Silver Streak is a
1976The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
comedyComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
,
actionAction movies are a film genre wherein the story is largely told through physical action as opposed to dialogue. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. While action has long been an element of films, the "Action film" as a genre of its own began to develop in the...
and
mysteryMystery, mysteries, or mysterious may refer to:-Religion:* Sacred Mysteries*Mystery play, a form of medieval European dramatic theatre dealing with religious themes-Genres:*Mystery , a genre of detective fiction...
film about murder on a
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
-to-Chicago train journey. It stars
Gene WilderGene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leo Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
,
Jill Clayburgh-Early life:Clayburgh was born in New York City to Julia , a theatrical production secretary for David Merrick, and Albert Henry "Bill" Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Clayburgh's family was Jewish and upper class; she was raised in a "fashionable" neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side,...
,
Richard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Pryor was known for his unflinching examinations of racism and customs in modern life, and was renowned for his frequent use of colorful, vulgar, and profane language and racial epithets...
,
Patrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and the cult classic The Prisoner...
and
Ned BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor. He now lives in the Springville, California area.-Early life:Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Margaret Fortney , a high school lunch lady, and Charles William Beatty. He has a sister, Mary Margaret. In 1947, he began singing in gospel and...
and is directed by
Arthur HillerArthur Hiller, O.C. is a Canadian film director.-Early life:Hiller was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and graduated from University College, University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947, a Master of Arts degree in psychology in 1950 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws in...
. The
film scoreA film score is an alternative word used for the background music of a film . The term soundtrack is often confused with film score, though a soundtrack may also include songs featured in the film as well as previously released music by other artists, while the score does not...
is by
Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger. He is remembered particularly for being a composer of film and television scores. Mancini also won a record number of Grammy awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995...
. This film marked the first pairing of Wilder and Pryor, who would become a well-known comedy duo. The climax of the film includes footage of an out-of-control train crashing through the wall of
Union StationUnion Station is a Chicago train station that opened in 1925, replacing an earlier 1881 station, and is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago. Union Station was built on the west side of the Chicago River and stands between Adams Street and Jackson Street...
in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
.
Saying that he "just wanted to be bored," book editor
George Caldwell (
Gene WilderGene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leo Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
) eschews the airlines and travels from Los Angeles to Chicago aboard a train called the Silver Streak.
Silver Streak is a
1976The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
comedyComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
,
actionAction movies are a film genre wherein the story is largely told through physical action as opposed to dialogue. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. While action has long been an element of films, the "Action film" as a genre of its own began to develop in the...
and
mysteryMystery, mysteries, or mysterious may refer to:-Religion:* Sacred Mysteries*Mystery play, a form of medieval European dramatic theatre dealing with religious themes-Genres:*Mystery , a genre of detective fiction...
film about murder on a
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
-to-Chicago train journey. It stars
Gene WilderGene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leo Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
,
Jill Clayburgh-Early life:Clayburgh was born in New York City to Julia , a theatrical production secretary for David Merrick, and Albert Henry "Bill" Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Clayburgh's family was Jewish and upper class; she was raised in a "fashionable" neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side,...
,
Richard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Pryor was known for his unflinching examinations of racism and customs in modern life, and was renowned for his frequent use of colorful, vulgar, and profane language and racial epithets...
,
Patrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and the cult classic The Prisoner...
and
Ned BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor. He now lives in the Springville, California area.-Early life:Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Margaret Fortney , a high school lunch lady, and Charles William Beatty. He has a sister, Mary Margaret. In 1947, he began singing in gospel and...
and is directed by
Arthur HillerArthur Hiller, O.C. is a Canadian film director.-Early life:Hiller was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and graduated from University College, University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947, a Master of Arts degree in psychology in 1950 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws in...
. The
film scoreA film score is an alternative word used for the background music of a film . The term soundtrack is often confused with film score, though a soundtrack may also include songs featured in the film as well as previously released music by other artists, while the score does not...
is by
Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger. He is remembered particularly for being a composer of film and television scores. Mancini also won a record number of Grammy awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995...
