Fortune Cookie DVD

The Fortune Cookie
The British title of Billy Wilder's classic comedy was Meet Whiplash Willie -- for, despite Jack Lemmon's star billing, the movie's driving force is Oscar-winning Walter Matthau as gloriously underhanded lawyer "Whiplash" Willie Gingrich. CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is injured when he is accidentally bulldozed by football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) during a Cleveland Browns game. Willie, Harry's brother-in-law, foresees an insurance-settlement bonanza, and he convinces Harry to pretend to be incapacitated by the accident. To insure his client's cooperation, Willie arranges for Harry's covetous ex-wife Sandy (Judi West) to feign a rekindling of their romance. Harry's conscience is plagued by the solicitous behavior of Boom Boom, who is so devastated at causing Harry's injury that he insists on waiting on the "cripple" hand and foot. Meanwhile, dishevelled private eye Purkey (Cliff Osmond) keeps Harry under constant surveillance, hoping to catch him moving around so the insurance company can avoid shelling out a fortune. Wilder and usual co-writer I.A.L. Diamond were at their most jaundiced and cynical here, even if, after a sardonic semiclimax, the last ten minutes succumb to the sentimentality that often marred Wilder's later movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Jack Lemmon as Harry Hinkle Walter Matthau as Willie Gingrich Ron Rich as Luther "Boom-Boom" Jackson Cliff Osmond as Mr. Purkey Judi West as Sandy Hinkle Lurene Tuttle as Mother Hinkle Harry Holcombe as O'Brien Les Tremayne as Thompson Marge Redmond as Charlotte Gingrich Noam Pitlik as Max Harry Davis as Dr. Krugman Ann Shoemaker as Sister Veronica Maryesther Denver as Nurse Lauren Gilbert as Kincaid Ned Glass as Doc Schindler Sig Rumann as Prof. Winterhalter Archie Moore as Mr. Jackson Howard McNear as Mr. Cimoli Bartlett Robinson as One of The Four Robert Lieb as One of The Four Specialists Martin Blaine as One of The Four Specialists Dody Heath as Nun Herbie Faye as Maury Billy Beck as Maury's Assistant Judy Pace as Elvira Helen Kleeb as Receptionist John Todd Roberts as Jeffrey, Gingrich Herb Ellis as TV Director Don Reed as Newscaster

Crew Robert Luthardt - Art Director I.A.L. Diamond - Associate Producer Doane Harrison - Associate Producer Lynn Stalmaster - Casting Charles Arrico - Costume Designer Paula Giokaris - Costume Designer Jack N. Reddish - First Assistant Director Billy Wilder - Director Dan Mandell - Editor Andre Previn - Composer (Music Score) Joseph La Shelle - Cinematographer Billy Wilder - Producer Edward Boyle - Set Designer Sass Bedig - Special Effects Robert Martin - Sound/Sound Designer I.A.L. Diamond - Screenwriter Billy Wilder - Screenwriter Cole Porter - Featured Music

The Fortune Cookie
Notable for contriving the first -- and one of the best -- pairings of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, this acerbic, late-career Billy Wilder gem marries his penchant for hand-wringing morality plays with a dark, melancholy tone reminiscent of his glum masterpiece The Apartment, made six years earlier. The Fortune Cookie actually benefits from having a villain not quite as insidious as Fred MacMurray's J.D. Sheldrake: Matthau's affable shyster Willie Gingrich. Despite his unrepentant opportunism, Gingrich serves as a benevolent life force: If not for his less-than-airtight scam, Lemmon's Harry Hinckle would never be forced to own up to the havoc that only a meek wallflower like himself could create -- almost by default. The supporting cast is no less splendid, with the under-worked Judi West making a sly turn as the alternately world-weary and kittenish ex-wife who sees Hinckle as a renewed meal ticket, and the subdued Ron Rich as the impossibly selfless football star whose generosity almost does him in -- financially as well as professionally. Wilder's career was made up of films that heartbreakingly detailed the intersection of guilt and guile, and, in its own unassuming way, The Fortune Cookie is no exception. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
 

Billy Wilder: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) Edward Boyle: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Art Direction (nominated) I.A.L. Diamond: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) Joseph La Shelle: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Cinematography (nominated) Walter Matthau: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Walter Matthau: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: French, Spanish Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects 1: PCM mono Additional Features: Original theatrical trailer English: mono French: mono French and Spanish subtitles DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 126 min Part of Series: Vintage Classics   DVD Chapters: Scene Selections 0. Scene Selections 1. Logos/The Accident [6:39] 2. The Brother-In-Law [5:35] 3. The Caper [17:07] 4. The Legal Eagles [7:08] 5. The Chinese Lunch [10:12] 6. The Snake Pit [2:33] 7. The Gemini Plan [2:57] 8. The Torch [:00] 9. The Goldfish Bowl [6:02] 10. Return of Tinker Bell [5:27] 11. The Longest Night [8:22] 12. The Other Blonde [9:17] 13. The Indian Givers [7:19] 14. The Taste Of Money [2:13] 15. The Better Mousetrap [5:48] 16. Final Score/End Credits [8:34]