Part of our 'It's Good to be the King! A Mel Brooks Select-rospective' Film Talk Series!
Now in his 98th year and having recently received an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement, Mel Brooks is recognized virtually everywhere as one of the kings of big-screen farce. This summer, Jeffrey Bender pays homage to comedy royalty by presenting three of the crown jewels in Brooks' body of work, and how each shaped not only the genre as a whole, but the wider culture as well. Long may he reign!
50th Anniversary!
In this satirical take on traditional 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 prejudice 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.
Jeffrey Bender
Jeffrey Bender has hosted a number of in-person and online Film Talks with the Westdale, most recently on a series of films focused on The Lives of Artists in a wide variety of artistic media. He returns this summer to host a 'It's Good to be the King! A Mel Brooks Select-rospective', as well as 'Whodunnit at the Westdale', a three-film survey of classic murder-mysteries that redefined the genre.