NR | 1h 32m | Documentary, Film History, Biography | March 15, 2024
Born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Gene Wilder was in exactly the right place at the right time, and eventually became the premier comedic actor of the early 1970s.
Adept at song, dance, and drama as well as comedy, Wilder starred in five now-classic films in the space of seven years; a feat few screen performers rarely achieve. The rub here is, very little of what Wilder did after 1974 is noteworthy, something director Ron Frank chooses to largely gloss over.
Enter Mel Brooks
In 1963, Wilder secured a supporting role in the Broadway premiere of “Mother Courage and Her Children” starring Anne Bancroft, the then-girlfriend and later wife of TV writer Mel Brooks. In a recent interview included here, Mr. Brooks stated it was during his many viewings of the play that he decided Wilder would be ideal to play one of the co-leads in “Springtime for Hitler,” a movie he was writing and subsequently pitched him the role.
Four years later the movie, eventually titled “The Producers,” was released, and Wilder, playing the meek accountant Leo Bloom opposite Zero Mostel’s boisterous Max Bialystock, was met with critical and box office success. For his performance, Wilder received his only Oscar nomination for acting.
Months prior, Wilder had just made his big-screen debut, stealing a single scene as an undertaker in “Bonnie and Clyde.”
After appearing in two forgettable clunkers, Wilder was cast by director Mel Stuart as the title character in the dramatic family musical, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Adapted from the novel by Roald Dahl, Wilder’s performance is considered by some as his finest ever, and late critic Roger Ebert declared the film to be a modern-day take on “The Wizard of Oz,” a statement with which I agree.
After a truly bizarre appearance in the even more bizarre Woody Allen anthology comedy, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex * (*But Were Afraid to Ask),” Wilder and Mr. Brooks would cross paths again, and the resulting two movies they made together marked the zenith of both men’s careers.
Blazing Frankenstein
Initially, Mr. Brooks offered the role of Jim the Waco Kid in “Blazing Saddles” to John Wayne and then Dan Dailey, who both declined. Eventually, Gig Young was cast. Young had recently won an Oscar for his performance in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” This seemed like a good fit as both Young and the Waco Kid were both alcoholics, yet Young went through severe withdrawal in the first days of shooting, which led to Mr. Brooks calling on Wilder to replace him at the last minute.Wilder stepped in and crushed it, which allowed him a great degree of latitude with Mr. Brooks regarding a movie Wilder was writing at the time, a parody remake of sorts of the James Whale 1931 version of “Frankenstein.” Even with the success of “Blazing Saddles,” only 20th Century-Fox Studios would allow Wilder and Mr. Brooks to shoot “Young Frankenstein” in black and white and, against all odds, it became an instant critical and box office hit. Wilder and Mr. Brooks would never work together again.
The second (and weaker) half of the documentary fleetingly acknowledges four sub-par movies written and directed by Wilder (“The Adventures of Sherlock Homes’ Smarter Brother,” “The World’s Greatest Lover,” “Sunday Lovers,” and “The Woman in Red”) and the four mostly good mismatched buddy comedies he co-starred in with Richard Pryor.
From Beyond the Grave
Throughout the film, Mr. Frank includes narration from Wilder himself, culled from the audiobook edition of his 2005 autobiography, “Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art.” Initially off-putting, Wilder’s distinctive nasal-tinged, but warm and wry, tenor voice describing his most inner thoughts ends up becoming the best facet of the entire movie. It’s almost like he’s still with us, and it’s comforting.
In my opinion, Wilder’s sole professional fault was his impatience in trying, alone, to duplicate the unique (now considered to be politically incorrect) tone of his collaborations with Mr. Brooks. As his filmography proves, his best work was achieved when he collaborated with others (Pryor, Poitier, and Mr. Brooks).
Wilder squeezed a lot of life out of his well-spent 83 years. He experienced professional and personal highs and lows and remained even-keeled and optimistic. He took the good with the bad, always with a knowing gleam in his eye.
We should all be so lucky.
