hedley Lamarr
(played by Harvey Korman). A lot of the humor in this movie is
derived from the reaction of the local townsfolk to the fact that
their new sheriff is black. However, I would say that the most
memorable scene from this Mel Brooks movie is probably the scene in
which a bunch of cowboys sit around a campfire eating beans. As we
all know, beans have a predictable effect on those who eat them, and
that fact is played out in a very detailed manner in this movie.
Throughout this film the infamous "N Word" is used on numerous
occasions and makes me wonder if a film such as this could have been
made in today's politically correct environment. In fairness to the
creators of this film, we have to remember the time in which the story
was supposed to have taken place. Obviously, in the days of the old
west, not long after the end of slavery, we could very safely assume
that the word was in wide usage. If you would still find that
offensive, then I would not recommend that you purchase the movie.
This was one of Mel Brooks' first hits and helped to pave the way for
the many commercially successful films of his to follow. |