The town of Rock Ridge is slated for destruction in order to build a railroad that will pass through the area it inhabits. Unfortunately, the politicians need to get rid of the people who live in Rock Ridge to get the land. After the sheriff or Rock Ridge is killed, they put a slave in charge of the racist town which causes chaos among the townspeople.

This is still one of cinema's funniest movies, with stellar performances across the board. Although originally created for Richard Pryor to star, Cleavon Little is extremely likeable as is the rest of the cast. Mel Brooks does a masterful job as director in probably his best work. It's amazing to find a film that is so full of jokes and in which there's scarcely a dud in the bunch. Ironically, Madeline Kahn was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in probably the film's only lull, singing a song called "I'm Tired" a la Marlene Dietrich. It's not profound, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.

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