Silver Streak (1976)

6.9PG114 minDirector: Arthur Hiller

1976 film directed by Arthur Hiller

Silver Streak is a 1976 American thriller comedy film about a murder on a Los Angeles-to-Chicago train journey. It was directed by Arthur Hiller, written by Colin Higgins, and stars Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh, and Richard Pryor, with Patrick McGoohan, Ned Beatty, Clifton James, Ray Walston, Scatman Crothers, and Richard Kiel in supporting roles. The film score is by Henry Mancini. This film marked the first pairing of Wilder and Pryor, who were later paired in three other films.

The film is primarily set on a train called the Silver Streak. A passenger accidentally finds out about the murder of an art historian and about efforts to discredit the victim's book. A shady art dealer is profiting from forged works of Rembrandt and is willing to kill in order to maintain secrecy about his crimes.

The film was released on December 8, 1976, by 20th Century Fox, and it received positive reviews from critics as well as earning $51.1 million against a budget between $5.5 million and $6.5 million.

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is Silver Streak about?
Silver Streak (1976) — A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.
Is Silver Streak based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is Silver Streak scary?
Content rating: PG. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.