Product Details

• Actors: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich, Judi West, Cliff Osmond
• Directors: Billy Wilder
• Writers: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond
• Producers: Billy Wilder, Doane Harrison, I.A.L. Diamond
• Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000056HEF
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,912 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #12 in	Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Directors > Billy Wilder
  #12 in	Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Walter Matthau
  #15 in	Movies & TV > Classics > Classic Directors > Wilder, Billy

• For more information about "The Fortune Cookie" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

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

Product 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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Four stars for content, but........, April 15, 2002

By	Marc T. Smith (Dayton, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

"The Fortune Cookie" has long been one of my favorite Billy Wilder movies, and I was pleased to see it's release on DVD, especially in the original widescreen format. While the movie and performances are great (especially Walter Matthau in his Oscar-winning turn), and the script by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond hits the target, I was very disappointed in the lackluster transfer to disc that this unqualified classic received. Sure, the letterboxing is great, but halfway through the film, the sound quality takes a turn for the worse - less audible, and almost scratchy at times. Plus, the only "extra" is the original trailer, and there is no additional booklet. Surely a genius like Wilder deserves better preservation than this!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Movie to Remember Walter by., February 28, 2007

By	Bruce Duguid (Carol Stream, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comic Chemistry Class, March 14, 2005

By	Marc Flanagan "Reading Through Lunch" (Santa Monica, Ca.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Matthau and Lemon in an underated Billy Wilder film from the mid sixties. Once again Wilder and Diamond put a regular fella in a morally compromising position. Jack Lemmon, a divorced television camera man is involved in an accident with a football player, then is coereced by his low life brother in law, Walter Matthau, into pretending he is paralyzed from the impact and a law suite is put into motion. It is a funny and touching story, wonderfully directed and watching Lemmon and Matthau is always a double treat.