. This film marked the first pairing of Wilder and Pryor, who would become a well-known comedy duo. The climax of the film includes footage of an out-of-control train crashing through the wall of
Union StationUnion Station is a Chicago train station that opened in 1925, replacing an earlier 1881 station, and is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago. Union Station was built on the west side of the Chicago River and stands between Adams Street and Jackson Street...
in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
.
Synopsis
Saying that he "just wanted to be bored," book editor
George Caldwell (
Gene WilderGene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leo Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
) eschews the airlines and travels from Los Angeles to Chicago aboard a train called the Silver Streak. George meets and becomes romantically involved with
Hilly Burns (
Jill Clayburgh-Early life:Clayburgh was born in New York City to Julia , a theatrical production secretary for David Merrick, and Albert Henry "Bill" Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Clayburgh's family was Jewish and upper class; she was raised in a "fashionable" neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side,...
). After he witnesses the murder of Hilly's boss, Professor Schreiner, a well-known art historian, George is thrown off the train and is himself accused of the murder of undercover FBI agent
Bob Sweet (
Ned BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor. He now lives in the Springville, California area.-Early life:Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Margaret Fortney , a high school lunch lady, and Charles William Beatty. He has a sister, Mary Margaret. In 1947, he began singing in gospel and...
). Sweet had been tracking shady art dealer
Roger Devereau (
Patrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and the cult classic The Prisoner...
), who had killed Schreiner in order to take control of the "
RembrandtRembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history...
letters," which proved certain art sold by Devereau had been forgeries. Devereau further planned to replace Schreiner with a double, and thereby to discredit a book written by the professor that would have destroyed Devereau's reputation. This plan requires killing Caldwell and Burns, the only witnesses to the crime.
To survive and save Burns, Caldwell enlists the help of small-time criminal
Grover T. Muldoon (
Richard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Pryor was known for his unflinching examinations of racism and customs in modern life, and was renowned for his frequent use of colorful, vulgar, and profane language and racial epithets...
).
Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|
Gene WilderGene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leo Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
|
George Caldwell |
| Jill Clayburgh -Early life:Clayburgh was born in New York City to Julia , a theatrical production secretary for David Merrick, and Albert Henry "Bill" Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Clayburgh's family was Jewish and upper class; she was raised in a "fashionable" neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side,...
|
Hilly Burns |
Richard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Pryor was known for his unflinching examinations of racism and customs in modern life, and was renowned for his frequent use of colorful, vulgar, and profane language and racial epithets...
|
Grover Muldoon |
| Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and the cult classic The Prisoner...
|
Roger Devereau |
| Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor. He now lives in the Springville, California area.-Early life:Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Margaret Fortney , a high school lunch lady, and Charles William Beatty. He has a sister, Mary Margaret. In 1947, he began singing in gospel and...
|
Bob Sweet/Stevens |
Ray WalstonRay Walston was an American stage, television and film actor who played the title character on the situation comedy My Favorite Martian and Judge Henry Bone on the drama series Picket Fences.-Early life:...
|
Edgar Whiney |
| Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
|
Conductor Ralston |
Clifton JamesClifton James is an American actor.-Personal life:James was born George Clifton James in New York City, New York or Spokane, Washington, the son of Grace , a teacher, and Harry James, a journalist. James is a decorated World War II veteran, U.S. Army Combat Infantry Platoon Sergeant CO."A" 163rd...
|
Sheriff Oliver Chauncey |
| Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore. He is 7 feet 1.5 inches tall.- Life and career :Kiel was born...
|
Reace |
Fred WillardFred Willard is an American comedian and actor known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is best known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. He is also an alumnus of The...
|
Jerry Jarvis |
| Stefan Gierasch Stefan Gierasch is an American television and film actor.Stefan Gierasch has made over 100 screen appearances, mostly in American television, beginning in 1951. In the mid-60s, he performed with the Trinity Square Players in Providence, Rhode Island...
|
Professor Schreiner/Johnson |
| Lucille Benson Lucille Benson was an American actress known for her roles in commercials, television, and movies in the 1970s and 1980s.-Personal life:...
|
Rita Babtree |
Two actors from the James Bond franchise appear in this film.
