''Mr. Billion'' is a 1977

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

action-adventure film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It is notable as the Hollywood debut of

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...

. It's also the last film of actor William Redfield, who died before its release.

Plot

After billionaire Anthony Falcon dies in a freak accident, he leaves his entire estate to his nephew, easygoing Italian mechanic Guido Falcone. In order to claim his billion-dollar inheritance, Guido must reach San Francisco within twenty days to sign a document. His uncle's greedy assistant, John Cutler (

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

), wants the money for himself, and hires female detective Rosie Jones (

Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film ''Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Bes ...

) to prevent Guido claiming his inheritance.

Cast

- Guido Falcone *

- Rosie Jones *

- John Cutler *

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

- Duane Hawkins * William Redfield - Leopold Lacy * Chill Wills - Colonel Clayton T. Winkle * Dick Miller - Bernie * R.G. Armstrong - Sheriff T.C. Bishop

Production

The film was the idea of

Dino de Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...

, who wanted to introduce

, at that time one of the biggest movie stars in Europe, to international audiences. He signed director Jonathan Kaplan, just coming off the successful '' White Line Fever''. Kaplan says production was difficult - he wanted to cast

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

but the studio insisted on

. Shooting took place in Italy. Kaplan says the highlight was working with

; despite his drinking problem, Kaplan says he could sober up Gleason by doing old routines from '' The Honeymooners'' and getting laughs from the crew.Jonathan Kaplan on ''Mr. Billion''
at

Trailers From Hell ''Trailers from Hell'' (branded as ''Trailers from Hell!'') is a web series in which filmmakers discuss and promote individual movies through commenting on their trailers. While the series emphasizes horror, science fiction, fantasy, cult, and expl ...

Reception

''Mr. Billion'' was a major financial flop and Kaplan calls it the biggest failure of his career. In a retrospective review, the critic Keith Bailey called it "yet another case of Hollywood bringing a foreign actor in, and getting him to do different material than what made him famous in the first place".http://www.badmovieplanet.com/unknownmovies/reviews/rev253.html

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Billion 1977 films 1970s action comedy films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films 1970s English-language films Films scored by Dave Grusin Films directed by Jonathan Kaplan Films set in San Francisco 1977 comedy films 1970s American films