Gene Wilder Movies

-Gene-gene-wilder-31438119-1200-1200Want to know the best Gene Wilder movies?  How about the worst Gene Wilder movies?  Curious about Gene Wilder box office grosses or which Gene Wilder movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Gene Wilder movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

Gene Wilder (1933-2016) was a 2-time Oscar nominated actor, writer and director.  Wilder gained fame for his many movies with Mel Brooks (The Producers, Blazing Saddles & Young Frankenstein) but to many like me he will always be Willy Wonka.  Wilder’s IMDb page shows 37 acting credits from 1961-2015.  This page will rank Gene Wilder movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television roles, cameos, shorts and straight to DVD movies were not included in the rankings.

Drivel Part:  Recently we wrote a page on Wilder’s frequent co-star, Richard Pryor.  While doing that research on that page, we thought Gene Wilder would make a good UMR movie star page.  Sadly today, August 29th 2016 brings the sad news that Gene Wilder passed away at 83.   So as a tribute to his movie career….we put together this page.  Rest in peace Mr. Wilder…you will be missed.  Drivel Part 2:  Wow within a 25 minute window…a got an e-mail from Steve Lensman, a text from my wife and a phone call from son #2 about his passing.

stir_crazy
Frequent co-stars Gene Wilder and Gene Wilder in 1980’s Stir Crazy

Gene Wilder Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

Gene Wilder Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Gene Wilder movies by his co-stars
  • Sort Gene Wilder  movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Gene Wilder movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Gene Wilder movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Gene Wilder movie received.
  • Sort Gene Wilder movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Two of Gene Wilder's biggest hits...Blazing Saddles & Young Frankenstein were released in 1974
Two of Gene Wilder’s biggest hits…Blazing Saddles & Young Frankenstein were released in 1974

Possibly Interesting Facts About Gene Wilder

1. Jerome Silberman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1933.

2. Jerome Silberman took Gene Wilder as his stage name when he was 26.  “I had always liked Gene because of Thomas Wolfe’s character Eugene Gant in Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River. And I was always a great admirer of Thornton Wilder.” – Gene Wilder

3. Gene Wilder served with the United States Army from 1956-1958…..serving in the Medical Corps section

4. Gene Wilder was nominated for 2 Oscars®:  He received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for 1969’s The Producers and a Best Screenplay nomination for 1974’s Young Frankenstein.  Wilder also received 2 Golden Globe® nominations:  Best Actor nominations for 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and 1976’s Silver Streak.

5. Gene Wilder starred with Richard Pryor in 4 movies: 1976’s Silver Streak, 1980’s Stir Crazy, 1989’s See No Evil, Hear No Evil  and 1991’s Another You.

6. Gene Wilder’s performance as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in 1974’s Young Frankenstein is ranked #9 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

7. Gene Wilder was married 4 times…he had one child.  His 3rd marriage was to actress Gilda Radner.

8. Check out Gene Wilder’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globes® are the registered trademark and service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.

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66 thoughts on “Gene Wilder Movies

  1. Thanks, always wondered how successful Silver Streak was or just something us train nuts liked. Of course, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Pryor and Patrick McGoohan added a lot to the production.

    1. Hey TheCid….Silver Streak was a huge hit…when looking at the entire 1970s decade it was the 55th biggest hit of the decade. A decade that gave us Star Wars, Jaws, The Godfather, The Exorcist….so it was up there with some of the biggest hits ever! Thanks for the feedback.

  2. The first time I was ever able to go to a theater alone was in Maniwaki, Québec. I brought my younger brother and the feature was Silver Streak. My recollections will always ensure that Gene will be remembered forever.

    Marcel

    1. Hey Marcel…..thanks for sharing that memory….it is amazing how movies and actors become memories we will never forget. Glad Gene Wilder and his Silver Streak are one of those memories for you. 🙂

  3. Hello Bruce,

    Gene Wilder died yesterday, but the French media have hardly mentioned it. Only a few lines on internet. It’s sad. However he knew some success at the French box office : Blazzing Saddles, Frankenstein Junior (his biggest) and Silver Streak (his latest). But It is true that since 1976, the French have forgotten him.

    I’ve seen 8 movies of the list. He was great in Blazzing Saddles and Frankenstein Junior. I also loved Silver Streak. I saw Stir Crazy when I was very young, and I remember a funny movie. By cons I do not really apreciated See No Evil, Hear No Evil.

    Note Woman in Red is a remake of a French film of 1976: Un Elephant Ca Trompe Enormement, directed by Yves Robert. This film had known his little success since it brought $ 796,781 in the key cities of Variety for the single year 1977. May be you know him under the title Pardon Mon Affaire (his american title).

    1. Hey Laurent.
      1. Thanks for the box office numbers from 1961 to 1964. I will send you my 1960s numbers later today.
      2. Sad that France had pretty much forgotten Gene Wilder. His outstanding 1974 was 40 years ago….which is almost as shocking as his passing.
      3. Tally counts…Steve 16, me 12 and you 8.
      4. I thought See No Evil, Hear No Evil had a few decent moments…..especially compared to the last Pryor/Wilder movie Another You.
      5. I remember that Woman in Red was a remake of a French movie….pretty much came out the same time as The Man With One Red Shoe….which was another movie remade from a French film.
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Gene Wilder.

      1. Yes, Man With Red Shoe was a remake of another Yves Robert’s movie : Le Grand Blond Avec Une Chaussure Noire.

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