Film Comment

 USA

Founded in 1962, Film Comment is the official publication of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The discussion-provoking bimonthly features reviews of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde cinema from around the world, as well as in-depth interviews, authoritative profiles, and analyses of films, both old and new. (JSTOR)

2004 January / February

Vol. 40 No. 1

Knocking On Heaven's Door
Rediscovering Timothy Carey's The World's Greatest Sinner

By Alan Licht, p 58


[...] The World's Greatest Sinner's title song is a raucous R&B tune – an early work by Frank Zappa. In one of his first professional music jobs, Zappa scored the film with a junior college orchestra, and the juxtaposition of R&B and avant-classical themes prefigures his output with the Mothers of Invention by several years. Despite copping Hilliard's goatee for his own trademark look, Zappa disparaged TWGS when he appeared on The Steve Allen Show, calling it "the world's worst film." Nevertheless, Daily Variety hailed it as a masterpiece, and John Cassavetes said it had "the brilliance of Einstein." When Carey acted alongside Elvis Presley in Change of Habit, Elvis told him he'd always wanted to see TWGS and asked if he had a 16mm print. Alas, Carey had it only in 35mm.