Every Gene Wilder Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

Though perhaps best known to audiences today as the mysterious candy wizard Willy Wonka, actor Gene Wilder had a long career playing everyman characters driven to the brink of madness. His talent for playing frazzled types caught up in madcap craziness put him at the center of a number of memorable comedies throughout the 1970s and '80s, including "Stir Crazy" and "Blazing Saddles." Sadly, after the death of his third wife, the inimitable Gilda Radner, in 1989, Wilder stepped back from acting. He appeared in just a handful of further roles on television in the 1990s, with his final on-screen appearance being a guest spot on "Will & Grace" in 2003. He passed away in 2016. 

Despite a modest output of feature films during his heyday, Gene Wilder made his mark as one of the most popular funnymen on the big screen. He teamed up with comedian Richard Pryor several times in a number of classics and worked with Mel Brooks on some of the funniest slapstick comedies ever made. But he wasn't without his flops either, with a number of duds sprinkled throughout his 20+ year career. Whether you're familiar with his entire body of work or know him just as the candyman, there's no denying his ability to draw laughs. We're counting down every one of his Hollywood features, from worst to best (excluding "Bonnie and Clyde," in which he had only a small role). Think you know which one tops the list? You might be surprised.

Mr. Spock himself, actor Leonard Nimoy — who had turned to directing in the 1980s — helmed the 1990 Gene Wilder romantic comedy "Funny About Love." Unfortunately, after a handful of successes (like two "Star Trek" films and "Three Men and a Baby"), this one was a big disappointment for both Nimoy and Wilder. At this point in his career, Wilder's days as a bonafide star were more than a few years behind him, and the pairing with up-and-comer Mary Stuart Masterson — more than 30 years his junior — as his mistress just didn't work. 

In the film, Wilder plays a political cartoonist named Duffy Bergman, whose marriage to a successful chef falls apart just as he decides he wants children. In a mid-life crisis, Bergman appears as a speaker at a sorority convention, where he meets the much younger Daphne. After meeting again in New York, the two quickly become awkward mismatched lovers in a whirlwind affair. When Daphne becomes pregnant, Bergman is thrilled, but the couple finds themselves forced into a serious relationship that neither is sure they really want. 

A disaster with critics, Roger Ebert savaged the film, giving it just half a star, and describing it as boring, contrived, poorly directed, and full of cringe-inducing attempts at sexual comedy. It would be one of Wilder's last features.

Gene Wilder and his real-life wife Gilda Radner — best known for her stint on "Saturday Night Live" in the late 1970s — teamed up for the off-the-wall dark comedy "Haunted Honeymoon" in 1986. In the movie, the married couple plays Larry and Pearl, two horror/mystery radio hosts who are engaged. Since he proposed, Larry has been plagued by on-air panic attacks that have been threatening their jobs. His psychiatrist believes it's just a case of pre-wedding nerves and thinks he knows how to cure them. If he can frighten Larry enough, it may "shock" the panic attacks right out of him. 

With the wedding coming up at his childhood home — a classic horror movie castle — it's now or never. While it's certainly not one of Wilder's better entries, with the New York Times giving it a poor review for its lack of laughs, Wilder's chemistry with Radner is rightfully delightful, and it generally works as a silly romp. Over the years, the movie has found itself a new audience, with fans appreciating its family-friendly spooks and scares and its successful send-up of old-school horror B-movies. Sadly, it was Radner's final film role, as the actress died of ovarian cancer in 1989.

If there was one kind of movie that Wilder seemed to love, it was throwback pictures. From "Young Frankenstein" to "Haunted Honeymoon," Wilder enjoyed playing parts that recaptured the spirit of Old Hollywood. He'd do it again with the 1977 film "The World's Greatest Lover," which he wrote, directed, and starred in. Also featuring comedy stars Carol Kane, Dom DeLuise, and Danny DeVito, the film was a loving homage to silent films of the 1920s. It put Wilder in the role of Rudy Hickman, an aspiring actor who enters a contest to become the next big Hollywood sensation.

