Meet Whiplash Willie (1966)
"The Fortune Cookie" (original title)

A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond

Stars:

Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Lemmon	...	Harry Hinkle
Walter Matthau	...	Willie Gingrich
Ron Rich	...	Luther 'Boom Boom' Jackson
Judi West	...	Sandy Hinkle
Cliff Osmond	...	Purkey
Lurene Tuttle	...	Mother Hinkle
Harry Holcombe	...	O'Brien
Les Tremayne	...	Thompson
Lauren Gilbert	...	Kincaid
Marge Redmond	...	Charlotte Gingrich
Noam Pitlik	...	Max
Harry Davis	...	Dr. Krugman
Ann Shoemaker	...	Sister Veronica
Maryesther Denver	...	Nurse
Ned Glass	...	Doc Schindler

Storyline

A cameraman is knocked over during a football game. His brother in law as the king of the ambulance chasing lawyers starts a suit while he's still knocked out. The cameraman is against it until he hears that his ex-wife will be coming to see him. He pretends to be injured to get her back, but also sees what the strain is doing to the football player who injured him.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | football | cameraman | law | insurance | 

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Taglines:

SOME PEOPLE WILL DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Glückspilz

Filming Locations:

Municipal Stadium - 1085 W. Third Street, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,705,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The, Phalanx-Jalem

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Production was halted for weeks after Walter Matthau had a heart attack. He had slimmed from 190 to 160 pounds by the time filming was completed, and had to wear a heavy black coat to conceal the weight loss.

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Goofs

When Harry is injured, his camera flies out of his hands and the cables are missing. In the previous scene, the cables were shown attached using a screw-in type connector that would not have come off, even when being tackled.

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Quotes

Willie Gingrich: He's gonna give you a shot to help you pass those tests.
Harry Hinkle: Oh, I'm not gonna take any shots from a waiter!
Willie Gingrich: What do you mean "waiter?" This is Doc Schindler, from Chicago.
Doc Schindler: Howdy.
Willie Gingrich: Those insurance guys think they're such geniuses. What they forget is every time they build a better mousetrap, the mice gets smarter, too.
Harry Hinkle: You'll be careful, won't you, Doc?
Doc Schindler: I better be, because I'm on parole.
Harry Hinkle: Parole?
Doc Schindler: They caught me tampering with a horse at Arlington Park.
Harry Hinkle: A veterinary?
[...]

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Connections

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (1988)

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Soundtracks

"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Sung by Judi West
Also strains played throughout the movie

User Reviews

One to remember Walter Matthau for....

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 stairs. That was because he shot that scene after his attack. This movie begins the long association with Lemmon/Matthau. The next movie was to be "The Odd Couple". What a great bunch of entertaining movies they were. And this was the first one.