The Frisco Kid
| The Frisco Kid | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Aldrich |
| Produced by | Mace Neufeld |
| Written by | Michael Elias Frank Shaw |
| Starring | Gene Wilder Harrison Ford Ramon Bieri Val Bisoglio George DiCenzo |
| Music by | Frank De Vol |
| Cinematography | Robert B. Hauser |
| Editing by | Jack Horger Irving Rosenblum Maury Winetrobe |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 13, 1979 |
| Running time | 114 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $9,346,177 (USA) |
The Frisco Kid is a 1979 movie directed by Robert Aldrich. The movie is a Western comedy featuring Gene Wilder as Avram Belinski, a Polish rabbi who is traveling to San Francisco, and Harrison Ford as a bank robber who befriends him.
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[edit] Plot
Rabbi Avram Belinski arrives in Philadelphia from Poland en route to San Francisco where he will be a congregation's new rabbi. He has with him a Torah scroll for the San Francisco synagogue. Avram, an innocent, trusting and inexperienced traveler, falls in with three con men, the brothers Matt and Darryl Diggs and their partner Mr. Jones, who trick him into helping pay for a wagon and supplies to go west, then brutally rob him and leave him and most of his belongings scattered along a deserted road.
Still determined to make it to San Francisco, Avram fends for himself on foot for a while, spends a little time with some Pennsylvania Dutch (whom he takes for Jews at first), and manages to find work on the railroad. On his way, he is befriended and looked after by a stranger named Tommy Lillard (Ford), a bank robber with a soft heart who is moved by Avram's helplessness and frank personality, despite the trouble it occasionally gives him. For instance, when Tommy robs a bank on a Friday, he finds that Avram (an orthodox Jew) does not ride on the Sabbath—even with a posse on his tail. With some luck and lenience, however, they still manage to get away. While traveling together, the two also experience American Indian customs and hospitality, disrupt a monk order's vow of silence with an innocent gesture of gratitude, and learn a little about each other's culture.
While stopping in a small town not too far of San Francisco, Avram and Tommy encounter the Diggs brothers and Jones again and take back what they have stolen from Avram. In revenge, the three bandits follow them and ambush them at the Californian beach. Avram experiences a crisis of faith when he is forced to shoot Darryl Diggs in self-defense, but it is Tommy who brings him back to the path by reminding him that he still is what he is inside. When Matt Diggs, the sole survivor of the ambush, prepares to kill Avram in revenge and Tommy springs to his friend's defense, Avram regains his composure and courage and exiles Diggs from San Francisco. The story ends happily with Avram marrying one of the daughters of the head of the Jewish community, with Tommy attending the ceremony as his best man.
[edit] Cast
- Gene Wilder - Avram Belinski
- Harrison Ford - Tommy Lillard
- Ramon Bieri - Mr. Jones
- Val Bisoglio - Chief Gray Cloud
- George DiCenzo - Darryl Diggs (as George Ralph DiCenzo)
- Leo Fuchs - Chief rabbi
- Penny Peyser - Rosalie Bender
- William Smith - Matt Diggs
- Jack Somack - Samuel Bender
- Beege Barkette - Sarah Mindl Bender
- Shay Duffin - O'Leary
- Walter Janovitz - Old Amish man (as Walter Janowitz)
- Joe Kapp - Monterano
- Clyde Kusatsu - Mr. Ping (railroad work crew)
- Clifford A. Pellow - Mr. Daniels (as Cliff Pellow)
[edit] Production notes
According to Gene Wilder's autobiography, the Tommy role, played by Harrison Ford, was originally planned for John Wayne.
[edit] Critical reception
Vincent Canby of The New York Times described The Frisco Kid as "harmless chaos": "People keep coming and going and doing ferociously cute things, but never anything that could appeal to anyone except a close relative or someone with a built-in weakness for anything ethnic whatsoever." He criticized the lack of plot development, saying that, while based on a clever idea, The Frisco Kid ultimately fails to deliver on its promise.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Canby, Vincent (6 July 1979). "The Frisco Kid (1979)". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A04E4DE1738E432A25755C0A9619C946890D6CF. Retrieved 11 April 2011. "There's scarcely a plot development, from the moment the rabbi is swindled out of his money on his arrival in Philadelphia, through his adventures on the open range in the company of a kind-hearted, WASP outlaw (Harrison Ford), that isn't telegraphed from the opening, pre-credit sequences."
[edit] External links
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