Friday, November 6, 2009

Golden Classic Film: The Frisco Kid

We were amazed to find that not everyone has seen The Frisco Kid, probably the funniest Jewish film ever made. This gem, starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford, first appeared in 1979, but since DVDs weren't invented yet, it didn't get released as a DVD until a few years ago.

Now Amazon.com is selling it for only $5.79, and every collector of Jewish humor should get a copy for watching again and again.

Here's a summary of the plot from Amazon.com:

It's 1850 and new rabbi Avram Belinski sets out from Philadelphia toward San Francisco. Cowpoke bandit Tom Lillard hasn't seen a rabbi before. But he knows when one needs a heap of help. And getting this tenderfoot to Frisco in one piece will cause a heap of trouble - with the law, Native Americans and a bunch of killers. Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford are one feisty team as rabbi and rescuer in this rough-'n'-ready romp that rivals Wilder's earlier Blazing Saddles in Wild West hilarity. Director Robert Aldrich is a seasoned hand at blending roughhouse and laughter, as fans of his earlier The Dirty Dozen and The Longest Yard will attest. With a full posse of screen talents, The Frisco Kid rides tall in the comedy saddle.

In the following clip, Rabbi Belinsky (Wilder) encounters a group of Amish men who he thinks are fellow Chassidim. One oddity of this clip is that it's dubbed in Italian. We couldn't find an undubbed clip on YouTube. But you get the idea.


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