All Topics  
The Fortune Cookie

 
The Fortune Cookie

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

The Fortune Cookie
 
 
  Topics The Fortune Cookie Topic Home

The Fortune Cookie (alternative UK title: Meet Whiplash Willie) is a 1966
1966 in film

The year 1966 in film involved some significant events....
 film starring Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau

Walter John Matthau was an United States award-winning actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with fellow Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon....
 and Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon

'John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III' was an United States actor known principally for his comedic roles. He starred in over 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses , Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple , The Out-of-Towners , Glengarry Glen Ross , The China Syndrome and JFK ....
 in their first on screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder was an Austrian-United States journalist, filmmaker, screenwriter, and film producer, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films....
.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m3401652",this)' onMouseout='hide("m3401652")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/CBS">CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 cameraman Henry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon

'John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III' was an United States actor known principally for his comedic roles. He starred in over 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses , Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple , The Out-of-Towners , Glengarry Glen Ross , The China Syndrome and JFK ....
) gets injured when football
American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
 player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich
Ron Rich

Ron Rich , born in Pittsburgh, PA, is an African-American actor who played the role of football player Luther 'Boom Boom' Jackson in the 1966 Billy Wilder comedy The Fortune Cookie....
) runs into him while he is covering a Browns
Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio. They play in the AFC North division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
 game in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
. Hinkle is visited in the hospital by his conniving lawyer brother-in-law "Whiplash Willie" Gingrich (Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau

Walter John Matthau was an United States award-winning actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with fellow Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon....
), who convinces him to pretend that his legs have been paralyzed.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'The Fortune Cookie'
Start a new discussion about 'The Fortune Cookie'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Fortune Cookie (alternative UK title: Meet Whiplash Willie) is a 1966
1966 in film

The year 1966 in film involved some significant events....
 film starring Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau

Walter John Matthau was an United States award-winning actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with fellow Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon....
 and Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon

'John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III' was an United States actor known principally for his comedic roles. He starred in over 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses , Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple , The Out-of-Towners , Glengarry Glen Ross , The China Syndrome and JFK ....
 in their first on screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder was an Austrian-United States journalist, filmmaker, screenwriter, and film producer, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films....
.

Plot

CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 cameraman Henry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon

'John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III' was an United States actor known principally for his comedic roles. He starred in over 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses , Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple , The Out-of-Towners , Glengarry Glen Ross , The China Syndrome and JFK ....
) gets injured when football
American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
 player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich
Ron Rich

Ron Rich , born in Pittsburgh, PA, is an African-American actor who played the role of football player Luther 'Boom Boom' Jackson in the 1966 Billy Wilder comedy The Fortune Cookie....
) runs into him while he is covering a Browns
Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio. They play in the AFC North division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
 game in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
. Hinkle is visited in the hospital by his conniving lawyer brother-in-law "Whiplash Willie" Gingrich (Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau

Walter John Matthau was an United States award-winning actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with fellow Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon....
), who convinces him to pretend that his legs have been paralyzed. This way, they can receive a huge indemnity
Indemnity

An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of Damages for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnifying party may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnified party ....
 from the insurance
Insurance

Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to Hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed small loss to prevent a large, possibly devastating los...
 company. Of course, the insurance company suspects that the paralysis is a fake one, and so a cat-and-mouse game begins. Jackson turns out to be a nice guy. He takes very good care of Hinkle, who begins having second thoughts as he witnesses guilt taking its toll on Jackson.

Cast

  • Jack Lemmon
    Jack Lemmon

    'John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III' was an United States actor known principally for his comedic roles. He starred in over 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses , Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple , The Out-of-Towners , Glengarry Glen Ross , The China Syndrome and JFK ....
     as Harry Hinkle
  • Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau

    Walter John Matthau was an United States award-winning actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with fellow Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon....
     as Willie Gingrich
  • Ron Rich
    Ron Rich

    Ron Rich , born in Pittsburgh, PA, is an African-American actor who played the role of football player Luther 'Boom Boom' Jackson in the 1966 Billy Wilder comedy The Fortune Cookie....
     as Luther 'Boom Boom' Jackson
  • Judi West as Sandy
  • Cliff Osmond
    Cliff Osmond

    Cliff Osmond is an American character actor and television screenwriter most famous for the supporting role of "Barney," Ray Walston's dimwitted songwriting partner, in Billy Wilder's Kiss Me, Stupid ....
     as Purkey
  • Lurene Tuttle
    Lurene Tuttle

