Blazing Saddles

 When auditioning for the role of Lili Von Shtupp in "Blazing Saddles" (1974), Madeline Kahn was asked by Mel Brooks to pull up her skirt so he could see her legs. She was quite hesitant, being unclear of Brooks' intentions. Brooks assured her that he was a happily married man (to Anne Bancroft); actually, he just wanted to see if she had legs good enough to approximate Marlene Dietrich's famous "gams." So she lifted her skirt and said, "No touching."

Kahn started working on the movie the day after being fired from the role of Agnes Gooch in "Mame" (1974). Lucille Ball believed that Kahn got herself fired (by deliberately acting poorly) so that she could take the role of Lili in this film, but still get paid for the Gooch role in "Mame," which by her contract wouldn't have happened if she'd merely quit.

Kahn's character and accent is based on Marlene Dietrich's character Frenchy in "Destry Rides Again" (1939). Both characters are saloon singers connected to the villain who eventually fall for the hero.

The music played when Lily's poster comes on, is the first four measures of "Springtime For Hitler" from Brooks' previous movie "The Producers" (1967), played on an old-time saloon piano. Similarly, When Hedley'men ride through the fake town, there is a quick cut to Kahn singing "Du Lichts Mir im Herzen," a drinking song with some German soldiers. They are singing the same song that Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder were singing with Kenneth Mars in "The Producers."