The Fortune Cookie

Powered by an Oscar-winning performance by Walter Matthau (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Charley Varrick) as the quintessential all-American chiseler, The Fortune Cookie is a hysterically funny comedy that showcases legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, The Lost Weekend) at his uproarious best. Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon, Irma La Douce, Avanti!) 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 order—arrives 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? The first film to feature the dynamic duo of Matthau and Lemmon (The Odd Couple, The Front Page, Grumpy Old Men) was co-written by Wilder and his brilliant collaborator I.A.L. Diamond (One, Two, Three) and boasts beautiful black-and-white cinematography by Joseph LaShelle (Laura).