Wagon-lits con omicidi

Gene Wilder is the ordinary man caught up in murder and mayhem on the train "Silver Streak" in this 1976 comedy starring Richard Pryor, Jill Clayburgh, Ned Beatty, Ray Walston, and Patrick McGoohan. In a quasi-homage to Hitchcock, Wilder plays George Caldwell, who falls for the lovely Hilly (Jill Clayburgh) and finds himself mixed up in art fraud, missing letters of Rembrandt, and murder. Not only that, he keeps getting thrown off of the train. One of those times, he meets up with a criminal, Grover Muldoon (Pryor) who happens to be in the police car he steals. In the funniest scene in the film, Grover has George buy the cap, shoe polish, sunglasses and radio from a shoe polisher at the train station and makes George a black jiver so he can get by the feds.

There are lots of funny scenes in this film, but the best part of it is the chemistry between Wilder and Pryor, who became a successful screen team. This, however, is their best teaming. The bad guys are great. McGoohan and Walston act as if they're in a heavy duty suspense film, which makes them real and threatening. It works perfectly against the comic aspects of the film.

Hitchcock fans will see this as a mild takeoff on "North by Northwest." It is, but it stands on its own as well.

I saw this film in the cinema as a teenager when it came out. It was sold, I think, as a Hitchcock parody and I thought parodies were great. Gene Wilder was the star, that was one more reason for me to see it, as I had greatly enjoyed his performance in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Stuff like that attracted me much more than movies with Robert Redford or Charles Bronson who then were the big male heroes of the screen.

Now, a good 30 years later, I watched Silver Streak a second time. It is an unusual mixture of comedy, action thriller and disaster movie. Characters like the ones played by Wilder, Clayburgh or Pryor seem to have become extinct – in the movies, I mean. They just seem to be so ... ordinary and normal and also kind hearted. Everything about Silver Streak is so unpretentious, seeing it today that really was a kind of a revelation to me.

A lot of the movie deals with masculinity and the assertion of it. It all happens in a very relaxed manner. Nothing and nobody is taken too seriously, conquests are made without effort, failure is accepted with grace. In a strange way, this movie really represents a better, unattainable world. I doubt if someone like Gene Wilder wold make it as a movie star today – the public, it seems, needs the grimaces of Jim Carrey to be amused. Pity.

Come to think of it, in France they had a movie comedian who looked very similar to Wilder. His name was Pierre Richard and his fame reached its zenith at about the same time as Wilder's before fizzling out somewhere in the eighties, when the Stallones and Schwarzeneggers took over.

Silver Streak is an entertaining and – in a positive way - forgettable movie. It has a pleasant musical score by Henry Mancini, this great eclecticist of the 20th century. The older I'm getting the more I enjoy his music and respect his enormous body of work.

Most people remember Gene Wilder as the frazzled haired wild man in such Mel Brooks classic films as THE PRODUCERS, BLAZING SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Others will recall him as the mad genius that held our attention in WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, but there was a 3rd phase to Wilder's career - his unlikely partnership with Richard Pryor - that started with 1976's SILVER STREAK.

Set aboard the titular passenger train, SILVER STREAK is part Alfred Hitchcock "wrong man" suspense thriller, part comedy and part action flick with strong performances at the center anchoring the action.

Surprisingly, Wilder brings a sincere quality to his "everyman" hero of this tale. His book editor, George Caldwell, just wants a quiet 2 1/2 day trip on the train from Los Angeles to Chicago. You root for George from the start. Wilder's performance is deftly tailored to this movie, keeping a lid on his more frenetic energy that helps keep his character grounded. He pairs nicely with Jill Clayburgh (remember her from the '70's?) as a women he meets (and falls in love with) along the way. Clayburgh burst into the spotlight with this performance - and the 2 have tremendous chemistry together.

They are joined by a bevy of wonderful character actors - Ray Walston, Richard "Jaws" Kiel, Ned Beatty, Clifton James, Valerie Curtin, Fred Willard and the great Scatman Crothers. All bring life and energy to this film. Patrick McGoohan is perfectly cast as the villain of the piece. His "buttoned-up" bad guy is the perfect balance to the Wilder's character.

But, of course, the person who steals this film is the great Richard Pryor as Grover T. Muldoon, a petty thief, con-man and "street-wise" hood who aids George in defeating the bad guys. Pryor doesn't show up in this movie until about 1/2 way through, but when he does, the energy (and pace) of this film picks up considerably and the roller coaster ride begins. The comedic partnership between Wilder and Pryor is magnificent, they play off each other very well and they will end up pairing together in 3 other films after this.

Director Arthur Hiller (THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY) does a strong, professional job of keeping the movie moving, keeping events grounded until a thrilling conclusion that is satisfying, indeed.

A fun action-thriller that is perfect summer fodder.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)

When I began watching "Silver Streak", I assumed it was a zany comedy. After all, it re-teams Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. So, imagine my surprise when I found that no comedy at all occurred until Pryor appeared in the film...and this wasn't until over an hour into the movie! Even then, it was still basically a drama with a few comedic scenes. This is NOT a complaint....just trying to adjust your expectations for the film.

George (Wilder) is going cross country by train. Soon after the train leaves, he meets a nice lady, Hilly (Jill Clayburgh) and they REALLY hit it off well....so well they spend the night together in her compartment. But during the night, George thinks he sees a dead man being tossed off the train...but she convinces him he must have imagined it. The next day, it becomes obvious he DID see what he thought....and there's a gang aboard the train that likely will kill him if he keeps digging. At first, they just throw him off the train...and yet again and again George manages to make his way back aboard the train. Along the journey on and off the train, George meets Grover (Pryor) and together they try to solve the crime...a crime now that includes multiple murders!

In many ways, the film plays like a reworking of the plot to "North By Northwest", as an ordinary man gets sucked into all sorts of crazy and life threatening criminal behavior. But as I said above, it's NOT a comedy...at least overall. There are some funny bits (such as the far from politically correct blackface scene...that is pretty funny)....but the film is much more drama than anything else. Overall, a nice and unique film that I do recommend even if it's NOT mostly comedy.

I first saw this movie in 1976 when I was all but about 13 years of age, with some friends in my home town (Dryden, Ontario) at the local "Royal" theatre, as it was known then. I just finished watching my VHS copy of it, which brings my total number of viewings up to 30-something...

Why do I like this film so much? It was the first movie I've seen that had it all: action, suspense, romance, a lot of laughs, but most of all - adventure. All of this helped manufacture a great storyline. In short, one of the most memorable movies I've ever seen, and I enjoy myself greatly with each repeated viewing. It made me a big fan of the Wilder/Pryor combination. It made me a huge fan of train travel. It made me a "road movie" fanatic.

A classic in my book. 9/10