Fortune Cookie, The (1966)

The Fortune Cookie (1966), directed by Billy Wilder.

When TV cameraman Jack Lemmon is clobbered at a football game, his shyster brother-in-law ("Whiplash Willy") Walter Matthau persuades him to fake a spinal injury.

Wry and acerbic, as you would expect from Wilder, but at 2h05m a bit long for the material. It turns sad: Lemmon hopes that his no-good ex-wife will return, but she's still no good. The football player who clobbered him becomes his best friend and ruins his own career.

Matthau won an Oscar for best supporting actor, beating:

• The Sand Pebbles (1966): Mako

• Georgy Girl: James Mason

• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966): George Segal

• A Man for All Seasons: Robert Shaw

He has many funny bits, but it's mostly one liners and comic expressions.

Andre Previn score. Another black and white scope film.