After spending decades living in the shadow of his more famous and successful sibling, Consulting Detective Sigerson Holmes is called upon to help solve a crucial case that leads him on a hilarious trail of false identities, stolen documents, secret codes... and exposed backsides.
Acting
Madeline Kahn's operatic commitment to ridiculous disguises.
Direction
Wilder's first time directing—ambitious, messy, utterly him.
Costume
Victorian garb meets vaudeville excess.
Director
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder
Sigerson Holmes
Madeline Kahn
Jenny Hill
Marty Feldman
Sgt. Orville Stanley Sacker
Dom DeLuise
Eduardo Gambetti
Leo McKern
Moriarty
Roy Kinnear
Moriarty's Assistant
John Le Mesurier
Lord Redcliff
Douglas Wilmer
Sherlock Holmes
Albert Finney
Man in Audience at Opera
Thorley Walters
Dr. Watson
Nicholas Smith
Hunkston
John Hollis
Moriarty's Gunman
Aubrey Morris
Coach Driver
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wilder wrote this during Young Frankenstein downtime, stealing Mel Brooks' entire cast. The 'Smarter Brother' title was a studio-mandated compromise; Wilder wanted simply 'Sigerson Holmes'.
This bombed in 1975 because audiences wanted Blazing Saddles energy, not gentle parody. It's since become a cult curio for Wilder completists who defend its deliberate awkwardness.
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