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Silver Streak

Play trailer Poster for Silver Streak PG Released Dec 3, 1976 1h 53m Comedy Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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76% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
While on a cross-country train ride, overworked book editor George Caldwell (Gene Wilder) begins an unexpected romance with an enigmatic woman named Hilly Burns (Jill Clayburgh). His vacation is interrupted, however, when he witnesses a murder for which he is then accused. The true villains kidnap Hilly and eject Caldwell from the moving train. Desperate, Caldwell teams up with car thief Grover Muldoon (Richard Pryor), and together they must save Hilly while avoiding the police.
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Silver Streak

Critics Reviews

View All (25) Critics Reviews
Pauline Kael The New Yorker Silver Streak is so helplessly unslick that it doesn't even have the wit to show Wilder looking at the book upside down. Jan 22, 2024 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Rated: 3/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Grant Watson Fiction Machine There is so much here to enjoy, particularly for fans of Wilder and Pryor. Rated: 7/10 Oct 4, 2023 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) ... an amalgamation of conflicting genres. [Full review in Spanish] Aug 15, 2023 Full Review Steve Warren The Barb (Atlanta) A pretty good movie, but it throws away a lot of potential for greatness. May 9, 2023 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Like a Mel Brooks comic spellbinder, merged with some of the flavor of Inspector Clouseau. Rated: 7/10 Aug 31, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (399) audience reviews
Carlos I Silver Streak looks perfect on paper, I mean how could you lose with the Pryor/Wilder pairing? The problem is rather than blending the genres perfectly, it stumbles with them. You could feel that movie is unsure what it wants to be. It's not funny enough to be a comedy, and it doesn't have big enough sequences to be a good action/thriller. So it just ends up being a bland amalgamation of the two. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/15/24 Full Review Audience Member The bad reviews here are clueless. This movie was a classic in its day. It started the glorious union of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Some said the movie "didn't know what it wanted to be, a comedy or action movie". What? These reviewers completely missed the genius of the film. It is a great blend of both! There is a moderate amount of action and suspense to make it an intriguing story. All the action is done very realistically, not over the top, nor ridiculous like today's movies. Meanwhile, the comedy is GOLD. The various lines and scenes on the train. The entire scene at the farm house with the cow and the bi-plane. The bumbling cops in Kansas City. The scene in the Kansas City train station bathroom. All of these are priceless comedy -- the likes of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The film ends with a dramatic, suspenseful ending. Overall, it isn't Academy Award material, but it was a great movie. Definitely worth the watch. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Rosana B Adorava filmes de Gene Wilder que geralmente passava no saudoso Corujão, provavelmente pela leve semelhança com meu ídolo juvenil, Alain Prost. Este filme marcou a primeira dupla de Wilder e Pryor, que formaram mais tarde dupla em três outros filmes. Gostei, aqueles filme policial com boas perseguições, trem em movimento, cai do trem, volta para o trem, jogado para fora do trem, volta para o trem, trem sem maquinista e sem freio, adorável. Oferece pouco atrativo em si, o mistério não te prende. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/24/24 Full Review Brent A 10% rating ... Did not find this film to be funny or entertaining. Maybe it was hilarious in the 70s? Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 12/10/23 Full Review David W The great comedic chemistry between Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, once Mr. Pryor eventually emerged and joined the story well into the film, was enough to carry this otherwise disjointed piece to a satisfactory conclusion. Prior to Pryor's appearance, the story is a slow build with archaic humor. After Pryor joins, the story picks up more pace and the movie becomes truly watchable. Still, I would only watch this again if there were nothing better to choose from. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/24 Full Review michael t The problem with Silver Streak is that it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. It wasn't that funny as a comedy, and the action and suspense elements were well below what we expect from the genre today. I recognized the title when it showed up on the YouTube free movies and wanted to like it. It came out when I was 21, but I didn't see it at the time, probably because I was never a Gene Wilder fan. He was unconvincing as a romantic lead and as an action figure as well. He seemed uninterested in both roles. When Richard Pryor shows up things pick up a bit, but he shows up too late and has too small a part to save the day. The movie carries you along well enough while it's going, but when all is said and done, it leaves an unsatisfying after effect. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Silver Streak

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis While on a cross-country train ride, overworked book editor George Caldwell (Gene Wilder) begins an unexpected romance with an enigmatic woman named Hilly Burns (Jill Clayburgh). His vacation is interrupted, however, when he witnesses a murder for which he is then accused. The true villains kidnap Hilly and eject Caldwell from the moving train. Desperate, Caldwell teams up with car thief Grover Muldoon (Richard Pryor), and together they must save Hilly while avoiding the police.
Director
Arthur Hiller
Producer
Thomas L. Miller, Edward K. Milkis
Screenwriter
Colin Higgins
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 3, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 14, 2016
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Stereo
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