Director: Timothy Carey

Cast: Timothy Carey, Gil Barreto, Betty Rowland

Country: U.S.
Year: 1962
Running Time: 82 Min.
Format: 35mm Black & White

Director/writer/actor Timothy Carey stars as insurance salesman, Clarence Hilliard, who one day decides that every person is a "superhuman being". So he renames himself "God", establishes his own religion, political party and garage rock band, and begins a campaign to turn the world around. See Carey preaching/screaming at dazed housewives in the suburban streets of Southern California. See him seduce a 70-year-old woman in exchange for her life savings. Watch as he thrills his teenage fans onstage, defiles communion wafers in a lonely bedroom, and lights the fuse to general chaos.

The World's Greatest Sinner is Timothy Carey's self-made, low-budget masterpiece. Never released and (until recently) only screened by Timothy Carey on rare occasions, it has the reputation of being one of the most notorious underground films ever made. A note of interest regarding the film's musical score: Carey gave a "first big break" to a then-unknown musician named Frank Zappa.

-- Skizz Cyzyk

Presented By: Will Oldham and Romeo Carey

Timothy Carey's roles in films like East of Eden, The Wild One, Paths of Glory, The Killing, and many more, earned him the reputation of a great character actor. His notorious off-screen reputation made him as interesting as the characters he portrayed - those legendary stories are the stuff bio-pics are made of. He passed away in 1994.

Romeo Carey is the son of Timothy Carey. Romeo's company, Absolute Films, is an Emmy Award winning production company with clients that include 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and the Discovery Channel. He is the producer/director of the feature-length film, Juan-A-Be, and is responsible for bringing the work of his father to new audiences.

Gifted singer/songwriter, Will Oldham, has spent many years stirring up interest in the underground indie-rock community, through his work with The Palace Brothers / Palace / Palace Music, as a solo musician, and as Bonnie "Prince" Billy. His song "I See A Darkness" is covered on Johnny Cash's American III: Solitary Man album, with Will singing background vocals. As an actor, Will has appeared in the films Matewan, Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure, Thousand Pieces of Gold, Radiation, and Julien Donkey-Boy.