CATCH A CLASSIC
Mel Brooks & Gene Wilder
TCM, beginning at 7 p.m.
The individual comedic geniuses of writer/ director Mel Brooks and actor Gene Wilder combined into an even more uproarious force when they worked together on films, and tonight’s double feature spotlights two films that are among this pairing’s most hilarious high points. First up is their first teaming, for the 1967 comedy masterpiece The Producers (pictured), the directorial debut for Brooks, who won an Oscar for his screenplay. Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee Wilder costars as the accountant for Zero Mostel’s Broadway producer, who plots to stage what should be a sure-fire opening-night flop — a Hitler-themed musical — then take the investors’ money and run. Unfortunately, the duo is left hilariously wondering where they went right when the play somehow becomes a smash hit and their investors expect a large payout. Tonight’s second film is Blazing Saddles (1974), co-written and directed by Brooks. It’s a riotous and scathing satire of Hollywood Westerns, particularly the racism that is literally white-washed from most of those films, with Wilder playing alcoholic gunslinger “The Waco Kid” alongside Cleavon Little’s Sheriff Bart.