User reviews

"The World's Greatest Sinner" is a failure, but a glorious failure. Tim Carey had a huge idea. A fantastic idea. But working without a budget and outside the Hollywood mainstream doomed that idea and turned it into one of the most ambitious and frustrating B-movie projects I have ever seen.

The problems with this film are many. The editing and sound are horrendous from start to finish. Abrupt doesn't begin to cover most of the transitions. Unrelated shots pop up in the most unnerving places. The soundtrack is either loud to the point of distortion or so low and garbled as to be nearly unlistenable. Which, in most cases, should kill the movie before it starts. But in this particular case the problems almost work as high art, keeping the viewer in a state of confusion that mirrors the confusion of Clarence.

The acting is spotty. Tim Carey is totally over the top and melodramatic throughout, but oddly compelling. The supporting cast runs the gamut from horribly amateurish to passably good, and in two cases (the old woman follower and Clarence's "publicity man") very good.

The word that is most often used to describe this film is "surreal". And it's appropriate. The jump cuts, odd camera work and overall feel of the film make it a truly unique experience to watch. And the Frank Zappa soundtrack add mightily to the whole otherworldly tone of the film. The soundtrack was performed by The Pomona Valley Symphony Orchestra, who seem to be having quite the struggle to play Zappa's score. The score fits the film very well, overall. Shows that Zappa could have been a great film composer if his interest had lain in that direction.

I see similarities between "Sinner" and Elia Kazan's "A Face In The Crowd". One man's ascension to power while descending into a personal hell. While "Crowd" is, clearly, a massively better film, Carey's idea and vision for "Sinner" could have, with more talent, enough budget, and better character development made a film to equal Kazan's.

Ultimately "The World's Greatest Sinner" is certainly interesting, and well worth a watch but ultimately exists as a frustrating textbook example of the worst case scenario of indie films:A fantastic idea frustrated at every turn by the realities of filmmaking.

Well, I FINALLY saw this last night. So weird. So bizarre. So timely. Yes, completely camp. The acting, old-timey film with it's technical gaps, music. The script still fits in today. Politics and religion in the spotlight. So ahead of it's time. Really keeps ones attention though. Tim Carey was born to play this role.

I watched mostly for the Frank Zappa soundtrack, but was a memorable film experience that I'm glad I had.

I also really miss the days when this website let you write a review that didn't have to be ten lines long. Yes, I've been here that long, but one could also argue long enough to actually do the correct thing here and just write a longer review. I feel ornery. Today.

Recently I had the privilege of viewing a poor quality bootleg videotape of this film. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

For starters, I'm not one to typically enjoy cult classics or films that are in the "so-bad-they-are-good category." My initial attraction to this film was based on one thing - Timothy Carey.

I first learned of Timothy Carey when I purchased a Stanley Kubrick DVD of "The Killing". Carey has a small but important role in this film, and the minute he first appeared on screen I knew there was something special about this guy. There was a magnetic bizarreness to him that simply transcended the role. The character he played didn't have to be creepy, but Carey _was_ creepy. The weird way he looked with his eyes almost always at half mast, the way he spoke with his peculiar voice and heavy New York accent, and his unconventional looks (like a bizarro version of John Turturro) all worked together to really pique my curiosity about him.

Well, onto the Internet I went. I found out more about him. He made a living generally playing seedy characters in supporting roles in all movies he appeared in, except for one. "The World's Greatest Sinner" would be not only his sole staring role, but also the only movie he wrote, produced, and directed. And never released.

Once I got a chance to watch the bootleg, I could see why it never received a proper release in its day.

Carey plays an insurance salesman that is seemingly depressed and bored with his job and life and decides to change. He gets inspired by rock-n-roll, becomes a rock star of sorts, a preacher, a politician, and finally sells himself as God to his cult of followers.

This movie has some pretty dark humor, at least one shocking scene (even by today's standards, never mind 1962), and takes some potshots at organized religion.

Maybe the thing that struck my the most about this movie is it's vitality. It feels fresh, which is so different than how many older movies hold up. This is because this film was and continues to be so far ahead of its time.

