#1 in 1974: Blazing Saddles

Blazing Saddles was a surprise for Hollywood. Mel Brooks was seen as being talented, but not a box office draw. Westerns were considered old and passé and the cast was filled with familiar but hardly huge actors. Plus, the content was a bit risqué. Perhaps it was serendipity that made this film a hit, but it still stands decades later as a classic, popular  picture.