The World's Greatest Sinner is a 1962 film written, directed, and produced by, and starring noted character actor Timothy Carey.
The self-financed film tells the story of a frustrated insurance salesman, Clarence Hilliard (played by Carey), who quits his job because he finds it meaningless. After witnessing an ecstatic crowd at a rock concert, Hilliard forms a band. Finding that he can whip crowds into a frenzy with his wildly unhinged rockabilly performances, Hilliard proceeds to churn his fan base into a political party, and eventually into a religious cult based on Hilliard's assertion that every man is a god. Clarence finances the cult by seducing elderly widows out of their life savings (the film features sequences of Timothy Carey making love to elderly women, as well as a 14-year-old girl). The more powerful Clarence becomes, the more egomaniacal and detached from reality he grows, eventually insisting upon being called God with a capital "G" (literally-- "God Hilliard"). His followers worship him. Soon he personally challenges the God of the Bible to prove that Clarence himself is not the true Almighty. God obliges him.
FZ, Discoscene, May, 1968
In motion picture language, it's called a "deferment." You defer payment until the sale of the picture, and you agree on a price for the score. The price was dirt cheap. It was a $2,500 score; which is really peanuts for a film score when you think of these guys getting anywhere from $15,000 up. I figured the $2,500 would be good. If I made it, I made it. If I didn't, I would still get to hear my music. But in that particular instance, I didn't get a tape of the music. I'm still trying to get a tape of the score from that film. It's called The World's Greatest Sinner.
Cast
Gil Bareto—Alonzo
Timothy A Carey—Clarence "God" Hilliard
Grace De Carolis—Mother
Victor Floming—Office boss
Paul Frees—Voice of Satan
Gail Griffen—Betty Hilliard
Whitey Jent—Guitar player
Ann Josephs—Secretary
Gene Pollock—Priest
Betty Rowland—Edna Hilliard
Carolina Samario—Nate
Jenny Sanches—Old lady in church
Produced by:
Timothy Carey
George E. Carey (assistant)
Anthony M. Lanza (assistant)
George E. Nahas (assistant)
Production: Frenzy Films World Sales Absolute Films,
Cinematography by:
Frank Grande
Ove H. Sehested
Robert Shelfow
Ray Dennis Steckler
Film Editing: Carl Mahakian
Assistant Director: Gene Koziol
Filming Locations:
El Monte, California, USA
Long Beach, California, USA
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Music by Zappa
The World's Greatest Sinner never had an official release, though it aired on the Turner Classic Movies cable network. Director Martin Scorsese is one of the film's supporters, having named it as one of his favorite Rock and Roll films. Musician Will Oldham has also championed the film, and selected it when invited to present a favorite film at the 2001 Maryland Film Festival.
The self-financed film tells the story of a frustrated insurance salesman, Clarence Hilliard (played by Carey), who quits his job because he finds it meaningless. After witnessing an ecstatic crowd at a rock concert, Hilliard forms a band. Finding that he can whip crowds into a frenzy with his wildly unhinged rockabilly performances, Hilliard proceeds to churn his fan base into a political party, and eventually into a religious cult based on Hilliard's assertion that every man is a god. Clarence finances the cult by seducing elderly widows out of their life savings (the film features sequences of Timothy Carey making love to elderly women, as well as a 14-year-old girl). The more powerful Clarence becomes, the more egomaniacal and detached from reality he grows, eventually insisting upon being called God with a capital "G" (literally-- "God Hilliard"). His followers worship him. Soon he personally challenges the God of the Bible to prove that Clarence himself is not the true Almighty. God obliges him.
FZ, Discoscene, May, 1968
In motion picture language, it's called a "deferment." You defer payment until the sale of the picture, and you agree on a price for the score. The price was dirt cheap. It was a $2,500 score; which is really peanuts for a film score when you think of these guys getting anywhere from $15,000 up. I figured the $2,500 would be good. If I made it, I made it. If I didn't, I would still get to hear my music. But in that particular instance, I didn't get a tape of the music. I'm still trying to get a tape of the score from that film. It's called The World's Greatest Sinner.
Cast
Gil Bareto—Alonzo
Timothy A Carey—Clarence "God" Hilliard
Grace De Carolis—Mother
Victor Floming—Office boss
Paul Frees—Voice of Satan
Gail Griffen—Betty Hilliard
Whitey Jent—Guitar player
Ann Josephs—Secretary
Gene Pollock—Priest
Betty Rowland—Edna Hilliard
Carolina Samario—Nate
Jenny Sanches—Old lady in church
Produced by:
Timothy Carey
George E. Carey (assistant)
Anthony M. Lanza (assistant)
George E. Nahas (assistant)
Production: Frenzy Films World Sales Absolute Films,
Cinematography by:
Frank Grande
Ove H. Sehested
Robert Shelfow
Ray Dennis Steckler
Film Editing: Carl Mahakian
Assistant Director: Gene Koziol
Filming Locations:
El Monte, California, USA
Long Beach, California, USA
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Music by Zappa
The World's Greatest Sinner never had an official release, though it aired on the Turner Classic Movies cable network. Director Martin Scorsese is one of the film's supporters, having named it as one of his favorite Rock and Roll films. Musician Will Oldham has also championed the film, and selected it when invited to present a favorite film at the 2001 Maryland Film Festival.
The World's Greatest Sinner-Soundtrack
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frank zappa newspaper
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Reviewed by
frank zappa newspaper
on
07:04
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