Silver Streak

12/3/19761h 54m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ By train, by plane, by the edge of your seat - It's the most hilarious suspense ride of your life! ~

Overview:

A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$6,500,000.00

Revenue:

$51,100,000.00

Key words:

two man army
kansas, usa
train
theft
false accusations
semiautomatic pistol
sleeping car

Cast

Gene Wilder

~ as ~

George Caldwell

Jill Clayburgh

~ as ~

Hildegard 'Hilly' Burns

Richard Pryor

~ as ~

Grover Muldoon

Patrick McGoohan

~ as ~

Roger Devereau

Ned Beatty

~ as ~

Bob Sweet

Clifton James

~ as ~

Sheriff Chauncey

Ray Walston

~ as ~

Mr. Edgar Whiney

Stefan Gierasch

~ as ~

Professor Schreiner & Johnson

Len Birman

~ as ~

Chief

Valerie Curtin

~ as ~

Plain Jane

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 2 year(s) ago
8
Drama, romance, crime, mystery, comedy, adventure, suspense and action on a train

A book editor traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago by rail (Gene Wilder) supposedly witnesses a crime while partying with a secretary (Jill Clayburgh). He suddenly finds himself embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy. Richard Pryor plays a helpful thief, Ned Beatty a passenger, Patrick McGoohan a smooth art expert, Richard Kiel a heavy and Len Birman a cop.

"Silver Streak” (1976) meshes Hitchcockian murder thriller with the amusing antics of Wilder and Pryor for an entertaining train flick. As my title blurb states, it expertly mixes genres into a fun and compelling rail ride.

If you like train flicks like "Runaway Train" (1985), "Transiberian" (2008), "Train" (2008), “Night Train” (2009), "Beyond the Door III" (1989), “The Cassandra Crossing” (1976), “Breakheart Pass” (1975) and “Horror Express” (1972) you’ll also enjoy this one. It’s as good or better than most of ’em. It just includes amusement along with the life-or-death thrills à la the 80’s Indiana Jones adventures.

The film runs 1 hour, 54 minutes, and was shot in SoCal, including Century City (studio), Union Station in Los Angeles, South Pasadena (New Mexico train stop), the Mojave Desert (the ranch with the plane) and Brea (the redneck sheriff’s office), as well as Alberta (the prairie scenes), Locust Hill in Ontario, Union Station in Toronto and Northwestern Station in Chicago.

GRADE: A-/B+