Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx

I saw this particular movie in a Dublin theatre way back in the early 1970's and I found it to be a very memorable film about a working class lad who couldn't bring himself to follow in his father's footsteps and work in the factory punching a clock. When his livelihood dries up with the retirement of horse drawn wagons, he attempts to go to the factory but ends up making his own way in the end. Ah, yes, there is a love interest as well, which keeps the story interesting. Not many movies stick with me so that's saying something for me. It was the first time I noticed Gene Wilder in a film (though I'm sure I saw him in Bonnie and Clyde) and I thought he was very good - and genuine. His success doesn't surprise me. It's an "off the beaten path" kind of movie in a way - but not in the wild and crazy sense. And I would recommend it if you can find a copy somewhere.

Like another writer said, this was showing as second in a double bill, in 1976 -- but I can't remember the name of the movie my friends and I went to see and stayed for this one, too. Yet I sure remember "Quackser Fortune." I barely knew anything about Gene Wilder at the time, though I had seen Young Frankenstein, and he was entirely believable in the role. It was funny, a little sad, yes, formulaic, but with a pleasantly surprising ending. What I remember best was the interplay between Quackser and his family as he gains a dawning understanding of the world around him, including the charms of a woman. Quackser owns no comb, and must use a toothbrush to primp for his first date. And his manure merchandising around Dublin, calling "Git yer sh --!" was hysterical. I've been to Ireland since, read extensively about the Irish people, and would love to see this one again -- but have yet to see it on HE (How about "aitch-ee" for a new acronym to take in both video and DVD? Quackser would approve -- he was a forward, yet pragmatic, sort of guy.) -- knr

An odd little film. A romantic comedy, I suppose, but the comedy is more whimsy than anything else. Good job on the accent by Gene Wilder. And Margot Kidder was so beautiful then. She and Wilder both turn in good erformances, and the photography of Dublin is fairly interesting. I found the film slow and not terribly interesting. Recommended only to fans of the two principals.

It has been over 30 years since I came across this almost perfect tribute to freedom,love and magic! This movie had a profound impact on my young life. All movie creator's could learn a great deal about how to tell a story at the same time actors are providing dialog...The images that are cast behind the characters and plot clearly create a lot more of a story than is being understood by other contributers? This is Wilders greatest achievement as a work of "art". Tightly wrapped tale on par with apt.0! This flick deserves to be understood as a statement of innocence vs. intelligence, the "happy ending" representing that both are fleeting. More of a movie then is credited for, symbolism is profound. Best seen alone.

Waris Hussein is a talented director but not someone I would pick to helm a quirky, romantic comedy-drama. Hussein's films, such as this one or "The Possession of Joel Delaney", clearly pinpoint the stamp he likes to leave: peculiar plot structures, depressed or otherwise forlorn characters, bleak and muted surroundings. In "Quackser Fortune" (how's that for a title?), Gene Wilder is self-employed in Dublin, scooping up horse droppings from the carriages to use as fertilizer; he eventually meets university student Margot Kidder, who is sort of a displaced hippie. I saw this in 1975 when it played a double-bill with "The Other Side Of The Mountain"; it came on second and proceeded to empty out the theater. I was glad I stayed to watch because it's so very unusual. However, it is such an oddity that even when A&E's Biography did an hour on Margot Kidder's career, it wasn't even mentioned. ** from ****