If you're scrolling through 1980s filmographies looking for a hidden masterpiece, Hanky Panky Gene Wilder might pop up and make you tilt your head. Is it a masterpiece? Honestly, no. Not even close. But it is probably one of the most important movies ever made if you care about comedy history or the lives of the people who made us laugh.
It’s weird.
The movie itself is this frantic, slightly messy "comedy-thriller" directed by the legendary Sidney Poitier. Yeah, that Sidney Poitier. It arrived in 1982 with a lot of hype because it was supposed to be the next big thing after Stir Crazy. But instead of Richard Pryor, we got Gilda Radner.
Why the movie feels so frantic
You’ve seen North by Northwest, right? The "innocent man on the run" trope? That is exactly what’s happening here. Gene Wilder plays Michael Jordon—an architect, not the basketball player—who ends up in the back of a taxi with a woman who shouldn't be there. She hands him a package. She gets murdered. Suddenly, Gene is screaming.
And he screams a lot.
Critics at the time, like Vincent Canby, basically said the movie was exhausting. Wilder’s energy is dialed up to an eleven for the entire 107-minute runtime. He’s running through New York, he’s running through the Grand Canyon, and he’s constantly looking like his hair is about to vibrate off his head.
The Pryor-shaped hole in the script
Here is the bit most people forget: this wasn't written for Gilda. It was supposed to be the third team-up between Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. After the massive success of Silver Streak and Stir Crazy, the studio wanted to print money.
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But Pryor backed out.
When he left, the writers had to scramble. They took a script meant for two buddies and turned it into a romantic caper. You can actually feel those "buddy movie" bones underneath the romance. It’s clunky. Sometimes the jokes land; sometimes they just sort of thud onto the floor while Gene and Gilda try to save the scene with pure charisma.
The day Gilda Radner walked on set
August 13, 1981. That’s the date.
Gene Wilder was already a massive star, but he was also a bit of a lonely soul at the time. Gilda Radner was the heart of Saturday Night Live, but she was trapped in a marriage to guitarist G.E. Smith that was essentially over.
When they met on the set of Hanky Panky Gene Wilder, the movie stopped mattering.
Gene famously said he thought she was "funny and lovely," but also a "lightweight" at first. Then he saw her work. He realized she was a powerhouse. Gilda, on the other hand, fell for him instantly. She later wrote in her memoir, It’s Always Something, that she felt like she had been "waiting for him" her whole life.
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They became inseparable. While Poitier was trying to figure out how to film a scene with a belching helicopter pilot (a real scene, by the way), Gene and Gilda were falling in love behind the monitors.
What really happened at the box office?
It flopped.
Well, "flopped" might be a bit harsh, but it didn't do great. It cost about $14 million to make—which was a decent chunk of change in '82—and only pulled in around $9.8 million domestically. People wanted the high-octane chemistry of the Wilder/Pryor duo, and what they got was a tonal mess that couldn't decide if it wanted to be a Hitchcockian thriller or a slapstick comedy.
There’s a scene where they hide in a theater and steal a magician’s tuxedo. Gene pulls out a dollar bill and a bouquet of flowers pops out. It’s silly. It’s classic Wilder. But then five minutes later, people are shooting real guns and there’s genuine peril. It’s jarring.
The "Belching" incident and other weirdness
If you watch it today, the most memorable part isn't the plot. It’s the sheer randomness.
- There is a scene in a small helicopter where the pilot just starts belching.
- He doesn't stop.
- He belches for minutes.
- Gene and Gilda are clearly breaking character, laughing for real because it's so absurd.
Sidney Poitier kept it in. Why? Maybe because the rest of the movie felt so rigid that he needed those flashes of actual human joy.
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Why you should actually watch it
Don't watch it for the "thrills." Watch it for the "sparks."
When you see Michael and Kate (Gilda’s character) together, you aren't watching two actors. You’re watching the beginning of a legendary Hollywood romance. This movie led to The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon. It led to a marriage that lasted until Gilda’s tragic death from ovarian cancer in 1989.
Without this "limp" comedy, we wouldn't have Gilda's Club. We wouldn't have the cancer advocacy work Gene spent the rest of his life doing.
What to do if you want to find it
Finding Hanky Panky Gene Wilder isn't as easy as finding Willy Wonka. It’s not always on the major streaming services.
- Check the "Bargain Bin" on VOD: You can usually rent it for a few bucks on Amazon or Apple.
- Look for the DVD sets: It’s often packaged in those "4-Movie Comedy Collections" alongside better movies.
- Watch for the chemistry: Ignore the plot. Seriously. Just watch how Gene looks at her. That's the real movie.
The film is a time capsule. It’s a messy, loud, 110-minute scream-fest that accidentally captured the birth of a beautiful relationship. It’s not the best thing Gene ever did, but for him, it was the most important thing he ever did.
If you’re a fan of the "Pure Imagination" man, you owe it to yourself to see the moment he met his match. Just maybe keep the volume down during the screaming parts.
Check your local library or digital storefront for a copy of Hanky Panky. It’s worth the rental fee just to see the Grand Canyon sequence, even if the rest of the movie is a bit of a headache. Once you've seen it, compare it to See No Evil, Hear No Evil—you'll see exactly what was missing in 1982: the right partner for the script, even if Gene had already found the right partner for his life.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to understand the full Gene Wilder story, your next move should be reading his autobiography, Kiss Me Like a Stranger. He goes into deep, heartbreaking detail about the filming of this movie and how Gilda changed his world. You can also look up the documentary Remembering Gene Wilder which features some great behind-the-scenes context of this era.