The World's Greatest Sinner

"The World's Greatest Sinner" is a failure, but a glorious failure. Tim Carey had a huge idea. A fantastic idea. But working without a budget and outside the Hollywood mainstream doomed that idea and turned it into one of the most ambitious and frustrating B-movie projects I have ever seen.

The problems with this film are many. The editing and sound are horrendous from start to finish. Abrupt doesn't begin to cover most of the transitions. Unrelated shots pop up in the most unnerving places. The soundtrack is either loud to the point of distortion or so low and garbled as to be nearly unlistenable. Which, in most cases, should kill the movie before it starts. But in this particular case the problems almost work as high art, keeping the viewer in a state of confusion that mirrors the confusion of Clarence.

The acting is spotty. Tim Carey is totally over the top and melodramatic throughout, but oddly compelling. The supporting cast runs the gamut from horribly amateurish to passably good, and in two cases (the old woman follower and Clarence's "publicity man") very good.

The word that is most often used to describe this film is "surreal". And it's appropriate. The jump cuts, odd camera work and overall feel of the film make it a truly unique experience to watch. And the Frank Zappa soundtrack add mightily to the whole otherworldly tone of the film. The soundtrack was performed by The Pomona Valley Symphony Orchestra, who seem to be having quite the struggle to play Zappa's score. The score fits the film very well, overall. Shows that Zappa could have been a great film composer if his interest had lain in that direction.

I see similarities between "Sinner" and Elia Kazan's "A Face In The Crowd". One man's ascension to power while descending into a personal hell. While "Crowd" is, clearly, a massively better film, Carey's idea and vision for "Sinner" could have, with more talent, enough budget, and better character development made a film to equal Kazan's.

Ultimately "The World's Greatest Sinner" is certainly interesting, and well worth a watch but ultimately exists as a frustrating textbook example of the worst case scenario of indie films:A fantastic idea frustrated at every turn by the realities of filmmaking.

This film is famous among Frank Zappa fans for being his first published creative effort. Apparently he had no doubts about his talent even at the age of 22, as he began writing the score using 52 musicians. Frank himself later described the film as 'rancid'. The title song appeared under the name of Baby Ray and The Ferns.

Well, I FINALLY saw this last night. So weird. So bizarre. So timely. Yes, completely camp. The acting, old-timey film with it's technical gaps, music. The script still fits in today. Politics and religion in the spotlight. So ahead of it's time. Really keeps ones attention though. Tim Carey was born to play this role.

I watched mostly for the Frank Zappa soundtrack, but was a memorable film experience that I'm glad I had.

I also really miss the days when this website let you write a review that didn't have to be ten lines long. Yes, I've been here that long, but one could also argue long enough to actually do the correct thing here and just write a longer review. I feel ornery. Today.

Recently I had the privilege of viewing a poor quality bootleg videotape of this film. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

For starters, I'm not one to typically enjoy cult classics or films that are in the "so-bad-they-are-good category." My initial attraction to this film was based on one thing - Timothy Carey.

I first learned of Timothy Carey when I purchased a Stanley Kubrick DVD of "The Killing". Carey has a small but important role in this film, and the minute he first appeared on screen I knew there was something special about this guy. There was a magnetic bizarreness to him that simply transcended the role. The character he played didn't have to be creepy, but Carey _was_ creepy. The weird way he looked with his eyes almost always at half mast, the way he spoke with his peculiar voice and heavy New York accent, and his unconventional looks (like a bizarro version of John Turturro) all worked together to really pique my curiosity about him.

Well, onto the Internet I went. I found out more about him. He made a living generally playing seedy characters in supporting roles in all movies he appeared in, except for one. "The World's Greatest Sinner" would be not only his sole staring role, but also the only movie he wrote, produced, and directed. And never released.

Once I got a chance to watch the bootleg, I could see why it never received a proper release in its day.

Carey plays an insurance salesman that is seemingly depressed and bored with his job and life and decides to change. He gets inspired by rock-n-roll, becomes a rock star of sorts, a preacher, a politician, and finally sells himself as God to his cult of followers.

This movie has some pretty dark humor, at least one shocking scene (even by today's standards, never mind 1962), and takes some potshots at organized religion.

Maybe the thing that struck my the most about this movie is it's vitality. It feels fresh, which is so different than how many older movies hold up. This is because this film was and continues to be so far ahead of its time.

If you are a fan of cult movies, I urge you to track this film down. If you are a fan of offbeat actors, ala Dennis Hopper, Crispin Glover, etc., I urge you to track this film down.

It certainly is a sin that this wonderful movie is not available through normal channels.

One hears a lot about "independent cinema" these days, films made outside the mainstream studio system that reflect the individual voices of their creators. Film festivals are devoted entirely to "independent films", such as "The Sundance Film Festival". There is even an "Independent Film Channel" on cable television. Well, "The World's Greatest Sinner" really IS an "Independent Film". Timothy Carey wrote, produced, directed and starred in "The World's Greatest Sinner". Filmed on location with whatever actors and equipment he could get, int took three years to complete because he had no budget and made the movie whenever time permitted between professional acting jobs. In fact, the story of the making of "The World's Greatest Sinner" would make a pretty compelling subject for a movie in itself, much as was done some years ago to "Plan 9 From Outer Space".

This movie is about unrestrained ego. The main character is an insurance salesman who wants to become something more. By turns he transforms himself into a rock & roll star, an evangelist and a presidential candidate. During that process his ego enlarges exponentially until it becomes clear that his ultimate goal is nothing less than to become God. Oh, and as if all that were not bizarre enough, the sound track was written and performed by Frank Zappa, early in his career, years before he became famous as the leader of "The Mothers of Invention".

Nobody is ever going to say that this movie has the best production values. Apart from everything else, the three-year production time inevitably created some continuity issues. Nevertheless, this is a film that has something to say which no other would dare to say, and says it emphatically. Furthermore, despite the fact that matters frequently go over-the-top, the story is frighteningly plausible and believable. Yes, one cannot escape the conviction that the events depicted really could happen.

Although "The World's Greatest Sinner" is never going to be everyone's cup of tea, or indeed was ever intended to be, it definitely deserves a place on the list of movies everyone should see at least once before they die.