Recently one of the greatest comedic actors Gene Wilder passed away and he left behind a collection of films that will forever bring joy and happiness to not just my heart, but to everyone else's as well. I wish he would have made more films in recent years, but the films he did give us are masterpieces. With that being said I'm going to bring you my top 10 favorite Gene Wilder films. So without further ado...
10. The Frisco Kid
If anyone could make a Rabbi feel out of their element in a comedic way, then it's Gene Wilder. Rabbi Avram Belinsky (played by Gene Wilder) lands in Philadelphia intending to travel to San Francisco, where he plans on starting a synagogue. Quickly relieved of his belongings by a group of con artists, Avram optimistically sets out alone on foot toward the Wild West. He gets into one scrape after another until he is rescued, in a way, by a compassionate horseman named Tommy Lillard (played by Harrison Ford). Unfortunately, Tommy may not be quite as heroic as he seems, and it is still a long way to California. The Frisco Kid has a rating of 53% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)
Back when parody films were really great, this one took a very different approach and it still ended up being funny. Inspired by the book written by Dr. David Reuben, director Woody Allen tackles seven questions about sex by connecting seven not-so-connected stories. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester (played by Woody Allen), a doctor (played by Gene Wilder), a queen (played by Lynn Redgrave) and a journalist (played by Heather MacRae) adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Bonnie and Clyde
This film is just a great and it's equal parts intense, but it has a small side of humor to go along with it and it's a great telling of the two iconic robbers. Small-time crook Clyde Barrow (played by Warren Beatty) tries to steal a car and winds up with its owner's daughter, dissatisfied small-town girl Bonnie Parker (played by Faye Dunaway). Their crimes quickly spiral from petty theft to bank robbery, but tensions between the couple and the other members of their gang--hapless driver C.W. (played by Michael J. Pollard), Clyde's suave older brother Buck (played by Gene Hackman) and Buck's flibbertigibbet wife, Blanche (played by Estelle Parsons) --could destroy them all. Bonnie and Cylde was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporitng Actress, 2 nominations for Best Supporting Actors, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design while winng the awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography and it has a rating of 90% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Silver Streak
Eventhough it is my least favorite pairing of Wilder and Pryor, this is the first film in which they teamed up and it was history from there. While on a cross-country train ride, overworked book editor George Caldwell (played by Gene Wilder) begins an unexpected romance with an enigmatic woman named Hilly Burns (played by Jill Clayburgh). His vacation is interrupted, however, when he witnesses a murder for which he is then accused. The true villains kidnap Hilly and eject Caldwell from the moving train. Desperate, Caldwell teams up with car thief Grover Muldoon (played by Richard Pryor), and together they must save Hilly while avoiding the police. Silver Streak was nominatef for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing and it has a rating of 88% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Stir Crazy
Again here is another great duo performance from Wilder and Pryor and it's a great prison break film. With a jailbreak offering them their only way out, a despondent duo rack their brains to figure out a foolproof plan. Fortuitously, one of them discovers an unexpected talent as a rodeo rider, and an escape plan begins to take shape at the annual prisoners' rodeo. Stir Crazy has a rating of 67% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. The Producers (1968)
This is just an overall great film and it was the start of many collaborations with Mel Brooks. Down and out producer Max Bialystock (played by Zero Mostel), who was once the toast of Broadway, trades sexual favors with old ladies for cash contributions. Max's new accountant Leo Bloom (played by Gene Wilder), offhandedly muses that if Max found investors for a new production that turned into a flop, he could legally keep all the extra money. The duo begins to put together the worst play possible, titled "Springtime for Hitler", with a terrible director and a hippie-freak star. The Producers (1968) was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor while winning the award for Best Original Screenplay and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomtoes.com.
4. See No Evil, Hear No Evil
If you had to have any two people play a blind mind and a deaf man in comedy film, then Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor are the two best people for the job. Wally Karue (played by Richard Pryor) is a blind man looking for a job. Dave Lyons (played by Gene Wilder) is a deaf man who runs a newsstand. When Dave hires Wally, he never imagines they'll have to work together to survive. After a murder occurs at their newsstand, they figure out who the killer is with their collective senses -- but the investigating detective (played by Alan North) pegs them as the main suspects. When the real killer (played by Joan Severance) returns to cover her tracks, the two must really cooperate to live. See No Evil, Hear No Evil and it has a rating of 18% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
This film just brings joy to me and it just has so many different great messages for both parnets and kids. The last of five coveted "golden tickets" falls into the hands of a sweet but very poor boy (played by Pete Ostrum). He and his (played by Jack Albertson) grandpa then get a tour of the strangest chocolate factory in the world. The owner (played by Gene Wilder) leads five young winners on a thrilling and often dangerous tour of his factory. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory has a rating of 89% on rottentomtoes.com.
2. Young Frankenstein
This is just a fantastic parody of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and it couldn't have been done better without Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks working together. Respected medical lecturer Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (played by Gene Wilder) learns that he has inherited his infamous grandfather's estate in Transylvania. Arriving at the castle, Dr. Frankenstein soon begins to recreate his grandfather's experiments with the help of servants Igor (played by Marty Feldman), Inga (played by Teri Garr) and the fearsome Frau Blücher (played by Cloris Leachman). After he creates his own monster (played by Peter Boyle), new complications ensue with the arrival of the doctor's fiancée, Elizabeth (played by Madeline Kahn). Young Frankenstein was nomianted for 2 Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing and Best Adapted Screenplay and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomtoes.com.
