Silver Streak (1976)

Silver Streak (1976)

7/10

Starring

Gene Wilder

Jill Clayburgh

Richard Pryor

Patrick McGoohan

Directed by Arthur Hiller

Silver Streak is the first collaboration between Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, and it’s as funny as they come (hindsight maybe they should have stopped here). The movie starts off in thriller mode, keeping you in suspense as you wait to see how things will play out between Gene Wilder and Jill Clayburgh. Then, over an hour in, Richard Pryor is introduced, and the film shifts into a comedy-thriller mashup. From that moment on, you’re hooked, eagerly waiting to see what Gene and Richard will do next.

Though set in America, the film was actually shot in Canada, directed by Canadian filmmaker Arthur Hiller. The story takes place on a fictional railroad called "AMRoad."

The plot follows George Caldwell (Gene Wilder), a book editor traveling by train from Los Angeles to Chicago to attend his sister's wedding. On board the Silver Streak, he meets a vitamin salesman named Bob, who insists that women on trains will hook up with just about anyone. Taking his advice, George meets and quickly connects with Hilly Burns (Jill Clayburgh).

Hilly works for a professor who is about to publish a book on Rembrandt. But the professor’s enemy, Devereau, is determined to stop the book from being released at any cost. Things take a dark turn when George witnesses what appears to be the professor’s dead body being thrown off the train. Suddenly, he finds himself entangled in a dangerous plot. Now, with the help of a thief named Grover Muldoon (Richard Pryor), George has to find a way to get back on the train he was thrown off and rescue Hilly from Devereau.

While Wilder and Pryor went on to make three more films together, none were as well-received or as funny as Silver Streak. The screenplay is what really grabs your attention. Despite the majority of the film taking place on a train—a setting that could easily feel claustrophobic—the cinematography keeps it visually engaging. The script is well written, making George’s repeated attempts to stay on the train feel more like an unfortunate series of events rather than sheer incompetence. You actually feel sorry for him instead of being annoyed by his misfortune.

Silver Streak was both a critical and box office success. It even landed a spot on AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list at number 95. It’s a great movie to own on DVD and one you’ll enjoy watching again and again.