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The 1966 Hollywood comedy film The Fortune Cookie was directed and produced by Billy Wilder. The alternative UK title of this movie is Meet Whiplash Willie. The Fortune Cookie was the film that featured the great movie partnership of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, for the first time. This successful comedy duo next starred in the 1968 popular comedy The Odd Couple. The film was written by I.A.L. Diamond and Billy Wilder, music by André Previn, edited by Daniel Mandell, music by André Previn, and distributed by United Artists. The movie was released on October 19, 1966, had an estimated budget of $3,705,000, and the total running time is 125 minutes. The tagline of the movie is: “Some People will do anything for Money!”
Starcast of The Fortune Cookie
This Oscar Award winning Hollywood comedy starred the following actors in the major roles: Jack Lemmon as Harry Hinkle, Walter Matthau as Willie Gingrich, Judi West as Sandy, Ron Rich as Luther 'Boom Boom' Jackson, Lurene Tuttle as Mother Hinkle, and Cliff Osmond as Purkey. Originally, there were two other actors proposed to star with Jack Lemmon, they were Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra. But Lemmon insisted of doing the picture with Walter Matthau.
The production of the movie was halted for a few weeks because Walter Matthau had a coronary failure. Due to this, he slimmed from 190 pounds to 160 pounds till the filming completed, and to conceal his weight loss in the film he had to wear a heavy black coat.
Plot Outline of The Fortune Cookie
To term in a sentence, the movie is all about a crooked lawyer who persuades his brother-in-law in order to feign a serious injury. The movie starts with CBS cameraman Henry Hinkle getting injured when a footballer named "Boom Boom" Jackson runs into him when he is trying to cover a Browns game in Cleveland, Ohio. While Hinkle is in the hospital, he is visited by his shrewd lawyer brother-in-law"Whiplash Willie" Gingrich, who advises him to pretend as if his legs have been paralyzed, so that they can receive a huge indemnity from the insurance company. Thus starts the cat-and-mouse game.
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Awards won by The Fortune Cookie
Walter Matthau won the Academy Award in 1967 for this film in the category of Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The film also received Oscar nominations for and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), and Art Direction-Set Decoration (Black-and-White). Walter Matthau was also nominated for Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy for a Golden Globe.
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