1. Blazing Saddles
The film is just absolutely hilarious and it is also my favorite comedy of all-time. In this satirical take on Westerns, crafty railroad worker Bart (played by Cleavon Little) becomes the first black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the people of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new leader. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend (played by Gene Wilder) are the only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population. Blazing Saddles was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing and Best Original Song and it has a rating of 90% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are you favorite Gene Wilder films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
10. The Frisco Kid
If anyone could make a Rabbi feel out of their element in a comedic way, then it's Gene Wilder. Rabbi Avram Belinsky (played by Gene Wilder) lands in Philadelphia intending to travel to San Francisco, where he plans on starting a synagogue. Quickly relieved of his belongings by a group of con artists, Avram optimistically sets out alone on foot toward the Wild West. He gets into one scrape after another until he is rescued, in a way, by a compassionate horseman named Tommy Lillard (played by Harrison Ford). Unfortunately, Tommy may not be quite as heroic as he seems, and it is still a long way to California. The Frisco Kid has a rating of 53% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)
Back when parody films were really great, this one took a very different approach and it still ended up being funny. Inspired by the book written by Dr. David Reuben, director Woody Allen tackles seven questions about sex by connecting seven not-so-connected stories. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester (played by Woody Allen), a doctor (played by Gene Wilder), a queen (played by Lynn Redgrave) and a journalist (played by Heather MacRae) adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Bonnie and Clyde
This film is just a great and it's equal parts intense, but it has a small side of humor to go along with it and it's a great telling of the two iconic robbers. Small-time crook Clyde Barrow (played by Warren Beatty) tries to steal a car and winds up with its owner's daughter, dissatisfied small-town girl Bonnie Parker (played by Faye Dunaway). Their crimes quickly spiral from petty theft to bank robbery, but tensions between the couple and the other members of their gang--hapless driver C.W. (played by Michael J. Pollard), Clyde's suave older brother Buck (played by Gene Hackman) and Buck's flibbertigibbet wife, Blanche (played by Estelle Parsons) --could destroy them all. Bonnie and Cylde was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporitng Actress, 2 nominations for Best Supporting Actors, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design while winng the awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography and it has a rating of 90% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Silver Streak
Eventhough it is my least favorite pairing of Wilder and Pryor, this is the first film in which they teamed up and it was history from there. While on a cross-country train ride, overworked book editor George Caldwell (played by Gene Wilder) begins an unexpected romance with an enigmatic woman named Hilly Burns (played by Jill Clayburgh). His vacation is interrupted, however, when he witnesses a murder for which he is then accused. The true villains kidnap Hilly and eject Caldwell from the moving train. Desperate, Caldwell teams up with car thief Grover Muldoon (played by Richard Pryor), and together they must save Hilly while avoiding the police. Silver Streak was nominatef for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing and it has a rating of 88% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Stir Crazy
Again here is another great duo performance from Wilder and Pryor and it's a great prison break film. With a jailbreak offering them their only way out, a despondent duo rack their brains to figure out a foolproof plan. Fortuitously, one of them discovers an unexpected talent as a rodeo rider, and an escape plan begins to take shape at the annual prisoners' rodeo. Stir Crazy has a rating of 67% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. The Producers (1968)
This is just an overall great film and it was the start of many collaborations with Mel Brooks. Down and out producer Max Bialystock (played by Zero Mostel), who was once the toast of Broadway, trades sexual favors with old ladies for cash contributions. Max's new accountant Leo Bloom (played by Gene Wilder), offhandedly muses that if Max found investors for a new production that turned into a flop, he could legally keep all the extra money. The duo begins to put together the worst play possible, titled "Springtime for Hitler", with a terrible director and a hippie-freak star. The Producers (1968) was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor while winning the award for Best Original Screenplay and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomtoes.com.
4. See No Evil, Hear No Evil
If you had to have any two people play a blind mind and a deaf man in comedy film, then Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor are the two best people for the job. Wally Karue (played by Richard Pryor) is a blind man looking for a job. Dave Lyons (played by Gene Wilder) is a deaf man who runs a newsstand. When Dave hires Wally, he never imagines they'll have to work together to survive. After a murder occurs at their newsstand, they figure out who the killer is with their collective senses -- but the investigating detective (played by Alan North) pegs them as the main suspects. When the real killer (played by Joan Severance) returns to cover her tracks, the two must really cooperate to live. See No Evil, Hear No Evil and it has a rating of 18% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
This film just brings joy to me and it just has so many different great messages for both parnets and kids. The last of five coveted "golden tickets" falls into the hands of a sweet but very poor boy (played by Pete Ostrum). He and his (played by Jack Albertson) grandpa then get a tour of the strangest chocolate factory in the world. The owner (played by Gene Wilder) leads five young winners on a thrilling and often dangerous tour of his factory. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory has a rating of 89% on rottentomtoes.com.
2. Young Frankenstein
This is just a fantastic parody of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and it couldn't have been done better without Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks working together. Respected medical lecturer Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (played by Gene Wilder) learns that he has inherited his infamous grandfather's estate in Transylvania. Arriving at the castle, Dr. Frankenstein soon begins to recreate his grandfather's experiments with the help of servants Igor (played by Marty Feldman), Inga (played by Teri Garr) and the fearsome Frau Blücher (played by Cloris Leachman). After he creates his own monster (played by Peter Boyle), new complications ensue with the arrival of the doctor's fiancée, Elizabeth (played by Madeline Kahn). Young Frankenstein was nomianted for 2 Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing and Best Adapted Screenplay and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomtoes.com.
1. Blazing Saddles
The film is just absolutely hilarious and it is also my favorite comedy of all-time. In this satirical take on Westerns, crafty railroad worker Bart (played by Cleavon Little) becomes the first black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the people of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new leader. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend (played by Gene Wilder) are the only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population. Blazing Saddles was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing and Best Original Song and it has a rating of 90% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are you favorite Gene Wilder films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
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