I just saw Blazing Saddles last night, and while I laughed heartily at the high-brow jokes involving farts and candygrams, one few flew over my head. For the setup, Lily von Schtüp whispers something, probably sexual, into Bart’s ear, and he replies, “Baby, I’m not from Havana!”
Huh?
Just a WAG, but think “cigar”
Another WAG, but back before it became a part of the International Communist Menace, Cuba was best known as a decadent fleshpot. Sort of like the current reputation of Tiajuana, Bangkok, or Des Moines. So Bart’s comment implied that Lily had just asked him for some kinky sexual act. As for why Havana was used, Mel Brooks has often commented how the sounds of certain words are funnier than others. Presumedly, he just thought Havana sounded funnier than another city he could have used.
It’s because thay had just done it like a million times already and she wanted to go again. And cubans are like rabbits in certain ways according to some people.
while reading on http://www.imdb.com recently, I also saw this line. I thought it was referring to a limmerick that I remembered that started ‘there once was a man from Havanna’… But searching a little on the web, was not able to find the limmerick ???
I think the imdb site has a line that was cut from this scene: after lights go out, Bart says ‘excuse me miss, your sucking on my elbow’.
As such historical documentaries as “Godfather II” make note, pre-revolution Havana was one of the most noted fleshpots of the Western Hemisphere. It was also a major production center for what were known at the time as “stag films.” It’s likely that made a lasting impact on the young Mel Brooks.