The World’s Greatest Lover *** (1977, Gene Wilder, Carol Kane, Dom DeLuise) – Classic Movie Review 9230

Writer-producer-director-star Gene Wilder goes every which way for laughs in his 1977 Twenties Hollywood send-up The World’s Greatest Lover – and raises quite a high score of them.

He plays Milwaukee baker Rudy Hickman who goes to Rainbow Studios movie boss Adolph Zitz (Dom DeLuise) to take part in the Rudolph Valentino lookalike challenge, with the stage name Rudy Valentine. He meets the star, who gives him hints how to play him, to the rapture of his hysterical wife, Annie Hickman (Kane). Zitz wants to make a movie called The World’s Greatest Lover and needs a new star to outshine Valentino.

The World’s Greatest Lover is inspired by The White Sheikh by Federico Fellini, to whom it is affectionately dedicated.

Danny DeVito has a small role as the assistant director.

Also in the cast are Fritz Feld as Tomaso Abalone, Carl Ballantine, Michael Huddleston, Ronny Graham, Matt Collins, Robert E Ball, Randoph Dobbs, Sandy Rivetta, Hannah Dean, Poncie Ponce, Norbert Schiller, Pat Ast, Federico Roberto, Peter Elbling, Charles Knapp, George Memmoli, Pavla Ustinov, Warren Burton, Danny DeVito, James Gleason, Ronny Graham, Richard Dimitri, Josip Elic, Melissa Fellen, James Hong, Rolfe Sedan, Billy Sands, Sidney Miller, Mike McManus and David Huddleston.

Wilder directed four movies – The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, The World’s Greatest Lover, The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon.

Gene Wilder died on August 29 2016, aged 83.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9230

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