re: Favorite Gene Wilder movie or scene

quote:

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Blazing Saddles is his best movie. "But I shoot with his hand" gets me every time.

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He and Little having to alternate playing the straight man with each other took a lot of talent and timing on their part. Little carried a lot of that film in doing that - from the borderline minstrel show in taking himself hostage, to playing off the various white authority figures while trying to stay alive/solve the problem was pretty impressive.

Gene was a last minute substitute for Gig Young, who quit drinking to make the movie then promptly went into alcohol withdrawal on the set. Gene described it - I got the call to come do the part. I went out the next day. The following day I was hanging upside down in a jail cell.