Search - The Fortune Cookie on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1966 DVD Release: 03/06/2001 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 6 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Comedy, Satire, Comedy of Manners, Odd Couple Film

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, All Movie Guide

Jack Lemmon - Harry Hinkle
Walter Matthau - Willie Gingrich
Ron Rich - Luther "Boom-Boom" Jackson
Cliff Osmond - Mr. Purkey
Judi West - Sandy Hinkle

Even though Billy Wilder himself thought that he was never again able to make a picture as sublime as The Apartment, many of his later films have merit. His caustic 1966 comedy The Fortune Cookie isn't perfect, but this MGM/UA DVD release shows that other directors would kill to have a movie this good on their resumes. The Fortune Cookie transformed Walter Matthau from a character actor into a star and it's his first teaming with Jack Lemmon, whose wry, melancholy performance is also wonderful. This bitterly funny, but ultimately tender picture also unknowingly introduced the "healthy guy in a neck brace" routine into popular culture -- and into a seemingly endless number of bad sitcoms. Minus the original theatrical trailer, there aren't any meaningful extras on this DVD, but the widescreen anamorphic transfer is pristine and the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio transfer is equal to the original mono theatrical presentation. Considering that the earlier "pan-and-scan" video edition hacked up The Fortune Cookie, the widescreen presentation alone more than justifies this DVD edition. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide