Western Double Trouble - Blazing Saddles + Rio Bravo

Two iconic westerns with two big anniversaries, that couldn’t be more different. One is an anarchic comedy that almost wasn’t released, then became the studio’s biggest summer release and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards. The other stars the king of Westerns and celebrates the man who fights for his citizens and ideals.

12:30pm – BAR IN THE FOYER
1:00pm – THE MIGHTY WURLITZER THEATRE ORGAN
1:15pm – RIO BRAVO
3:35pm – INTERVAL
4:00pm – BLAZING SADDLES

RIO BRAVO
When gunslinger Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) kills a man in a saloon, Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) arrests him with the aid of the town drunk, Dude (Dean Martin). Before long, Burdette’s brother, Nathan (John Russell), comes around, indicating that he’s prepared to bust his brother out of jail if necessary. Chance decides to make a stand until reinforcements arrive, enlisting Dude, an old cripple named Stumpy (Walter Brennan) and baby-faced cowboy Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson) to help.

BLAZING SADDLES
In this satirical take on Westerns, crafty railroad worker Bart (Cleavon Little) becomes the first black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the people of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new leader. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend (Gene Wilder) are the only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population.

Wow! what a great double!!