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5.7/10
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A neurotic baker travels to Hollywood to attend a talent search for an actor to rival the great Valentino. Although not an actor, through blind luck he succeeds, to a certain degree.A neurotic baker travels to Hollywood to attend a talent search for an actor to rival the great Valentino. Although not an actor, through blind luck he succeeds, to a certain degree.A neurotic baker travels to Hollywood to attend a talent search for an actor to rival the great Valentino. Although not an actor, through blind luck he succeeds, to a certain degree.
Robert Ball
- Bald Man
- (as Robert E. Ball)
Mews Small
- Slave Girl #2
- (as Marya Small)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCarol Kane was made up to resemble silent film star Zasu Pitts. Kane also appeared in another movie about the silent era released in the same year. That movie was Ken Russell's Valentino (1977). Both films featured Rudolph Valentino in their stories.
- GoofsThis film is supposed to take place in the 1920s silent movie era, yet the movie extras riding in the bus to their location sing-along to "Shuffle Off to Buffalo", a Harry Warren-Al Dubin song written for the 1933 sound film "42nd Street."
- Quotes
Rudy Valentine: Are you trying to give me fart hailure?
- Crazy creditsThere is a credit to Frederico Fellini, who was not on the picture, 'for encouragement at the right time'.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Lørdagshjørnet: Gene Wilder (1978)
Featured review
A fetish for popping eyeballs
Interesting that 20th Century Fox gave Gene Wilder a second chance to develop his talents as a writer-director-star (and producer AND songwriter this time) after "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" left most critics indifferent. "Brother" wasn't terrible, and it reportedly grossed twenty million dollars, but as comic movie-making it was a botch (it had too much manic energy for one picture). Here, Wilder plays a Milwaukee schnook who travels to Los Angeles in the 1920's with his new bride to audition for Rainbow Pictures' answer to Rudolph Valentino. Wilder doesn't float gags around, he hammers away at them without much subtlety or finesse; he loves a good burlesque gag and he's fond of old-fashioned slapstick, but he needs more soft edges (the best scenes are the ones featuring Carol Kane, who is handled gingerly playing the wife). Lots of running jokes (bad ones, like Gene's character being named Rudy Valentine, that simply don't pay off), and too much of Dom DeLuise, bring the picture down. There are some laughs: Gene making eyes at a plain Jane on the train, an overflowing bathtub in a posh hotel. Wilder certainly has lots of ideas, but the results are more miss than hit. ** from ****
helpful•1110
- moonspinner55
- Jun 10, 2005
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der größte Liebhaber der Welt
- Filming locations
- Railtown 1897 State Historic Park - Jamestown, California, USA(train platform)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,582,000
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Top Gap
By what name was The World's Greatest Lover (1977) officially released in Canada in English?
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