# The Fortune Cookie
**The Fortune Cookie** is a 1966 American black-and-white comedy-drama directed by [Billy Wilder](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-wilder), in which a television cameraman is persuaded by his shyster lawyer brother-in-law to feign serious injuries after being knocked down at a professional football game, so the two can pursue a million-dollar insurance claim. It was the first cinematic teaming of [Jack Lemmon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-lemmon) and [Walter Matthau](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-matthau), who went on to work together in nine more films, and it won Matthau the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Billy Wilder, produced, directed, and co-written with I. A. L. Diamond; cinematography by Joseph LaShelle; music by André Previn[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) |
| Cast | Jack Lemmon (Harry Hinkle), Walter Matthau (Willie Gingrich), Ron Rich (Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson), Judi West (Sandy), Cliff Osmond (Purkey)[2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie) |
| Release | New York opening 19 October 1966; Los Angeles opening 9 November 1966; distributed by United Artists[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) |
| Format | 125 minutes, black and white, Panavision widescreen at 2.35:1, mono sound[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) |
| Awards | Four Academy Award nominations; Walter Matthau won Best Supporting Actor, plus a Golden Laurel Award and a Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) |
| Box office | $6,000,000 domestic theatrical gross, per The Numbers[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Fortune-Cookie-The) |
| Legacy | Nine additional joint films after this debut[2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
During a [Cleveland Browns](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland-browns)–Minnesota Vikings game, CBS-TV cameraman Harry Hinkle is sent sprawling when a 220-pound halfback crashes into him at the sidelines.[2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie) In the hospital, X-rays show his injuries are minor, but his brother-in-law, the ambulance-chasing lawyer Willie Gingrich, pounces on the accident as a chance to sue CBS, the Cleveland Browns, and Municipal Stadium for a million dollars.[2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie) • [4](https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s939cook.html) Harry, weak-willed and lonely, agrees to feign partial paralysis and blindness when Willie promises the plight will win back his money-hungry ex-wife Sandy.[2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie) Meanwhile the player who collided with him, guilt-ridden star Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson, showers Harry with remorse and gifts, and Harry's growing friendship with him makes him question the scam.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fortune_cookie)
## Origins and casting
**Wilder's comeback project.** After the box office failure of his previous film, *Kiss Me, Stupid* (1964), which critics had branded crude and tasteless, Wilder took a sabbatical in Europe and returned to find himself ostracized by the entertainment industry.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) With his longtime collaborator I. A. L. Diamond he developed a story about a man who can win a fortune and the love of a woman if he is willing to compromise his integrity.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) Wilder got the idea, according to Jack Lemmon, when he saw a fullback fall on a spectator during a football game and said to himself, "That's a movie, and the guy underneath is Lemmon!"[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie)
Wilder wrote the role of Willie Gingrich for Walter Matthau, who was then starring in *The Odd Couple* on Broadway and had already accepted the part based on Wilder's story outline, with his play contract allowing a four-month hiatus.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) Studio executives wanted a major star such as [Frank Sinatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-sinatra) or Jackie Gleason for Whiplash Willie, but Lemmon insisted on Matthau, who signed on before even reading the screenplay; when he read it he was astonished at the size of the role.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie) Although Matthau was not a household name in 1966, *The Fortune Cookie* was in fact his 20th film since 1955.[2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie) Ron Rich, an African American musician, and sportscaster [Keith Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/keith-jackson) both made their screen debuts in the cast.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE)
## Production
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began on 31 October 1965 at [Cleveland Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland-stadium), where Wilder shot the opening sequence during an actual Vikings-Browns game, which the Vikings won 27-17.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie) When Browns running back LeRoy Kelly scored a spectacular punt return in the third quarter, Wilder gave Ron Rich's character the same uniform number, 44, and had Browns halfback Ernie Green perform the recreated run in long shots.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie) For later game scenes the Browns were playing elsewhere, so Wilder substituted the Kent State football team, luring unpaid spectators with the promise of free prizes ranging from transistor radios to a new car; the car was awarded to Wilder's wife, Audrey.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie) Other Cleveland locations included St. Vincent Charity Hospital and [Terminal Tower](https://www.edgepedia.org/terminal-tower), with the rest filmed at the Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie)
**Matthau's heart attack.** With ten days of shooting left, Matthau suffered a major heart attack.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie) Knowing Wilder had been forced to replace [Peter Sellers](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sellers) after a heart attack on *Kiss Me, Stupid*, Matthau had his wife pass the illness off first as hepatitis, then as a mild attack; he was off the film for seven weeks while production shut down.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie) He had slimmed from 190 to 160 pounds by the time filming finished and wore a heavy black coat to conceal the weight loss.[2](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie) A three-and-a-half-minute shot of Lemmon dancing in his wheelchair to "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" was completed in a single take.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie)
## Reception and legacy
The film opened to largely favorable notices and good box office returns, with critics praising both Matthau's and Lemmon's performances even when reviews were not consistently enthusiastic.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE) • [7](https://bluraydownlow.wordpress.com/2021/08/21/blu-ray-review-the-fortune-cookie-2/) Vincent Canby, writing in The New York Times, found it less romantic than *Kiss Me, Stupid* but credited it with style and taste, and a Times review called it Wilder's best picture since *The Apartment*.[8](https://mubi.com/en/films/the-fortune-cookie/critics-reviews) Retrospective reception has stayed strong on the review aggregator side: the film holds a 96 percent Tomatometer score across 28 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fortune_cookie) Not all assessments are warm; one home-video reviewer judged it a sour, retrenching Wilder whose forced feel-good ending falls short of his best work.[4](https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s939cook.html)
The film's lasting significance rests on two facts. It established the Lemmon-Matthau screen partnership, with the two bonding during production over a mutual love of football and remaining friends for life.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie) It also gave Matthau's career its turning point; his Spanish-language biographical coverage notes that his film career did not fully take off until Wilder offered him the role of the crooked lawyer scheming to have an insurance company pay his brother-in-law.[9](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2025/07/01/el-adorable-grunon-cadena-ser/) The film has remained in circulation on home video and streaming, with a 4K UHD edition from Kino Lorber mastered from a scan of the 35mm original camera negative.[10](https://kinolorber.com/product/the-fortune-cookie)
## References
1. [The Fortune Cookie (1966), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20983-THE-FORTUNE-COOKIE)
2. [The Fortune Cookie (1966), Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15862/the-fortune-cookie)
3. [The Fortune Cookie (1966) Box Office Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Fortune-Cookie-The)
4. [DVD Savant Review: The Fortune Cookie, DVD Talk](https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s939cook.html)
5. [The Fortune Cookie, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fortune_cookie)
6. [Behind the Camera on The Fortune Cookie, by Frank Miller, TCM](https://www.tcm.com/articles/220548/behind-the-camera-the-fortune-cookie-behind-the-camera-on-the-fortune-cookie)
7. [Blu-ray Review: The Fortune Cookie, Blu-ray Downlow](https://bluraydownlow.wordpress.com/2021/08/21/blu-ray-review-the-fortune-cookie-2/)
8. [The Fortune Cookie critic reviews, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/films/the-fortune-cookie/critics-reviews)
9. [El adorable gruñón, Cadena SER](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2025/07/01/el-adorable-grunon-cadena-ser/)
10. [The Fortune Cookie (4K UHD), Kino Lorber](https://kinolorber.com/product/the-fortune-cookie)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1960s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license