A Glimpse Into The Past
Hardcore fans may have noticed that the movie is littered with nostalgic references the past. There are also some Western cultural references that not everyone would get immediately. For example, Brooks created the character Gabby Johnson who was played by Jack Starrett and spoke “authentic frontier gibberish”. This was a reference to the legendary Western actor Gabby Hayes. Cleavon Little also plays the heroic character of Sheriff Bart as he tries to earn the respect of the racist townsfolk of Rock Bridge. This character was created as a reference to the Western actor “Randolph Scott”.
A Glimpse Into The Past
Indian Yiddush
There were also some references which were a little more subtle than others, and only a niche selection of fans would actually understand. At one point Mel himself played the part of the Indian Chief, and actually threw in a few bonus words, which were in Yiddush. This ancient Jewish language had become quite well known in Hollywood and Mel would have known these words from his own roots. So when he suddenly said words like ‘shtup’ dressed as an Indian, which can be translated with certain connotations, it only added to the comedic effect.
Indian Yiddush
