''Mr. Billion'' is a 1977

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

action-adventure film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

directed by

Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan Kaplan (born November 25, 1947) is an American film producer and film director, director. His film ''The Accused (1988 film), The Accused'' (1988) earned actress Jodie Foster the Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best Actress ...

. It is the Hollywood debut of

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

, and the last film of actor William Redfield, who died before its release. In the film, a

mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

becomes the sole

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

of his recently deceased uncle. But he has to sign a document within a

deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

in order to receive his inheritance. His uncle's assistant and a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...

conspire to prevent him from claiming his inheritance.

Plot

Anthony Falcon, a multibillionaire, passes away in a strange accident and gives Guido Falcone, a laid-back Italian mechanic, the entirety of his estate. 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 Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

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

Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is a retired 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 Awar ...

) 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 took up acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV sho ...

- Duane Hawkins * William Redfield - Leopold Lacy *

Chill Wills Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet. Early life Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902. Career Wills was a performer from early c ...

- Colonel Clayton T. Winkle *

Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...

- Bernie * R.G. Armstrong - Sheriff T.C. Bishop * Neil Summers - Deputy Hank

Production

The film was the idea of

Dino de Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian film producer and businessman who held both Italian and American citizenship. Following a brief acting career in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he moved into f ...

, who wanted to introduce Italian actor

, at that time one of the biggest movie stars in Europe, to American audiences. De Laurentiis signed

as director, just coming off the successful '' White Line Fever''. Kaplan later stated the 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. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...

but Fox insisted on

. Shooting took place on location in Italy. Although

had a drinking problem, Kaplan said the highlight of the film was working with the comedian. The director was able to sober Gleason up by performing old routines from ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It f ...

'' 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 exp ...

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".

References

External links

* * {{Jonathan Kaplan 1977 films 1977 action comedy films 1970s action adventure films 20th Century Fox films American action comedy films 1970s English-language films Films scored by Dave Grusin Films directed by Jonathan Kaplan Films set in San Francisco Films shot in Italy 1970s American films Films about inheritances English-language action adventure films English-language action comedy films