Rent The Fortune Cookie (1966)
3.6 of 5 from 92 ratings
2h 1min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon) is one lucky guy! When he's accidentally clobbered by a 220-pound halfback, all Harry suffers is a slight concussion. All, that is, until Whiplash Willie (Walter Matthau) — a legal scoundrel of the first order — arrives on the scene! For if Harry follows shyster Willie's advice and feigns a crippling injury, the two charlatans can split a cool million in phoney insurance claims. But can Willie's world-class finagling dispel those ominous words that lie within the fortune cookie on Harry's hospital plate: You can't fool all of the people all of the time?
- Actors:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich, Judi West, Cliff Osmond, Lurene Tuttle, Harry Holcombe, Les Tremayne, Lauren Gilbert, Marge Redmond, Noam Pitlik, Harry Davis, Ann Shoemaker, Maryesther Denver, Ned Glass, Sig Ruman, Archie Moore, Howard McNear, William Christopher, Bartlett Robinson
- Directors:
- Billy Wilder
- Writers:
- Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond
- Others:
- Joseph LaShelle, Robert Luthardt, Edward G. Boyle, I. A. L. Diamond
- Studio:
- MGM
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Films About American Football, Cinema Paradiso's 2024 Centenary Club: Part 2, Cinema's Most Memorable Comedy Double Acts, Films & TV by topic, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Billy Wilder
- Awards:
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Reviews (2) of The Fortune Cookie
Only in America..... - The Fortune Cookie review by Cato
The title is American, the sport is American, the whole premise of the film is American, and the actors are Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon, all put together by Billy Wilder. It's a very good film but now seems somewhat dated (52 years old), but it's still got some good laughs in it. It's one for the connoisseurs.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Satirical Comedy. - The Fortune Cookie review by Steve
Probably the best of Billy Wilder's later comedies, and the film which first brought together its star duo: Jack Lemmon as a sports cameraman who is knocked flat by the Cleveland Brown's runner at a football game; and Walter Matthau as the conniving 'Whiplash Willie', a lawyer who plots to turn the collision into cash.
Willie is the last of Wilder's great finaglers; no ruse too dodgy in his ruthless drive to strike pay-dirt. The director gives us a moral alternative in the football star 'Boom Boom' (Ron Rich) who takes care of Lemmon while he feigns injury. Like in Wilder's The Apartment, Lemmon has to stand up to his bully and be a mensch.
Matthau won an Oscar and he plays a fine crook without any scruples. He dominates the film. Boom Boom is an African American and Lemmon finally reveals he is a fake by punching the insurance investigator in the face after a very racist comment. This feels a little clumsy now, but maybe a sign that Wilder was taking a side in the civil rights movement.
The film is a satire on the lawsuit racket fed on by parasitic lawyers out to scam a quick buck from of the capitalist legal system. Lemmon is that classic archetype, the good guy who goes to the dark side. By allowing himself to be manipulated by a rogue like Willie he risks destroying the real hero of the film, Boom Boom. Welcome to the fight Mr. Wilder.
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