About a decade ago I worked as a customer service rep for a major cable company. One night, I received a phone call from California from a guy wanting to check his cable boxes. I noticed the account is listed as belonging to Gene Wilder. The person on the phone with me didn’t sound like Willy Wonka. But I asked, “Is that The Gene Wilder?” He told me that Gene Wilder was moving into the residence soon which is why he wanted to make sure the cable TV is working fine in each room. We reset the boxes because I wanted Gene Wilder to have one less worry moving into his new place. After this, I found myself constantly hoping that Gene Wilder will call me in the middle of the night since my shift lasted until 3 a.m. My biggest fear was that Gene Wilder would call and cuss me out for his Hallmark Movie Channel going out. I imagined him losing it like he did on Charlie in his half office at the end of the movie. But even getting cussed out by Gene Wilder would be a golden moment. That call never came. During my final week on the phone, Wilder passed away. Those remaining days were rather depressing knowing that the next call on my headphones wasn’t going to be Gene Wilder. It was just going to be a normal person cussing me out because their Hallmark Movie Channel was out. But as I left the office for the last time, I felt a sense of relief that I wasn’t going to miss Gene Wilder ringing in as the door shut behind me.
I share this story with you because one of Gene Wilder’s more obscure films is out on Blu-ray. I had no idea that Gene Wilder had made Quackser Fortune …Has A Cousin In The Bronx. He made the Irish movie between The Producers and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. I have no memory of this getting much action on TV on UHF station. Why wouldn’t it run on a Saturday afternoon at the heigh of Gene Wilder’s fame? Because of the subject matter: horse manure.
Quackser Fortune (Gene Wilder) is a bit of a slacker as he lives with his parents in Dublin, Ireland. He’s not lazy because he does work for a living. The problem is his job involves pushing cart around the streets and picking up the horse manure dropped off by the delivery wagons. He sells the manure for people to properly fertilize their garden. He hasn’t a care in the world. This isn’t a good thing since he completely ignores the reports that the city is wanting to ban horses on the city streets. One sunny afternoon he encounters an American exchange student Zazel Pierce (Black Christmas & Superman‘s Margot Kidder) while she’s riding a horse through the park. She is way out of his league, but the two seem to click. They roam the streets of Dublin with his pushcart of manure. She knows more about Dublin than him. There’s a bit of comedy as the tourist points out places of interest to the clueless local. But can this relationship really work out? Are her college friends going to want to see her with a man who chases horse poop for a living? And how is Quackser going to react when it finally hits him that the horses are being taken off the streets?
There probably be a warning on Quackser Fortune since after spending the day spreading horse manure with his bare hands, he eats a sandwich for lunch. This might be too much for viewers that wash their hands before eating.
The movie looks great because the director of photography is Gilbert Taylor. While his name might not mean anything to you, you’ve seen his work over the decades. He was the director of photography on Dr. Strangelove, A Hard Day’s Night, Repulsion, Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy, The Omen, Flash Gordon, Venom and Star Wars. Taylor captured a kitchen sink drama feel to the story without making things look too decrepit.
Quackser Fortune is a charming romantic comedy about the end of an era (at least for Quacker). Gene Wilder pulls off the Irish character which is why we can believe that Margot Kidder would be fascinated by him. If Gene Wilder had called me to get his cable box rebooted, I would hope he’d tell me that I really need to see Quackser Fortune …Has A Cousin In The Bronx.
The Video is 1.66:1 anamorphic. You’ll see black bars on the side of the screen. You’ll see a lot of horse poop. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. You’ll hear Gene Wilder sticking to his Irish accent. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Robert Kelly is the host of the Fade Out podcast. He gives the background on all the actors and notable crew. He points out that producer Sidney Glazer also produced The Producers and how Gene Wilder had the first script first. He reads the part in Wilder’s autobiography about putting the film together and meeting Jean Renoir.
Trailer (2:11) takes us to Dublin to meet Quackser. They don’t hide the horse manure plot. I’m amazed they didn’t hire Scatman Crothers to narrate the trailer.
VCI Entertainment presents Quackser Fortune …Has A Cousin In The Bronx. Directed by Waris Hussein. Written by Gabriel Walsh. Starring Gene Wilder, Margot Kidder, Eileen Colgan, Seamus Forde, May Ollis, Liz Davis, Caroline Tully & David Kelly. Running Time: 87 minutes. Rating: Rated PG. Release Date: March 11, 2025.
