Editing Blazing Saddles (section)

== Plot ==
On the [[American frontier]] of 1874, a new railroad under construction will have to be rerouted through the town of Rock Ridge to avoid [[quicksand]]. Realizing this will make Rock Ridge worth millions, [[State attorney general|territorial attorney general]] Hedley Lamarr plans to force Rock Ridge's residents out of the town and sends a gang of thugs, led by his flunky Taggart, to shoot the sheriff and trash the town.

Not wanting to go with Reverend Johnson's suggestion to leave, the other prominent citizens (all of whom are named Johnson) lead the other townspeople in demanding that Governor William J. [[Le Petomane]] appoints a new sheriff to protect them. Lamarr persuades dim-witted Le Petomane to appoint Bart, a black railroad worker about to be executed for assaulting Taggart. A black sheriff, Lamarr reasons, will offend the townspeople, create chaos and leave Rock Ridge at his mercy.

After an initial hostile reception in which he takes himself "hostage" to escape, Bart relies on his quick wits and the assistance of Jim, an alcoholic [[gunslinger]] known as the "[[Waco]] Kid", to overcome the townspeople's hostility. Bart subdues Mongo, an immensely strong and dim-witted, yet philosophical henchman sent to kill him, then outwits German seductress-for-hire Lili Von Shtupp at her own game, with Lili falling in love with him.

Upon release, Mongo vaguely informs Bart of Lamarr's connection to the railroad, so Bart and Jim visit the railroad worksite and discover from Bart's best friend Charlie that the railway is planned to go through Rock Ridge. Taggart and his men arrive to kill Bart, but Jim outshoots them and forces their retreat. Furious that his schemes have backfired, Lamarr recruits an army of thugs, including common criminals, [[Outlaw motorcycle club|motorcycle gangsters]], [[Ku Klux Klan]]smen, and [[Nazism|Nazi]] soldiers.

East of Rock Ridge, Bart introduces the White townspeople to the black, Chinese, and Irish railroad workers who have all agreed to help them in exchange for acceptance by the community, and explains his plan to defeat Lamarr's army. They labor all night to build a perfect copy of the town as a diversion. When Bart realizes it will not be enough to fool the villains, the townsfolk construct copies of themselves.

Bart, Jim, and Mongo buy time by constructing the "Gov. William J. Le Petomane [[Controlled-access highway|Thruway]]", forcing the raiding party to send for change to pay the toll. Once through the [[tollbooth]], the raiders attack the fake town and its population of dummies, which have been [[booby trap]]ped with dynamite. After Jim detonates the explosives with his sharpshooting, launching bad guys and horses skyward, the Rock Ridgers attack the villains with Lili singing with the Nazi soldiers.

The resulting brawl between townsfolk, railroad workers, and Lamarr's thugs literally breaks the [[fourth wall]] and bursts onto a neighboring movie set where director Buddy Bizarre is filming a [[Busby Berkeley]]-style top-hat-and-tails musical number. Then the brawl spreads into the studio commissary for a food fight and spills out of the [[Warner Bros. Studios Burbank|Warner Bros. film lot]] onto the streets of [[Burbank, California|Burbank]].

Lamarr escapes the brawl and takes a taxi to hide at [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre|Mann's Chinese Theatre]] which is showing the premiere of ''Blazing Saddles''. As he settles into his seat, he sees onscreen Bart arriving on horseback outside the theatre. Bart blocks Lamarr's escape and shoots him in the groin. Bart and Jim then enter the theater to watch the end of the film.

Back in the film, Bart announces to the townspeople that he is moving on because his work is done (and because he is bored). Riding out of town, he finds Jim, still eating his popcorn, and invites him along to "nowhere special". The two friends briefly ride into the desert before dismounting and boarding a limousine which drives off into the sunset.