The Fortune (1975)
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37% of users liked it
(406 ratings)
Three's a crowd in Mike Nichols's period caper comedy -- or is it? To dodge the 1920s Mann Act barring the transport of women across state lines for "immoral purposes," not-yet-divorced Nicky (Warren Beatty) has felonious buddy Oscar (Jack Nicholson) marry Nicky's runaway… More Three's a crowd in Mike Nichols's period caper comedy -- or is it? To dodge the 1920s Mann Act barring the transport of women across state lines for "immoral purposes," not-yet-divorced Nicky (Warren Beatty) has felonious buddy Oscar (Jack Nicholson) marry Nicky's runaway heiress sweetheart Freddy (Stockard Channing) so they can all escape New York for Los Angeles. The three set up house together, but trouble starts brewing when odd man out Oscar decides to get Nicky's attention by exercising his rights as a husband to Freddy. Exasperated with being stuck in the middle of the bickering pair, Freddy threatens to donate her impending inheritance to charity, inciting Oscar and Nicky to hatch a plan to bump her off and keep the money. But Freddy just will not die, prompting the three to reconsider the whole arrangement. With a period setting and pair of stellar lead actors similar to the 1973 blockbuster The Sting, a screenplay by Five Easy Pieces author Carol Eastman (under the name Adrien Joyce), and deft comedy director Nichols, The Fortune seemed like a can't-miss proposition. But it resoundingly flopped, as audiences preferred to see Beatty in his earlier 1975 starring role as a racy L.A. hairdresser in Shampoo, and to wait for Nicholson's later 1975 incarnation as an archetypal iconoclast in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. As with other late '60s-early '70s period films like Beatty's own Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Fortune lends an updated sensibility to its old-fashioned milieu, complete with a very modern happy ending. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Directed By
- Mike Nichols
- Written By
- Adrien Joyce
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Comedy
PG,
- In Theaters
- May 20, 1975 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Mike Nichols' period farce is an artistic and commercial misfire--despite the presence of two major stars, Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The uneven farce is enjoyable only in spurts.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Fascinating mess. Far better than its reputation suggests.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Jack Nicholson
as Oscar
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Warren Beatty
as Nicky
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Stockard Channing
as Freddie
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Florence Stanley
as Landlady
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Scatman Crothers
as Fisherman
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Richard B. Shull
as Chief Detective
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Jim Antonio
as 1st Policeman
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Brian Avery
as Airline Steward
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Nira Barab
as Girl Lover
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Kathryn Grody
as Police Secretary
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Rose Michtom
as Wife
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Dub Taylor
as Rattlesnake Tom
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Joe Tornatore
as Detective
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Vic Vallard
as 2nd Policeman
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Ian Wolfe
as Justice of the Peace
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John Fiedler
as Police photographer
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Christopher Guest
as Boy Lover
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Thomas Newman
as John the Barber
