Silver Streak

A comedy thriller set on a train. George boards a train to Chicago intending to read and rest. He witnesses a murder in the next compartment and nobody believes him. Shortly afterwards he finds himself thrown off the train and has to get back on. The film repeats that scheme three times: George boards, is thrown off, boards again. The rhythm of the comedy comes from the repetition. Halfway through, Grover enters; a small-time thief who starts helping George. Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor played together for the first time here, and the fit between them is what the film is known for; they made three more together in the years that followed. There are open references to Hitchcock's train films, but the register shifts to comedy. The final section has a large-scale train sequence, shot with the practical effects methods of the period. Arthur Hiller directed. Jill Clayburgh is the female lead. An enjoyable choice for anyone who likes 1970s American comedy and double-act films. For a viewer expecting a tight thriller, the plot is loose and the film takes all its strength from its actors.