8. Silver Streak (1976)
The combination of the comic pairing of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor with a North By Northwest/Strangers on a Train style narrative, makes Silver Streak one of the most intriguing Hitchcock rip-offs on this list. Wilder stars as a book editor who witnesses a murder on a long distance train trip - after none of his fellow passengers believe his claim, he begins to investigate the crime himself - digging deeper and deeper into a case of international intrigue and corruption. Silver Streak features all that one may expect from a Hitchcock picture from sophisticated romance, political intrigue and central figure of the wrong man. The rail based setting cements further similarities to classic Hitchcock like Strangers on a Train, The Lady Vanishes, The 39 Steps and North By Northwest amongst others. We even have the presence of a classic villain in the form of Patrick McGoohan's scheming Deveraux, a character in the vein of James Mason's Phillip Vandamm from North By Northwest. However, it is the pairing of Pryor and Wilder (their first on-screen pairing) that keeps Silver Streak fresh and entertaining. A Hitchcockian style comedy was somewhat of a rarity and when fused with Pryor and Wilder's unique comic style - the results are solid.