The contest is run by notorious movie studio executive Adolph Zitz (DeLuise), who is beguiled by Hickman's neurotic, oddball nature and becomes obsessed with making him a star. A slapstick affair, the film is riddled with childish sight gags and juvenile humor, but that's part of its allure, too. The highlight is Wilder — and Kane, who plays Hickman's new wife — whose comic skills help elevate a middling picture to an entertaining tribute to Tinseltown of old. Its stylish production, with its loving recreation of the past, garnered especially high marks from reviewers.

In his directorial debut, actor Gene Wilder also wrote and starred in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" alongside Marty Feldman ("Young Frankenstein"), Dom DeLuise, and Madeline Kahn ("Clue"). The film is exactly what it sounds like, with Gene Wilder as Sigerson Holmes, brother of famed London detective Sherlock. The film begins with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson themselves, as played by Doug Wilmer and Thorley Walters, reprising their roles from the 1960s television series.

In the film, Sigerson Homes is handed a case by his older brother Sherlock, who is choosing to focus on other matters instead. Having toiled in relative obscurity and in his brother's shadow for too long, Sigerson is resentful but takes on the assignment, which involves tracking down the person who stole an important document from Foreign Secretary Lord Redcliff. A classic Holmesian mystery, Sigerson follows one clue to the next, opening up a web of intrigue and blackmail that sends him to the doorstep of his brother's archnemesis, Professor Moriarty. A clownish take on the great detective, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" is a fun, downright goofy adventure that fits well alongside the likes of Kahn's "Clue."

If you're looking for an unlikely buddy comedy pairing, "The Frisco Kid" is it. Zany comic star Gene Wilder stars alongside action hero Harrison Ford in the 1979 Western comedy "The Frisco Kid." It's definitely an unexpected casting choice and one that shouldn't work on paper. Harrison Ford was still basking in the phenomenal glow of pop culture sensation "Star Wars," and Wilder was coming off a string of successful buddy comedies. But work it does. Wilder plays Polish rabbi Avram Belinski who embarks on a long journey to San Francisco and gets robbed by the Diggs brothers, a trio of ruthless bandits. Finding himself alone on the road, Belinski links up with outlaw and bank robber Tommy Lillard (Harrison Ford). 

Lillard, who's taken by the rabbi's humility and sincerity, comes straight out of the Han Solo mold as the thief with a heart of gold. The violent renegade and the peace-loving rabbi get into many scrapes. From failed bank robberies to an encounter with Native Americans and an order of silent monks, the odd couple eventually comes face to face with the Diggs brothers and Belinski finds his faith and pacifism tested. A road movie full of laughs, "The Frisco Kid" is the lesser of Wilder's two big Westerns, but is nevertheless a worthy spiritual successor to "Blazing Saddles."

Screwball buddy comedy "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" got Gene Wilder back together with his "Stir Crazy" co-star Richard Pryor for a third time for another crazy caper. This time, Pryor plays Dave Lyons, a blind man who runs a concessions shop, and Wilder plays Wallace Karew, a deaf man who comes to work for him. The two become fast friends and make the perfect team, each helping the other navigate life. The pair gets dragged into a deadly criminal scheme when they unwittingly come into possession of a valuable coin left by a mysterious man visiting their shop.

When a beautiful woman named Eve (Joan Severance) shoots and kills the man, Dave and Wally become the prime suspects. Soon, Eve and her henchman Kirgo (Kevin Spacey) realize that Dave and Wally have the coin. The two best friends are chased by both the police and the two dangerous crooks. A series of wacky hijinx ensues as the deaf and blind duo attempts to turn the tables on the con men. Though not their best pairing, Wilder and Pryor show off their genuine chemistry. Reviews were decidedly mixed at the time, but it's become a cult comedy fondly remembered by audiences who grew up on Sunday afternoon movies.

