The Fortune Cookie (1966)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (written by) &
I.A.L. Diamond (written by)

Release Date:

19 October 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

SOME PEOPLE WILL DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Football | Lawyer | Cameraman | Insurance | Law

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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
Sig Ruman	...	Professor Winterhalter
Archie Moore	...	Mr. Jackson
Howard McNear	...	Mr. Cimoli
William Christopher	...	Intern (as Bill Christopher)
Bartlett Robinson	...	Specialist #1
Robert P. Lieb	...	Specialist #2
Martin Blaine	...	Specialist #3
Ben Wright	...	Specialist #4
Dodie Heath	...	Nun
Herbie Faye	...	Maury, the Equipment Man
Billy Beck	...	Maury's Assistant
Judy Pace	...	Elvira
Helen Kleeb	...	The Lawyers' Receptionist
Lisa Linsky	...	Ginger Gingrich (as Lisa Jill)
John Todd Roberts	...	Jeffrey Gingrich
Keith Jackson	...	Football Announcer
Herbert Ellis	...	TV Director (as Herb Ellis)
Don Reed	...	Newscaster
Louise Vienna	...	Girl on TV
Robert DoQui	...	Man in Bar (as Bob DoQui)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Anderson	...	Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
Jim Brown	...	Running Back - Number 32 (archive footage) (uncredited)
Leroy Kelly	...	Running Back #44 (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jon Silo	...	Tailor (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Billy Wilder		(written by) &
I.A.L. Diamond		(written by)

Produced by
I.A.L. Diamond	....	associate producer
Doane Harrison	....	associate producer
Billy Wilder	....	producer

Original Music by
André Previn		(as Andre Previn)

Cinematography by
Joseph LaShelle		(as Joseph La Shelle)

Film Editing by
Daniel Mandell

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Art Direction by
Robert Luthardt

Set Decoration by
Edward G. Boyle

Makeup Department
Loren Cosand	....	makeup artist
Alice Monte	....	hair stylist
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Patrick J. Palmer	....	unit manager
Allen K. Wood	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack N. Reddish	....	assistant director

Art Department
Frank Agnone	....	property master
Duncan A. Spencer	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Wayne Fury	....	sound editor
Robert Martin	....	sound
Buddy Myers	....	sound re-recordist
Terrance Emerson	....	sound cable (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sass Bedig	....	special effects

Stunts
John Moio	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Al St. Hilaire	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Don Stott	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Arrico	....	wardrobe (as Chuck Arrico)
Paula Giokaris	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Richard Carruth	....	music editor

Other crew
Marshall J. Wolins	....	script supervisor (as Marshall Wolins)

Production Companies

• Mirisch Corporation, The
• Phalanx-Jalem

Distributors

• United Artists (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1969) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Magnetic Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Included in "The Billy Wilder Gift Set")

Also Known As:

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | USA:Approved | New Zealand:G | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:U (video rating) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

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.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Towards the beginning of the movie when Harry is wheeled out after his x-ray, his mother is crying over him. But more than once you can hear her sobbing, but plainly see that she's just standing still and looking at him.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Harry Hinkle:You can fool all of the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Bart Gets Hit by a Car (#2.10)" (1991)

One Bottom Feeding Lawyer

In The Fortune Cookie, Billy Wilder took on the great American legal system and twisted a lot of laughs out of it. It's the underside of the great American dream, sue someone with deep pockets and you can be a millionaire. It's why we have too many lawyers in our society, it's what creates Willie Gingrich.

In three previous Wilder pictures folks like Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity, William Holden in Sunset Boulevard, and Kirk Douglas in Ace in the Hole all had some similar notions about a get rich and/or famous quick scheme and they all ended in tragedy. Interesting that protagonist Jack Lemmon as TV cameraman Harry Hinkle has more strength of character than those three before him.

Not at first though. Jack Lemmon is a TV cameraman who is covering a Cleveland Browns football game in Municipal Stadium when running back Ron Rich takes him out when Rich goes out of bounds. That's where attorney and brother-in-law of Lemmon, Walter Matthau hears about a previous spinal injury Lemmon sustained and he hatches a scheme involving Lemmon who is supposed to now act paralyzed so he can sue CBS, Municipal Stadium, and the Cleveland Browns for as much as he can wring out of them.

Matthau won his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor playing bottom feeding lawyer, Whiplash Willie Gingrich. With that kind of nickname in the profession it's no wonder that the white shoe firm representing the defending parties goes all out to trip him up. They get private detective Cliff Osmond to shadow Lemmon night and day. The results he gets from his surveillance are not unexpected, but a lot of laughs come along with them.

Matthau is so good as Gingrich that you can literally see his mind at work as he hears about Lemmon's childhood fractured vertebrae from his wife who is Lemmon's sister. Watching his kids skateboarding in the hospital waiting room you kind of wonder what kind of ethics he's been teaching them at home. Note that when you last see Willie Gingrich in the film, he's down, but not yet out.

There's a couple of other good performances here. Ron Rich as the Brown halfback who really is concerned that he permanently paralyzed Jack Lemmon. Also Judi West as Lemmon's ex-wife who when she hears about Lemmon's possible windfall, she's ready to reconcile with him. Matthau is ready to use her of course, but even he gets kind of put off with her ethics. This is also the farewell performance of Sig Ruman, who Billy Wilder liked to use when he could, both of them being refugees from Hitler. Ruman is one of the specialists brought in and the only one who's not fooled by Lemmon's performance.

The Fortune Cookie even after 40 years still has plenty of laughs for this generation. That is sadly because this is part of the American legal system that if anything has increased exponentially since 1966.