|
|
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
EAN: 9780792849162
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0792849167
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: March 06, 2001
Running Time: 125 minutes
Sales Rank: 13059
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: October 19, 1966
Editorial Review:
Description:
Powered by Walter Matthau's OscarÂ(r)-winning* performance as the quintessential all-American chiseler, The Fortune Cookie is a hysterically funny comedy that showcases filmmaker BillyWilder at his uproarious best. 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 (Matthau)a legal scoundrel of the first orderarrives 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 phony 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? *1966: Supporting Actor
Amazon.com essential video:
Billy Wilder's insurance-scam comedy, written with partner I.A.L. Diamond, is one of the legendary filmmaker's surlier efforts. Were it not for the star-making performance of Walter Matthau (which won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), it might not have registered so strongly with audiences. Shot in a grimy black and white, the story begins as CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon) is injured on the sidelines of a football game when Cleveland Browns star Boom Boom Jackson (Ron Rich) accidentally barrels into him. Hinkle's all right, but his ambulance-chasing brother-in-law William Gingrich (Matthau), also known as 'Whiplash Willie,' has a lawsuit filed before Hinkle even wakes up at the hospital. Hinkle is reluctant to join in on the scheme, which involves staying in a wheelchair, until he realizes it may bring his ex-wife (Judi West) back, even though her eyes practically flash dollar signs at the thought of his case's settlement potential. Working on Hinkle's conscience, however, is a burgeoning friendship with Jackson, who feels horrible about the incident. Not as sure-footed or as brazenly funny as many other Wilder efforts, the film nevertheless boasts a comic turn by Matthau that is deliciously conniving and endlessly inventive. Wilder, Hollywood's most caustically funny blend of pessimist and optimist, doesn't even aim for balance here. He clearly loves Matthau's character above all others and lets him run the show. The Lemmon and Matthau franchise began here and would go on to include their reteaming for Wilder's films The Front Page and Buddy Buddy. --Robert Abele
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship
This is average endeavor for director Billy Wilder and his co-scenarist I.A.L. Diamond. That is to say that this is above average for most filmmakers. The obvious distinction of the film is the initial teaming of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. In this case, though, Lemmon wisely defers to Matthau's shyster lawyer and plays straight man. Matthau shines here and steals every scene he's in. Matthau won the Oscar in a supporting role which I find curious because it seemed to me to be a co-lead ... Read More
Rating:  - Lemmon and Mattheu - who needs more?
Walter Matthew and Jack Lemmon can't have made many bad movies - at least, not until the end of their careers when the 'Grumpy Men' duo rather spolied their (previously superb) record.
'The Fortune Cookie' is, likely, one of their best - although they made so many 'bests'! This movie has a great script, possible storyline and brilliant acting. Nothing else is needed, surely?
It is simply a great and classic movie.
Rating:  - Excellent Acting Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau, Below Average Comedy
Excellent Acting Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau, also a superb directing by Billy Wylder.
It has some great scenes and a few good laughs although is considered a classic I grade this a B+ Average Comedy.
Their acting was excellent and the beggining of a long, lustrous and profitable relationship, this movie is not too funny, compared to their best classics The Odd Couple, Some Like it Hot, Grumpy Old Men, ans sequels like The Odd Couple II, and Grumpier Old Men, nor Walter Matthau's ... Read More
Rating: - Under appreciated
This is one of the best small comedies ever made and one that never has never gotten the standing it should have. Billy Wilder, one of the best filmmakers in the world, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, one of the best movie comic teams ever, produce a fun and thoughtful movie. Matthau wins an Oscar for this role, making it worth seeing for that reason alone. Lemmon plays the good guy being tempted to perfection. Alternating between greed and fear, he and Matthau play off one another to perfection. ... Read More
Rating: - A Movie to Remember Walter by.
If I had to buy a single movie showing Walter Matthau's genius as an actor, this may be the one, for as good as Jack Lemmon always is in a movie, Walter shines here as the shyster brother-in-law lawyer, and the Best Supporting Oscar was awarded to him rightly for this role. Matthau, always the man who acted through sicknesses went through a heart attack during this one. The scene that he runs up the stairs after receiving the settlement check, a keen eye could notice that he is thinner at the top of the ... Read More
|
|
