The Frisco Kid

Blazing Saddles wasn't the only western comedy that Gene Wilder starred in. He also teamed up with Harrison Ford for the 1979 cowboy comedy The Frisco Kid.

Wilder stars as Rabbi Belinski, who has just arrived in America from Poland where he is going to head up a new congregation in San Francisco. Not knowing his way around the states, and being a little too trusting, the Rabbi gets beaten and robbed by a vicious group of outlaws. Undeterred, the Rabbi continues westward and meets up with a kind bank robber named Lillard, Ford, who takes the Rabbi under his wing and makes sure that he gets to his destination safe. His good deed however could end up being more than he bargained for.

Definitely not as zany as Blazing Saddles, The Frisco Kid is actually a pretty sweet little comedy about two total opposites that become the best of friends. Both of the leads are quite good, especially Ford who shows that he can do comedy as well as action and drama. Ford wasn't the big star then that he is today. He had done Star Wars, but was still a couple of years away from being Indiana Jones. He was able to hold his own with comedy legend Wilder. Oddly enough, his role was originally written for John Wayne, who was supposedly very excited to take on the comedic role. But at that time his health was deteriorating and he had to pass. Plus, his salary alone would have made the picture go over budget. It would have been fun to see the Duke trade barbs with Wilder, but Ford fits the bill nicely.

The legendary Robert Aldrich replaced Dick Richards on the shoot, and was supposedly not too excited to be just a director for hire. Luckily, this doesn't show on the screen and I think it's up there with some of his better work. But I also liked his film The Choirboys, which most people hated, so I might be partial.

The Frisco Kid is a fun little western comedy.

It's available on dvd.