If you are a fan of cult movies, I urge you to track this film down. If you are a fan of offbeat actors, ala Dennis Hopper, Crispin Glover, etc., I urge you to track this film down.

It certainly is a sin that this wonderful movie is not available through normal channels.

You may not remember his name, but actor Timothy Carey has one of those lugubrious faces that once seen, you're not likely ever to forget. No actor in Hollywood had a visage like Timothy Carey. His career as an actor spanned nearly half a century. His first acting part was in 1951 his last role was in 1990. In all, he appeared in a mixture of shorts, feature films and television shows: 87 titles in all. In the late fifties, Timothy Carey decided to make his own film. He would write the screenplay, play the lead character and direct it himself. That film was "The World's Greatest Sinner" In it, Carey plays a disgruntled insurance salesman named Clarence Hilliard, who quits his job to go into politics. First he forms a rock band, which in turn becomes a religious cult; where everybody has to address him as God Hilliard. Eventually he manages to form a new Political Party. Considering "The World's Greatest Sinner" was made in 1962, it was quite daring for its time, especially when it came to the scenes of older women being seduced by the Clarence Hilliard character to get them to hand over their savings. (Six years later, Mel Brooks treads a similar path in his film "The Producers" by having one of his characters romance older women for cash).

"The World's Greatest Sinner" reminded me of another, similar film, Elia Kazan's "A Face In The Crowd." which came out in 1957. The Kazan film is about an itinerant drifter named Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, who is plucked from an Arkansas jail, and ultimately rises to great fame and influence on national television. He soon discovers that fame has a price, and eventually his world come crashing around his ears. If Timothy Carey didn't go and see this film, he would have most certainly known about it. After all, both films explore the same theme, namely megalomania. "A Face In The Crowd" was distributed a major Hollywood studio. On the other hand, Timothy Carey distributed "The World's Greatest Sinner". He also funded the film entirely out of his own pocket, so it's no wonder the film took three years to finish. And, as the film never had an official release it quickly disappeared from sight. That said I found "The World's Greatest Sinner" extremely tiresome. The main problem being that Timothy Carey the director was at a loss on how to control Timothy Carey the actor who has a penchant for over acting. So we are subjected to Carey bellowing out his lines in scene after scene, or throwing back his head and laughing maniacally: "The World's Greatest Sinner" runs for just eighty-two minutes. The camera work is appalling, many of the shots are too dark, or poorly lit the film so it seems to run for twice that length. Additionally, the editing is so erratic it is hard to follow the plot. It's just a shame that a director of the calibre of, say, an Elia Kazan wasn't given the opportunity to direct "The World's Greatest Sinner" and turn what to me is at best a curiosity, into a film of some substance.

This movie came and went without little comment or fanfare - and for good reason. I helped Frank Zappa assemble the orchestra for "The World's Greatest Sinner" -- good musicians drawn from L.A. Studios, local colleges, the L.A. Philharmonic, etc. All were given a $50 I.O.U. against the eventual proceeds of the movie for each day of work, and none was ever paid. Timothy Carey treated Frank very badly, often ignoring him, forcing him to edit in a filthy garage, and so on. Carey had no idea what a talent he was working with. Carey attempted to entice audiences with over-the-top descriptions of the movie (including a campaign in Variety), and that effort failed. I was blown away when John Cassevetes, whose work I respected, made glowing comments about this amateurish film. Didn't understand his response then, and still don't. A few of us in the orchestra pulled together for this movie had worked with Frank on other projects, but many had not. For them, it was an experience they've never forgotten (I was often chided by people who still had their IOUs from Frank, but have been able to remind them that the piece of paper signed by him is probably worth far more than the face value of the IOUs.)

So much has been written about The World's Greatest Sinner that it is hard to separate it from its own mythical standing.

