The Frisco Kid (1979)

A Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the way he is nearly burnt at the stake by Indians and almost killed by outlaws.

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Michael Elias, Frank Shaw

Stars:

Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford, Ramon Bieri

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Wilder	...	Avram
Harrison Ford	...	Tommy
Ramon Bieri	...	Mr. Jones
Val Bisoglio	...	Chief Gray Cloud
George DiCenzo	...	Darryl Diggs (as George Ralph DiCenzo)
Leo Fuchs	...	Chief Rabbi
Penny Peyser	...	Rosalie
William Smith	...	Matt Diggs
Jack Somack	...	Samuel Bender
Beege Barkette	...	Sarah Mindl (as Beege Barkett)
Shay Duffin	...	O'Leary
Walter Janovitz	...	Old Amish Man (as Walter Janowitz)
Joe Kapp	...	Monterano
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Mr. Ping
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Mr. Daniels (as Cliff Pellow)

Storyline

A Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the way he is nearly burnt at the stake by Indians and almost killed by outlaws.

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Plot Keywords:

rabbi | indian | outlaw | bank robber | jewish | 

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Taglines:

The greatest cowboy ever to ride into the Wild West. From Poland.

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Yiddish

Release Date:

13 July 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

No Knife

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Gene Wilder's autobiography, John Wayne was offered the part that was eventually played by Harrison Ford. The Duke loved the role and was willing to star with Wilder. However an agent tried to offer Wayne less than his usual fee and the legendary actor turned the film down.

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Goofs

When Avram's horse gets spooked by the rattlesnake, Avram begins yelling but his mouth doesn't move.

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Quotes

Tommy: [Tommy sees Avram coming out of a Wells Fargo office] You did it, didn't you? You give 'em back the money?
Avram: Yep!
Tommy: Yep. Well that ain't the American way. What's more, now you ain't got no money. Well now what'cha gonna do?
Avram: Dunno.
Tommy: You don't know. Well I tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get me a bath. Then I'm gonna get drunk. Then I'm gonna catch me a whore with great big tits. Then I'm gonna get drunk again. Then I'm gonna rob that Wells Fargo office and get me my money back, ya dumb-ass Jew!

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Connections

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: ¡...con Phineas & Ferb! (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Waltz 'Gold and Silver'"
Composed by Franz Lehár

User Reviews

Funny and warming film

This is one of my all-time favorite comedies. A lot of it is gritty, but the movie never loses sight of the humor it's trying to get across.

Gene Wilder is the center of it. Anyone could have played Ford's role, but he does a competent job. He's not really believable, but the ROLE isn't believable. It's hard to be a good guy when you're threatening peoples' lives in order to rob them.

Wilder is the whole movie, except for Val Bisoglio as Chief Gray Cloud. Wilder portrays a lost man in the wilds of frontier America, and he does it well. The movie itself deftly avoids moralizing about the 'right' religion. The Amish people helping the Rabbi on his journey is very realistic. They would not have turned down another religious man; they would have helped him, just as they do, in the film. I appreciate little touches, like this. It would have been far too easy to portray the Amish (or Mennonites; it's hard to tell, with a movie set in that time period) as ultraconservative bigots, but instead, the production crew chose to show them realistically.

This is a sweet, funny movie, with some real drama, unless you're just too cynical to care. And if you ARE too cynical to care, I truly pity you. This is a fun, exciting movie that anyone should like.

knsevy KCMO