Clifton JamesClifton James is an American actor.-Personal life:James was born George Clifton James in New York City, New York or Spokane, Washington, the son of Grace , a teacher, and Harry James, a journalist. James is a decorated World War II veteran, U.S. Army Combat Infantry Platoon Sergeant CO."A" 163rd...
appears as Sheriff Oliver Chauncey; he previously played a similar character, Sheriff J.W. Pepper, in
Live and Let DieLive and Let Die may refer to:*Live and Let Die , a James Bond novel by Ian Fleming*Live and Let Die , a 1973 film starring Roger Moore loosely based upon the novel*Live and Let Die , the soundtrack album of the 1973 film...
and a year later in
The Man With the Golden GunThe Man with the Golden Gun is the thirteenth novel written by Ian Fleming, featuring the fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond. It was published posthumously in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape, in 1965...
. Seven-foot-two actor
Richard KielRichard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore. He is 7 feet 1.5 inches tall.- Life and career :Kiel was born...
appears as a murderous henchman with strange-looking teeth; he would play a very similar character, Jaws, a year later in the
James BondJames Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr...
film
The Spy Who Loved MeThe Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
and two years after that in
MoonrakerMoonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
.
Reception
- The film grossed over $51,000,000 at the box office during its run and was well received by critics. Roger Ebert had also given the film a positive review. The film was the first collaboration between Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Pryor was a writer on, and the original choice for "Black Bart," in the Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, it was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft...
, which also starred Wilder. The two would later go on to make more films together: Stir CrazyStir Crazy is a 1980 American comedy film starring Gene Wilder & Richard Pryor as two men framed for a bank robbery and each ending up with a 125 year prison sentence, alongside a real bank robber and a man who killed his stepfather . In 2000, Total Film magazine voted it the 22nd greatest comedy...
, See No Evil, Hear No EvilSee No Evil, Hear No Evil is a 1989 American comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder.-Plot summary:...
and Another YouAnother You is an American comedy film released in 1991. It was the final film pairing Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. Co-stars included Mercedes Ruehl and Vanessa Williams.-Plot:...
.
Awards and honors
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 comedy movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of manners and comedy...
#95
Production
Although set in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and on the fictional railroad "AMRoad" (loosely based on
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
trains), Silver Streak was shot primarily in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(with the exception of
Union StationUnion Station in Los Angeles, California, which opened in May 1939, is known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States, but even with its massive and ornate waiting room and adjacent ticket concourse, it is considered small in comparison to other union stations...
in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
). All exterior train shots were filmed on the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)The Canadian Pacific Railway , known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United States such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City...
in
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
and
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
; Amtrak reportedly backed out of the project due to disapproval of the scenes in which Caldwell accidentally bursts into Burns' bedroom while she is dressing, and the film's ending with the out-of-control train crashing through the terminal wall in Chicago.
Scenes of Midwestern U.S. landscapes appear behind train layouts and many action shots (as the protagonist and allies battle the villains on and off the train, and get thrown off or jump on and off the moving trains) to add narrative integrity to the fictional location. Most of the interior station scenes set both in Kansas City and Chicago actually show Toronto's
Union StationUnion Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto.The station is located on Front Street West and occupies the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district...
, except for a brief sequence immediately prior to the crash where the train is rapidly approaching a bumper at the end of the line (Union Station has no dead-end tracks). That sequence was filmed from a
Hi-Rail truckA road–rail vehicle is a self-propelled vehicle that can be legally used on both roads and rails. Combining the words "highway" and "rail", one is often referred to as a hi-rail truck or just , sometimes spelled high-rail, HiRail or Hy-rail. They are normally converted rubber-tired road vehicles...
, entering the
Chicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
's downtown terminal.
The train set was so lightly disguised as the fictional "AMRoad" that the locomotives and cars still carried their original names and numbers, along with the easily-identifiable CPR red-striped paint scheme. At the start of the climactic shootout, a CPR GM switcher is seen calmly moving cars in the background. Most of the cars are still in revenue service on VIA Rail Canada. CP 4070, the lead locomotive, is in Québec, but the second unit, CP 4067, has been scrapped.
Score and soundtrack
Although the film dates to 1976,
Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger. He is remembered particularly for being a composer of film and television scores. Mancini also won a record number of Grammy awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995...
's soundtrack was never officially released before his death in 1994. When
Intrada RecordsIntrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California...
released it in 2002, some 26 years after the film's release, it became one of the Top Special Releases of 2002.
External links