Timothy Carey portrays Clarence Hilliard, an insurance salesman who abruptly quits his job in a spectacular fashion. Sitting at home, contemplating his life, he wanders the town and comes across a Mexican rock and roll band. Intrigued by the spectacle and its effect on the gathered audience, he begins formulating his future. With help from his gardener, he puts on a fake goatee and carries a guitar with him as he stands on street corners, preaching his message of "every man is his own god" and soon finds himself with an ever-growing audience eager to hear more. He changes his name to "GOD" and begins his ascent into the world of politics.

TWGS was made at a time when independent films made without the financing of a studio simply didn't exist. There were no kickstarter campaigns, film schools, underground distribution networks, etc. The film pre-dated the exploitation boom of the mid to late sixties and existed in a universe where so-called underground films were still called "art" films and screened alongside nudie pictures and European imports. Carey wrote the screenplay in 1956 and spent the next 5 years gathering funds and shooting haphazardly whenever he could afford to. Many of the people involved with the movie never received payment for their involvement (most notably a then-unknown Frank Zappa, who wrote and performed the title song and score, and later badmouthed the film on The Steve Allen show in 1963, calling it "the world's worst movie.") Tim Carey originally wanted another director along the lines of John Cassavetes or Stanley Kubrick to direct the movie, but realizing that he could not afford to hire anyone, took to directing it himself. He also cut and edited the movie and handled all of the post-production work. He was never satisfied with the movie and continued editing it up until his death in 1994.

Carey never found a proper distributor for the movie and it was only screened a handful of times in 1963. A later cut of the film is the one that most people have seen, having floated around as a bootleg on VHS and later shown on TMC in 2008. This version had a color title sequence and the hand-colored ending sequence that Carey felt was integral to the film. His son, Romeo Carey owns the rights to the film and has stated that he will one day release the original director cut of the movie, but it still remains unviewed since its original screening.

Critics panned the movie unanimously, which is probably what made it impossible to find a distributor. It was called "vile", "anarchic", anti-religious, amateurish and just plain "stupid." John Cassavetes loved the movie however, calling it one of his favorites.

Nowadays, many agree with Cassavetes, who stated that the movie was just too ahead of its time to be understood by audiences of the early 60's. He may have been right, but as Romeo Carey pointed out, the movie was not ahead of its time, it was in fact a time capsule that captured a unique look at an America that was stuck between the rise of Elvis and the birth of Beatlemania. The country was getting over the Korean War and had yet to experience the polarization of Vietnam. Beatniks were about to become hippies and the "I Like Ike" republican era was giving way to Kennedy's comparatively liberal generation. If anything, TWGS is a documentary of an America in flux.

Critics of the time also scoffed at the notion that a rock and roll-styled punk would ever garner a religious following or ascend into the political machine with such ease. It wasn't long before people like Charles Manson and Jim Jones were recognized as the type of "rock star guru" that could influence, and even brainwash, their followers. The slogan "man is his own god" would become pervasive in a few short years, and groups like the Church of Satan and The Nation of Islam would loudly proclaim that same message. The irony was not lost on Carey himself, who insisted that the film was just as relevant in 1993 as it was in 1963.

For all of its faults, including poor editing, shoddy audio and subpar performances from some of the supporting cast, it still feels like a sort of autobiographical documentary- not quite out of step with A Hard Day's Night or D.A. Pennebaker's Don't Look Back. And it goes without saying that Carey's performance in the title role is untouchable. Nobody but him could have pulled it off. It's like watching a train wreck slowly unfold; you're pretty sure how it's all going to end but you can't stop watching while it happens.

I'm not usually so pompous when describing movies, but TWGS is a movie that opened my eyes to something I can't quite put my finger on.

Conceived of, written by, directed by, and starred in by Timothy Carey, "The World's Greatest Sinner" is a brave but overreaching effort by one man with a creative voice and little money.

Carey gives us a sketchy, raw film about a confused man with a Messianic complex who, because he is bored with life, subverts the conventions of society to feed his unsatisfied ego. The film is too (physically) dark and it is roughly edited and unfinished, but there is an outline of a story that asserts that cults of personality are a common thread through religion, rock and roll, and politics.

