Gene Wilder began his professional acting career on the stage but for many of us, he will always be remembered for his movie roles in such classic comedies as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Stir Crazy.
As funny as Gene Wilder was, he didn’t always star in comedies. Early roles in Death of a Salesman and Bonnie and Clyde proved he was as much a dramatic actor as a comedy performer, though the majority of his movies from the 1960s onwards were designed to make us laugh.
To coincide with the Netflix release of the documentary Remembering Gene Wilder which takes a look back at the actor’s life and career, we have compiled a list of our favourite movies starring this acting legend.
Do you agree with our choices? Have we omitted a film that you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
The Woman in Red (1984)Â
A year before Kelly LeBrock became the object of teenage obsession in Weird Science, she was lusted over by Gene Wilder’s married man in The Woman in Red. His character, ad exec Ted Pierce, is way out of his league when he tries to pursue an extramarital affair with the red-dressed woman, which makes the movie all the more hilarious as he attempts to woo her.
Despite its sordid premise, The Woman in Red is a surprisingly sweet movie, with director-star Wilder doing excellent work both in front of and behind the camera.Â
The Frisco Kid (1979)
Wilder’s second western comedy (following Blazing Saddles) sees him in the role of Polish rabbi Avram Belinski who makes his way through America to reach a synagogue in San Francisco. During his journey, he encounters a bank robber (Harrison Ford) named Tommy and the two become unlikely allies as they navigate the dangers of the Wild West.
Wilder and Ford light up the screen with their odd-couple dynamic. The movie’s not as funny as it could have been but while there’s a distinct lack of belly laughs, it’s still a delight to see both actors working so effortlessly together on screen.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex
(But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972)
Woody Allen’s comedy features a series of comic shorts, including one in which Wilder plays a doctor who has a sexual attraction to sheep. This isn’t the weirdest segment – that honour goes to the competing sperm – but it’s still very absurd, and more than a little controversial due to the taboo subject matter.
The material is crass but Wilder rises above it all with a hilariously deadpan performance as the sexually deviant doctor who falls in love with a sheep named Daisy.Â
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975)
In his directorial debut, Wilder stars as Sigerson Holmes, the younger brother of the famous London detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Determined not to be overshadowed by his older bro, Sigerson takes on a case of his own, leading to an enjoyable romp through Victorian England that takes him to the doorstep of Sherlock’s archnemesis – Moriarty!
Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, and Dom DeLuise also star in this entertaining comedy that is a perfect showcase for Wilder’s comic timing and physical comedy.
Silver Streak (1976)
Wilder’s first on-screen pairing with Richard Pryor is a comedy thriller about a man who witnesses a murder on a train and finds himself embroiled in the subsequent mystery involving mistaken identity, a gang of thugs, and a lowlife criminal named Grover (Pryor).Â
Wilder’s quiet character contrasts nicely with Pryor’s manic performance in a movie that strikes a fine balance between action and comedy. The two actors went on to star in several more movies together, including Stir Crazy (see below) and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
Stir Crazy (1980)
The second movie to star Wilder and Pryor is the best of all the films they made together with a story that sees them end up in prison after being falsely accused of robbery.
The pair’s wacky misadventures behind bars and their subsequent prison escape provide a lot of hilarious setpieces, not least the scene in which the twosome find themselves sharing a cell with a fearsome inmate who turns out not to be as scary as they initially thought.Â
Young Frankenstein (1974)
The third film Wilder and director Mel Brooks made together is a hilarious horror spoof in which Wilder stars as Frederick von Frankenstein, the grandson of the infamous doctor, who is equally as interested in bringing the dead back to life. His monstrous creation, a lumbering giant of a man played by Peter Boyle, gets the film’s funniest moment during the “Puttin on the Ritz” dance routine.Â
Filmed in black and white, to give it the feel of the old Universal horror movies, Young Frankenstein is one of the best homages to classic cinema ever made. Wilder gives a typically hilarious performance but special mention must also go to Marty Feldman as the wild-eyed goofball Igor, who is equally as funny.Â
The Producers (1967)
Wilder earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance as anxious accountant Leo Bloom, the man who partners with Zero Mostel’s failing Broadway producer Max Bialystock to purposefully create the world’s worst play for financial benefits.
Unfortunately for them, their show, “Springtime for Hitler,” isn’t the flop they hoped for, despite its controversial subject matter and cast of terrible actors. The movie wasn’t a flop either – most critics loved it at the time – and it is now regarded as one of the best films of Mel Brook’s long career.Â
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Here’s another Mel Brooks classic with another role for Gene Wilder, this time as the Waco Kid who partners with a Black sheriff (Cleavon Little) to take down a villainous land grabber.
Blazing Saddles was a massive hit upon its release and it’s still highly regarded today. The laughs never stop coming thanks to the plethora of comic scenes which include a slapstick pie fight and the now-legendary campfire sequence featuring farting cowpokes.Â
 
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Wilder’s dark spin on Willy Wonka belies his usual comic persona. Charming and enigmatic one moment and deeply sinister the next, his take on Wonka adds depth to Roald Dahl’s character who (in the film and the book) isn’t as friendly as the visiting children expect.Â
The film is as ghoulish as the novel, with multiple scenes of youngsters falling into harm after failing Wonka’s tests of moral integrity. Of course, this is a kid’s film and not a chocolate-soaked horror flick, so it’s comically morbid instead of frighteningly horrid, with some brilliant musical numbers and a highly memorable turn from Wilder as the legendary sweet maker.Â
Read More: Remembering Gene Wilder – Review
What is your favourite Gene Wilder movie? Let us know in the comments below.