In "Start the Revolution Without Me," actors Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland ("Animal House") appear as two pairs of twins living during the French Revolution. Wrongly separated at birth, the two sets of twin brothers — Phillipe and Pierre, and Claude and Charles — reunite just as the revolution is beginning. If you think that's an odd set-up for a '70s comedy, you'd be right. Thanks to the talents of its stars, the movie goes from a clumsily titled oddity to a comedy hit. 

Low on plot and high on zany antics, it's a breakneck adventure whose weaknesses can be largely overlooked thanks to its frenetic pace and farcical period fun. Another slapstick adventure that recaptures the spirit of days gone by, "Start the Revolution Without Me" does best when it satirizes classic swashbuckling movies of the past. If you like Gene Wilder, you'll surely get a kick out of him playing to type as a frantic, nervous everyman, especially since you'll get a double dose. Of course, if Wilder's not your cup of tea, you're likely to find the film as grating as his fans find it amusing.

"Silver Streak" marked the very first pairing of Gene Wilder with red-hot comedian Richard Pryor was the 1976 hit "Silver Streak," an action thriller buried under layers of big laughs. Wilder plays a book editor aboard a passenger train who witnesses a murder and gets booted from the line by thugs who may have done the deed. After a case of mistaken identity leaves another man dead, George tries to go to the police but finds himself the likely suspect in the killing. On the run, George meets lowlife criminal Grover, who helps him get back aboard the train to find the real killers and prove his innocence.

Noted critics Siskel and Ebert reviewed the film on their television series "At the Movies" and praised the picture, with Ebert calling it "a cheerfully entertaining adventure comedy," while noting that "Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor make a nice team. Wilder is quiet and sly and Pryor is manic and carefree, and the movie finds a nice balance between action and comedy." Siskel didn't disagree, but didn't love the movie. Still, he called out the actor's budding on-screen chemistry as a highlight.

Director Mel Brooks is a legend of comedy, having made such classics as "Spaceballs," "History of the World, Part I," and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." In total, he directed 11 films. Gene Wilder starred in three of them, including Brooks' debut feature, the 1967 film "The Producers." It was also Wilder's second feature film and first starring role, playing accountant Leopold Bloom, who goes to work for Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel). In the film, it's Leopold who kickstarts the story when he realizes that a stage production could stand to make more money from a flop than from a hit by overselling investment shares.

Now set to design a massive bomb, they hire the worst actors and the most unsuccessful director they can find to develop a script called "Springtime for Hitler," written by psychotic former Nazi Franz Liebkind. Unfortunately, audiences love the film, seeing it as a comedic satire, and suddenly Leopold and Max realize they can't afford to pay their investors. Liebkind too is furious his play has become a laughingstock and is out for blood. An all-time classic, it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and turned both Brooks and Wilder into overnight stars, catapulting both to long and successful careers in Hollywood.

One of the most beloved films of all time that still ranks on lists of best family movies, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" was based on the similarly titled children's book by Roald Dahl. A break from his usual over-the-top characters, Wonka was a surprising departure for Wilder, who turned in an impeccable, relatively understated performance as the enigmatic candy magnate. In the film, the mysterious Willy Wonka runs a sweets factory in the middle of a downtrodden city. He holds a contest to give five lucky recipients a tour of his facility and the privilege of taking over his job. While four bratty children win the honor, the last — a naive, honest, and poor boy named Charlie Bucket — wins the final spot and takes his favorite grandfather with him.

Wilder's performance as the titular Willy Wonka is integral to the film's success. It's not an exaggeration to say that his combination of wit, charm, and gravitas make what might otherwise have been a forgettable kids' movie into a brilliant joy ride through a bizarre fantasy world, à la "The Wizard of Oz." Though not a hit at the box office, it was adored by critics, and it has since gone on to become one of the most enduring classics from its era. The film eventually spawned its own line of candy that is still sold today, while Wilder's Wonka has proven to be one of the most iconic characters in cinema history.