The Fortune Cookie (1966)

95% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(4,356 ratings)

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… More 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, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 5 min.
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Written By: Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
Genres: Drama, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 19, 1966 Wide
On DVD: Mar 6, 2001

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
...another bittersweet comedy commentary on contemporary US mores.
Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Wildly funny in spots...
Vincent Canby, New York Times
Mr. Wilder's last film and a comedy of unrelieved vulgarity, but it has style and taste.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A very funny film, this morality tale is a deft mixture of cynicism, wit and idealism as only writer-director Wilder could do it.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Saddled with a thin story.
, Time Out
The friction between the laughs and the cynicism generates more heat than most Hollywood comedies even aim at...
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Though not top-notch Billy Wilder, this cynical satire about an unscrupulous lawyer and a TV cameraman benefits from good acting by Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first screen teaming.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Good, but probably Wilder's most overrated film.
, Film4
The trio would move on to better things, but the comic chemistry was tangible from the start.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
It's [the] performances that make The Fortune Cookie worth checking out, because the story itself isn't terribly interesting.

Read all 10 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lady D

A comical caper from Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau, some great lines throughout, easy watching, a good oldie.
AJ V

Another great comedy from Wilder, this movie is hilarious, fun, and has a great cast. I highly recommend it.
Daniel P

The Fortune Cookie is a brilliant film, cynical and satirical and yet uplifting. Its protagonist (Jack Lemmon) is a cameraman, which allowed director Billy Wilder to insert all kinds of commentary on movie-making, as if he wasn't making comment enough on greed and the… More
The Fortune Cookie is a brilliant film, cynical and satirical and yet uplifting. Its protagonist (Jack Lemmon) is a cameraman, which allowed director Billy Wilder to insert all kinds of commentary on movie-making, as if he wasn't making comment enough on greed and the "everyone sues everyone for everything" future of capitalist America. An almost prophetic film that features Walter Matthau's break-out role. The division into little chapters didn't really do the film any favours, and from time to time the whole enterprise was beset by a little too much sentiment, but these complaints aren't enough to make this any less than an absolute classic. That Abraham Lincoln's words ring throughout - "you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time" - is a testament to exactly what Wilder feared America was to become... a nation of people willing to live an extended lie just to make a quick million. Great, great film.
xGary X

Another likeable Matthau/Lemmon vehicle, but it lacks the resonance of Wilders best efforts.
Byron B

Set in Cleveland, it's at a Browns game where Lemmon is injured. The first great pairing of Matthau and Lemmon.
Sunil J

Another awesome comedy from Matthau and Lemmon.

Read all 6 featured audience ratings

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

            Harry Holcombe as O'Brien

            Lurene Tuttle as Mother Hinkle

            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 P. 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

            Robert DoQui as Man in Bar

            Ben Wright as Specialist

            Jon Silo as Tailor

            Keith Jackson as Football Announcer
See full cast