Fails the Bechdel test
Blazing Saddles
1974. Directed by Mel Brooks, written by Mel Brooks and Norman Steinberg and Andrew Bergman.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 3 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
A town where everyone seems to be named Johnson is in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, Hedley Lemar, a politically connected nasty person, sends in his henchmen to make the town unlivable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor. Hedley convinces him to send the town its first sheriff.
- Released
- 07 Feb 1974
- Genres
- Comedy, Western
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 73 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 3 Oscars. 3 wins & 6 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Bart 171 lines, man
- Lamarr 75 lines, man
- Taggart 62 lines, man
- Jim 56 lines, man
- Le Petomane 45 lines, man
- Lili 30 lines, woman
- Lyle 27 lines, man
- Howard Johnson 18 lines, man
- Mongo 16 lines, man
- Charlie 14 lines, man
Full cast, 118 people
- Cleavon Little as Bart
- Gene Wilder as Jim
- Slim Pickens as Taggart
- Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr
- Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp
- Mel Brooks as William Le Petomane / Indian Chief
- Burton Gilliam as Lyle
- Alex Karras as Mongo
- David Huddleston as Olson Johnson
- Liam Dunn as Rev. Johnson
- John Hillerman as Howard Johnson
- George Furth as Van Johnson
- Jack Starrett as Gabby Johnson
- Carol Arthur as Harriett Johnson
- Richard Collier as Dr. Sam Johnson
- Charles McGregor as Charlie
- Robyn Hilton as Miss Stein
- Don Megowan as Gum Chewer
- Dom DeLuise as Buddy Bizarre
- Count Basie as Count Basie
- John Alderson as Gum Chewer (uncredited)
- David Armstrong as Pressman (uncredited)
- Denny Arnold as Townsman (uncredited)
- Benjie Bancroft as Townsman (uncredited)
- Herman Boden as Cowboy (uncredited)
- Jimmie Booth as Desperado (uncredited)
- Alex Brown as RR Worker (uncredited)
- Jerry Brown as Stage Driver (uncredited)
- Eldon Burke as Desperado (uncredited)
- David Cadiente as Mexican (uncredited)
- Patrick Campbell as MC at Show (uncredited)
- Bart Carroll as Dancer (uncredited)
- Bill Catching as Outlaw (uncredited)
- Donald Chaffin as Townsman (uncredited)
- Dick Cherney as Townsman (uncredited)
- Jack R. Clinton as Official (uncredited)
- Aneta Corsaut as Tourist Mother (uncredited)
- Dick Crockett as Townsman (uncredited)
- George Dockstader as Politician (uncredited)
- Randy Doney as Dancer (uncredited)
- Ken DuMain as Townsman (uncredited)
- Hobert Durham Jr. as Railroad Worker (uncredited)
- Stewart East as Pressman (uncredited)
- Kenny Endoso as Indian (uncredited)
- Richard Farnsworth as Sheriff (uncredited)
- Fred Fisher as Townsman (uncredited)
- Bob Folkerson as Townsman (uncredited)
- Abel Franco as Mexican Bandit (uncredited)
- Ben Frommer as Convict (uncredited)
- John Furlong as Tourist Man (uncredited)
- Laura Gile as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Seamon Glass as Cowboy (uncredited)
- Cecil Gold as Dancer (uncredited)
- Chuck Hayward as Outlaw (uncredited)
- Francine Henderson as Townswoman (uncredited)
- George Hickman as Townsman (uncredited)
- George Holmes as Theatre Patron (uncredited)
- Kal Isaacs as Railroad Worker (uncredited)
- Kathryn Janssen as Commissary Customer (uncredited)
- Rosemary Johnston as Townswoman (uncredited)
- M.J. Kane as Leopold (uncredited)
- Ron Kinwald as Townsman (uncredited)
- Sally Kirkland as Cashier (uncredited)
- Patrick Labyorteaux as Henry (uncredited)
- Jack Lilley as Overseer (uncredited)
- Craig Littler as Tex (uncredited)
- Karl Lukas as Cutthroat (uncredited)
- Bert Madrid as Convict in Line (uncredited)
- Ralph Manza as Man in Commissary Playing Hitler (uncredited)
- Jimmy Martinez as Scared Mexican Man (uncredited)
- Bert May as German Soldier Dancer (uncredited)
- Fred McDougall as Desperado (uncredited)
- Bill McIntosh as Desperado (uncredited)
- Clyde McLeod as Townsman (uncredited)
- Troy Melton as Member of the Press (uncredited)
- Ira Miller as Baker Man (uncredited)
- Jessamine Milner as Elderly Woman (uncredited)
- Richard Monahan as Dancer (uncredited)
- Boyd 'Red' Morgan as Outlaw (uncredited)
- Beans Morocco as Townsman (uncredited)
- Hal Needham as Outlaw (uncredited)
- Daniel Nunez as Mexican (uncredited)
- Monty O'Grady as Townsman (uncredited)
- Harvey Parry as Townsman (uncredited)
- Jack Perkins as Desperado (uncredited)
- Tom Pittman as Official (uncredited)
- Anthony Redondo as Townsman (uncredited)
- Booty Reed as Railroad Worker (uncredited)
