The Frisco Kid (1979)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Michael Elias (written by) &
Frank Shaw (written by)

Release Date:

13 July 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

The greatest cowboy ever to ride into the Wild West. From Poland.

Plot:

A Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the...

Plot Keywords:

Rabbi | Jewish | Wild West | Jewish Humor

Cast

Gene Wilder	...	Avram
Harrison Ford	...	Tommy
Ramon Bieri	...	Mr. Jones
Val Bisoglio	...	Chief Gray Cloud
George DiCenzo	...	Darryl Diggs (as George Ralph DiCenzo)
Leo Fuchs	...	Chief Rabbi
Penny Peyser	...	Rosalie
William Smith	...	Matt Diggs
Jack Somack	...	Samuel Bender
Beege Barkette	...	Sarah Mindl (as Beege Barkett)
Shay Duffin	...	O'Leary
Walter Janovitz	...	Old Amish Man (as Walter Janowitz)
Joe Kapp	...	Monterano
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Mr. Ping
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Mr. Daniels (as Cliff Pellow)

Also Known As:

No Knife (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Yiddish | English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

According to Gene Wilder's autobiography, John Wayne was offered the part that was eventually played by Harrison Ford. The Duke loved the role and was willing to star with Wilder. However an agent tried to offer Wayne less than his usual fee and the legendary actor turned the film down.

Goofs:

Continuity: Avram cocks his gun after tripping Matt Diggs during the gunfight in San Francisco but in the next shot, the hammer isn't pulled back.

Quotes:

[to Tommy]
Chief Gray Cloud: You, you have a big heart. Not so big as your mouth, but...

Soundtrack:

Camptown Races

I LOVE THIS FILM!

I read all the commentaries and disagree with most, but particularly those who moan about this being "slow" for the first 45 minutes. Look. This is a classic. The story is great. A misanthropic rabbi comes to a congregation in San Francisco and get waylaid and falls into (mis)adventures with a seedy character. This unlikely duo make their way to SF undergoing a number of adventures. If you do not understand the yiddishekeit of this film, go take a look at the Marx brothers. The scene where battered Wilder sees the Amish and goes screaming in Yiddish only to discover the cross in the bible in one of the farmer's pockets and faints dead away, is worth the price of admission along. The voting scene at the Yeshiva where only the little boy votes for Wilder invoking the older Rabbi turning his eyes to heaven and saying, "It's going to be close!" is likewise great. This is zany Yiddish theater at its best. Wilder, always overacting, is SUPERB as the rabbi. Ford is merely great as the kindhearted outlaw. The bad guys are bad, the characters they meet along the way, Schiavelli and veteran character actor Ian Wolfe are great as the Trappist monks, even Joe Kapp is great as the Mexican RR worker. This is great watching and one of my favorite films. Don't knock it. It's hilarious. Check it out!