Original artwork, not a still
Now I don't have to tell you good folks what's been happening in our beloved little town. Sheriff murdered, crops burned, stores looted, people stampeded, and cattle raped. The time has come to act, and act fast. I'm leaving.
— Blazing Saddles · 1974
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is a sermon built to end on the opposite of what the congregation expects: the whole speech is a call to action, and the action is to run away. The joke is the preacher's rhythm, solemn and rising, collapsing into plain cowardice. Fans quote it for the last two words and the deadpan delivery, and 'The time has come to act, and act fast' still gets used for any meeting that ends in somebody bailing out.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Blazing SaddlesShow the scene
In Mel Brooks's 1974 western Blazing Saddles, the townsfolk of Rock Ridge gather in the church after Hedley Lamarr's henchmen have shot the sheriff and trashed the town. Reverend Johnson (Liam Dunn) rises to address the congregation, recites the damage in a solemn pulpit voice, and then announces that he is leaving, to the shock of the locals who have no intention of running. Gabby Johnson shouts him down in authentic frontier gibberish, Olson Johnson rallies the town to stay and fight, and the meeting resolves to ask the governor for a new sheriff.
Sources (4)
- Wikiquote, Blazing SaddlesReverend Johnson exchange at the town meetingReference checked
- Wikipedia, Blazing SaddlesPlot; CastReference checked
- Springfield! Springfield! Blazing Saddles transcriptchurch meeting sceneReference checked
- Blazing Saddles (1974) transcriptThe church meetingReference checked
Context reviewed