- Tony Regan as Pressman (uncredited)
- Danny 'Big Black' Rey as Bart's Father (uncredited)
- Robert Ridgely as Boris (uncredited)
- Rodney Allen Rippy as Bart (age 5) (uncredited)
- Al Roberts as Townsman (uncredited)
- Arnold Roberts as Townsman (uncredited)
- Hank Robinson as Townsman (uncredited)
- Victor Romito as Arabian (uncredited)
- Clark Ross as Townsman (uncredited)
- Darrell Sandeen as KKK Man (uncredited)
- Danny Sands as Desperado (uncredited)
- George Sawaya as Townsman (uncredited)
- Fred Scheiwiller as Outlaw (uncredited)
- David Sharpe as Man in Suit (uncredited)
- June Smaney as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Eddie Smith as RR Worker (uncredited)
- Roy Smith as Dancer (uncredited)
- Paul Stader as Desperado (uncredited)
- Tom Steele as Townsman Who Falls from Chair (uncredited)
- Tim Sullivan as Dancer (uncredited)
- Jerry Summers as Desperado (uncredited)
- Jim Taylor as Dancer (uncredited)
- George Tracy as Townsman (uncredited)
- Jerry Trent as Dancer (uncredited)
- Frankie Van as Fighter (uncredited)
- Al Ward as Man at Pond (uncredited)
- Dick Warlock as Townsman (uncredited)
- Janice Whitby as Tour Guide (uncredited)
- Joe Yrigoyen as Townsman (uncredited)
- Bill Zuckert as Official (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 47
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 to 2 | 0 | 45 |
| 3 to 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 to 4 | 0 | 17 |
| 5 to 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 to 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 to 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 to 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 to 9 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 to 10 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 to 11 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 to 12 | 2 | 45 |
| 13 to 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 to 14 | 0 | 8 |
| 15 to 15 | 2 | 21 |
| 16 to 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 to 17 | 0 | 31 |
| 18 to 18 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 to 19 | 0 | 15 |
| 20 to 20 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 to 21 | 0 | 16 |
| 22 to 22 | 0 | 7 |
| 23 to 23 | 0 | 32 |
| 24 to 24 | 0 | 7 |
| 25 to 25 | 1 | 5 |
| 26 to 26 | 0 | 8 |
| 27 to 27 | 1 | 8 |
| 28 to 28 | 0 | 7 |
| 29 to 29 | 0 | 18 |
| 30 to 30 | 6 | 5 |
| 31 to 31 | 10 | 16 |
| 32 to 32 | 9 | 7 |
| 33 to 33 | 4 | 4 |
| 34 to 34 | 0 | 40 |
| 35 to 35 | 1 | 13 |
| 36 to 36 | 0 | 35 |
| 37 to 37 | 0 | 5 |
| 38 to 38 | 0 | 27 |
| 39 to 39 | 0 | 16 |
| 40 to 40 | 0 | 7 |
| 41 to 41 | 1 | 24 |
| 42 to 42 | 0 | 5 |
| 43 to 43 | 1 | 16 |
| 44 to 44 | 2 | 4 |
| 45 to 45 | 1 | 1 |
| 46 to 46 | 2 | 17 |
| 47 to 47 | 0 | 0 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 7 are women's.
44 lines from women, 564 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
9 women and 84 men in the cast. 3 women and 34 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 95 of 636.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 130 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 7% of the words (764), men 93% (10,299).
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
43
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 15 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 11% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Mel Brooks (man)
- Written by
- Richard Pryor (man), Mel Brooks (man), Norman Steinberg (man), Andrew Bergman (man), Alan Uger (man)
- Story by
- Andrew Bergman (man)
- Produced by
- Michael Hertzberg (man)
- Shot by
- Joseph F. Biroc (man)
- Edited by
- John C. Howard (man), Danford B. Greene (gender not listed)
- Music by
- John Morris (man)
- Production design by
- Peter Wooley (man)
- Costumes by
- Vittorio Nino Novarese (man)
- Cast by
- Nessa Hyams (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 12 men, 2 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 10 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 7 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Production
1 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 44 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Madeline Kahn 31
Men
Cleavon Little 34, Burton Gilliam 35, Alex Karras 38, Gene Wilder 40, David Huddleston 43, Harvey Korman 46, Mel Brooks 47, Slim Pickens 54, Liam Dunn 57
Exhibit G: the money
It made 46.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $2.6 million
- Box office
- $120 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 47 scenes and 636 lines of dialogue. How the test works