Though he declares himself otherwise, Carey is not an atheist. The film is steeped in Catholic iconography and dogma. And his tortured relationship with God is central to the story. He is a believer who seeks explanations for the contradictions in Christianity.

The film features music by Frank Zappa which sometimes contributes to the chaotic essence of the main character.

Though Carey can be a compelling presence on the screen and the greatest attribute of the film, the story is, in the end, predictable and never really gets beyond the immature musings of its primary character, who sets up a philosophical straw man and torches him, as expected, in the end.

For another film that features complete dedication by an off-beat auteur, check out "Carnival of Souls". It's a better film.

Recommended to me by a complete and utter "World's Greatest Sinner" fanboy, I decided I should check it out. He said something like, "If you're a fan of insane acting performances you will not be let down." Hell, I love insane acting performances! Probably more than the next guy. F that, way more than the next guy! So, the WGS Fanboy, or he may be a Timothy Carey fanboy....anyways, WGS/Tim Carey fanboy called me out pretty much. So, the next chance I had, I popped on The World's Greatest Sinner. And I'll tell you what, it was most definitely an insane acting performance. One so great, that it made the movie. It is the movie.

The film is simply about a tired Insurance Salesman who just doesn't want to do what he does anymore. He wants to be a somebody. And does he ever. He strives for power, and before he knows it, he has it. Watching Carey's character evolve from an everyday joe shmoe to uber-personality is basically the premise here.

The film itself is a smart flick. Some other comment said it was ahead of it's time, but it's not really that, but it's more of a timeless film. People don't change in the way Carey's character did in just one period. Carey's strive for power and attention is a trait humans have had and probably will have until we expire as a species.

I had no clue who Timothy Carey was prior to watching TWS. I heard he was a regular as a supporting character in a few Kubrick films. So, heading into this film, I didn't know what the dude even looked like. And boy oye oye, after seeing this film, I'll never forget. Timothy Carey is a tall, foreboding and masculine figure that delivers a style of acting which is just 100% unique. His tedious and realistic approach at acting is kinda bizarre to watch. But like I just said, it's unique. At times, with those sullen looking eyes and his relaxed way of talking, I almost thought he played his character drunk the entire film. But, when he has a scene where he needs to show emotion and energy, he's all over it. Simply put, if Carey didn't cast himself as the lead in his film (wrote, directed, acted etc.) this movie would have been in no way on Earth as entertaining.

The World's Greatest Sinner is only a fantastic movie, because at that time, The World's Greatest Under-appreciated Actor was in it. It's a film that's different, realistic and true to the bone. Definitely a flick I'll be recommending to my more accomplished movie-going friends.

I'm here as a Zappa fan. I've been aware of this film for decades. I own the Zappa cuts. This movie was unwatchable. I gave it 1 star because it seemed like a decent restoration.

One hears a lot about "independent cinema" these days, films made outside the mainstream studio system that reflect the individual voices of their creators. Film festivals are devoted entirely to "independent films", such as "The Sundance Film Festival". There is even an "Independent Film Channel" on cable television. Well, "The World's Greatest Sinner" really IS an "Independent Film". Timothy Carey wrote, produced, directed and starred in "The World's Greatest Sinner". Filmed on location with whatever actors and equipment he could get, int took three years to complete because he had no budget and made the movie whenever time permitted between professional acting jobs. In fact, the story of the making of "The World's Greatest Sinner" would make a pretty compelling subject for a movie in itself, much as was done some years ago to "Plan 9 From Outer Space".

This movie is about unrestrained ego. The main character is an insurance salesman who wants to become something more. By turns he transforms himself into a rock & roll star, an evangelist and a presidential candidate. During that process his ego enlarges exponentially until it becomes clear that his ultimate goal is nothing less than to become God. Oh, and as if all that were not bizarre enough, the sound track was written and performed by Frank Zappa, early in his career, years before he became famous as the leader of "The Mothers of Invention".