    Lurene Tuttle was a character actress, who made transitions from vaudeville to radio, to films and television. Her most enduring impact was in radio drama as one of network radio's most versatile actresses....
     as Mother Hinkle
  • Harry Holcombe as O'Brien
  • Les Tremayne as Thompson
  • Lauren Gilbert as Kincaid
  • Marge Redmond
    Marge Redmond

    Marge Redmond is an United States actress. Redmond was the first wife of actor Jack Weston, with whom she developed her acting craft at the Cleveland Play House in the 1950s....
     as Charlotte Gingrich
  • Noam Pitlik
    Noam Pitlik

    Noam Pitlik was an Primetime Emmy Award -, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Golden Globe Award -winning United States television director and actor....
     as Max
  • Harry Davis
    Harry Davis

    Harry Davis may refer to:* Harry Davis * Harry Davis , Major League Baseball first baseman* Harry Davis , played for the Detroit Tigers and St....
     as Dr. Krugman
  • Ann Shoemaker as Sister Veronica
  • Maryesther Denver as Nurse
  • Ned Glass
    Ned Glass

    Ned Glass was an American character actor who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly or weasely characters....
     as Doc Schindler
  • Sig Ruman
    Sig Ruman

    Sig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his comedy portrayals of pompous villains.Born in Hamburg, he studied electrical engineering before serving with the German Empire Germany army during the First World War....
     as Professor Winterhalter
  • Archie Moore
    Archie Moore

    Archie Moore, Born Archibald Wright , was light heavyweight world boxing champion between 1952 and 1959 and had one of the longest professional careers in the history of his sport....
     as Mr. Jackson
  • Howard McNear
    Howard McNear

    Howard T. McNear was an United States film, television and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as Floyd Lawson, the barber in The Andy Griffith Show....
     as Mr. Cimoli
  • William Christopher
    William Christopher

    William Christopher is an United States actor who is best known for playing Father John Patrick Francis Mulcahy on the television television series M*A*S*H and Private Lester Hummel on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C....
     as Intern (as Bill Christopher)
  • Bartlett Robinson as Specialist #1
  • Robert P. Lieb as Specialist #2
  • Martin Blaine as Specialist #3
  • Ben Wright
    Ben Wright

    Ben Wright may refer to:*Ben Wright , British film and radio actor*Ben Wright , English football player, currently playing for Lincoln City*Ben Wright , English cricketer, currently playing for Glamorgan...
     as Specialist #4
  • Dodie Heath as Nun
  • Herbie Faye
    Herbie Faye

    Herbie Faye was an United States actor who appeared in both of Phil Silvers's Columbia Broadcasting System television series, The Phil Silvers Show and The New Phil Silvers Show ....
     as Maury, the Equipment Man
  • Billy Beck
    Billy Beck

    Billy Beck is a character actor who has appeared in small roles in such films as Irma la Douce , The Patsy , The Fortune Cookie , Nickelodeon , House , and the 1988 remake The Blob as the first victim of the title creature....
     as Maury's Assistant
  • Judy Pace
    Judy Pace

    Judy Lenteen Pace is an African-American stage and screen actress. Many publications, fans, and critics alike have called Pace one of the most beautiful woman to ever appear on screen....
     as Elvira
  • Helen Kleeb
    Helen Kleeb

    Helen Kleeb was an United States actress.In a career covering nearly fifty years she is probably most fondly remembered for the role of "Miss Mamie Baldwin" in The Waltons, which she played on a recurring basis for most of that show's run ....
     as The Lawyers' Receptionist
  • Lisa Jill as Ginger Gingrich
  • John Todd Roberts as Jeffrey Gingrich
  • Keith Jackson
    Keith Jackson

    Keith Jackson is an United States former sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports television, his coverage of college football as well as his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary and deep voice....
     as Football Announcer
  • Herbert Ellis as TV Director (as Herb Ellis)
  • Don Reed as Newscaster
  • Louise Vienna as Girl on TV
  • Robert DoQui
    Robert DoQui

    Robert DoQui was an United States actor who has starred in film and on television. He is best known for his role as Sgt. Warren Reed in the 1987 science fiction film RoboCop, the 1990 sequel RoboCop 2, and the 1993 sequel RoboCop 3....
     as Man in Bar (as Bob DoQui)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
  • John Anderson
    John Anderson

    John Anderson may refer to:Science:* John H. D. Anderson , Scottish natural philosopher* John Anderson , Scottish zoologist* John August Anderson , American physicist and astronomer...
     as Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
  • Jim Brown
    Jim Brown

