‘The Frisco Kid’: A (gefilte) fish out of water in the Wild West

Deputy Editor Amanda Borschel-Dan is the host of The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, What Matters Now and The Reel Schmooze podcasts, and heads up The Times of Israel’s features.

Jordan Hoffman, a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, is The Times of Israel’s long-time film reviewer and the co-host of The Reel Schmooze.

Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use.

We have two Jangles this week from our movie maven. In the first, we learn about just how Jewish the classic rock band Rush is, and how it was played up at its Madison Square Garden concerts this week.

In the second, we learn about Spider-Man’s Jewish roots — and the Member of the Tribe who is third billing in the new blockbuster.

The main feature this week is 1979’s “The Frisco Kid,” an extremely Jewish take on the Wild West starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. We learn how both actors are Jewish according to Jewish law, but only Wilder claimed Judaism as part of his identity.

For legions of American Jews, “The Frisco Kid” held pride of place in their VHS libraries. From all-Yiddish scenes to a deadly fight for a Torah scroll, the film was an outlier in mainstream Hollywood. So how did it get made at all?

Hoffman fills us in on some of the backstory surrounding the making of the movie, as well as who was originally meant to play the goyische cowboy instead of Ford.

Let’s hear who gave this film an “oy,” “meh” or the prized “not bad” this week on The Reel Schmooze.

The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.

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