Nobody is ever going to say that this movie has the best production values. Apart from everything else, the three-year production time inevitably created some continuity issues. Nevertheless, this is a film that has something to say which no other would dare to say, and says it emphatically. Furthermore, despite the fact that matters frequently go over-the-top, the story is frighteningly plausible and believable. Yes, one cannot escape the conviction that the events depicted really could happen.

Although "The World's Greatest Sinner" is never going to be everyone's cup of tea, or indeed was ever intended to be, it definitely deserves a place on the list of movies everyone should see at least once before they die.

Others above have stated eloquently most of what makes The World's Greatest Sinner so great. So what if the tone is uneven? Yes, the editing unintentionally echoes French new wave because of sloppiness; yes, there is that kind of great bad acting that would characterize John Waters' early efforts. Talk about rioting in the obvious. Those who criticize this film for the above reasons are simply screaming attention to their myopic view of movies.

What is hard to not appreciate are several unforgettable scenes: the ecstatic dance at the rock show after he changes his name to GOD; the seduction of the elderly woman while GOD runs for the Presidency and the ensuing reclining on the couch as he whispers "You remind me of my mother" (or something akin to that); the insurance agent discouraging potential customers from buying burial insurance. "Don't worry, when your corpse starts to stink, someone will bury you." And those highlights are just off the top of my head and I haven't viewed the movie for 6 or 7 years. I'd just like to urge Zappa's old, old buddy who wrote the critical note above,that, if he's still all torn up about some minor disrespect that occurred in 1961 (!!!!!), well.... it might be time to get over it, buckaroo.

If only because Tim Carey made this film nearly single-handedly on and off over three years, it would merit study. But The World's Greatest Sinner has so much more than that to recommend it! How can you fault a film about an insurance salesman who quits his job to become a rock star, changes his first name to "God", and run for President?

Regarded by some as a masterstroke of underground cinema, and for good reason...TWGS is a gritty and highly recalcitrant walk on the wild side, gently flouting just about every vested American institution of respectability and reverence...that may not sound like a such a big deal in present times(when even TV cartoons have an insolent streak), but the America of 1962 was a very different world.

Timothy Carey, a legendary and enigmatic Hollywood outsider, performs vibrantly in this nihilistic vanity project. He portrays a disenchanted American family man whose eccentric ideologies galvanize a small following, leading to his gradual ascention as a gold-digging lothario, frenetic rockabilly performer, and, lastly, dissentious political hegemon. The fall is always faster than the climb, however...delusional grandiosity takes hold, and he soon finds himself abandoned and detached in a sad ivory tower of deified ipseity.

It's a conceptually alluring exercise in ideoplastic rabble-rousing, without question...frustratingly, however, the overt bearings of an impossibly vagabond production peg this project as an edgy, inordinate, and admittedly very ambitious home movie. Accepted on these terms, it's a chimerical wonderwork, and some will find its dodgy appeal enhanced by the unvarnished minimalism of a breadline budget.

Mainstream viewers are unlikely to surrender gently to this earnestly hand-hammered anomaly, though it's certainly worthy of investigation(as is evident by its sizable legion of fans...a number of whom, I suspect, might not like the film quite as much as they like the *IDEA* of liking it).

5.5/10

Every frame of this film is just simply brilliant and especially relevant today under the crazy obama nation.

Disaffected worker gets taken in by the devil and decides he will become a politician promising a super human race where everyone is equal and lives forever, becoming God in the process.

It's such a poignant pre-cursor to the mindless masses who worshiped the current president into power. Just brilliant. Complete with the rioting nut cases.

It's sad that this movie is so forgotten. It's an absolute indie classic. One of the best scenes I've seen all year.

Yes, it's choppy, and rough around the edges, but it was made over time for no money and still delivers a punch with its message.

This film is a one man driven tour de force classic. A must see.

Spread the word.

This film is famous among Frank Zappa fans for being his first published creative effort. Apparently he had no doubts about his talent even at the age of 22, as he began writing the score using 52 musicians. Frank himself later described the film as 'rancid'. The title song appeared under the name of Baby Ray and The Ferns.