    James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an United States former professional American football player who has also made his mark as an actor and social activist....
     as Running Back - Number 32 (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Leroy Kelly
    Leroy Kelly

    Leroy Kelly was an American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League from 1964-73....
     as Running Back #44 (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Jon Silo as Tailor (uncredited)


Production

  • This was the first film to feature the movie partnership of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
  • They acted together in 10 movies:


  • The Fortune Cookie (1966)
  • The Odd Couple
    The Odd Couple

    The Odd Couple was a 1965 Broadway Play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors....
     (1968)
  • The Front Page
    The Front Page

    The Front Page was a hit Broadway theatre comedy, written by one-time Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur and first produced in 1928....
     (1974)
  • Buddy Buddy
    Buddy Buddy

    Buddy Buddy is a 1981 in film dark comedy based on the play by Francis Veber. It stars Jack Lemmon as a man on the verge of suicide, Walter Matthau as a hitman for the mob, Paula Prentiss as Lemmon's wife, and Klaus Kinski as the director of a sex clinic....
     (1981)
  • JFK (1991)
  • Grumpy Old Men
    Grumpy Old Men

    Grumpy Old Men refers to:* Grumpy Old Men , a 1993 comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau* Grumpy Old Men , a 2000s BBC Two television programme...
     (1993)
  • The Grass Harp
    The Grass Harp

    The Grass Harp is a novel by Truman Capote published in 1951 that tells the story of an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a tree....
     (1995)
  • Grumpier Old Men
    Grumpier Old Men

    Grumpier Old Men is a 1995 in film Warner Bros. romantic comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Ann-Margret, and Sophia Loren, with Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ann Morgan Guilbert....
     (1995)
  • Out to Sea
    Out to Sea

    Out to Sea is a 1997 in film romantic comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Rue McClanahan, Dyan Cannon & Brent Spiner. The film was directed by Martha Coolidge....
     (1997)
  • The Odd Couple II
    The Odd Couple II

    The Odd Couple II is the 1998 in film sequel to 1968's The Odd Couple . It reunites Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their last film together....
     (1998)


  • Lemmon also directed Matthau in Kotch (1971).


  • Production was halted for weeks after Walter Matthau had a heart attack. He had slimmed from 190 to 160 pounds by the time filming was completed, and had to wear a heavy black coat to conceal the weight loss.


  • Jack Lemmon originally had two other actors proposed to star with him. They were Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason, but Lemmon insisted that he do the picture with Walter Matthau.


  • Scenes were filmed at the Cleveland Browns vs Minnesota Vikings game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on 18 October 1965.


Cameo

  • William Christopher
    William Christopher

    William Christopher is an United States actor who is best known for playing Father John Patrick Francis Mulcahy on the television television series M*A*S*H and Private Lester Hummel on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C....
    , who later went on to portray Father Mulcahy
    Father Mulcahy

    John Patrick Francis Mulcahy, commonly called Father Mulcahy, is a principal character from the film M*A*S*H , played by Rene Auberjonois , and the M*A*S*H , played by William Christopher....
     in the television series M*A*S*H, had a small role as a doctor.


Awards

Walter Matthau won the Oscar
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in this film. The movie also received Oscar nominations for Art Direction-Set Decoration (Black-and-White) (Robert Luthardt
Robert Luthardt

Robert Luthardt was an American art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Academy Award for Best Art Direction for the film The Fortune Cookie....
, Edward G. Boyle
Edward G. Boyle

The career of set decorator Edward G. Boyle really kicked off in the early 30s, when he started working on the first of over 100 films. His successful filmography includes such interesting credits as an uncredited assist on the wartorn old South in Victor Fleming's classic Gone with the Wind , the Nazi-influenced designs for Charles Cha...
), Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay. Walter Matthau was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy.

Cleveland locations

Saint Mark's Hospital is in reality St. Vincent Charity Hospital. In 1966, the scene was filmed on East 24th Street in an older section. In 1966, St. Vincent Charity had completed a then-ultramodern curved Hospital building.

Terminal Tower
Terminal Tower

The Terminal Tower is a landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in Downtown Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio. It was built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, and was the second-List of tallest buildings in the world when it was completed....
 was the base for the law firm used. In one image, one can see Erieview Tower
Erieview Tower

The Erieview Tower is a skyscraper located in Downtown Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio. The building has 40 stories, rises to a height of 529 ft , and has of office space....
 and construction of the Federal Building
Federal Building

Federal Building and variations including Old, and Courthouse, etc., may refer to:in the United States*Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse , List of RHPs in AL...
's steel skeleton.

External links