The Fortune Cookie. 1966. USA. Directed by Billy Wilder. Screenplay by I. A. L. Diamond, Wilder. With Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Judy West. 35mm. 125 min.
When behemoth football star Luther “Boom Boom” Jackson runs over network cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemon), Boom Boom feels terrible about the accident and begs for Hinkle’s forgiveness. But Hinkle, normally a stand-up guy, gets bamboozled into exaggerating his injuries by his crooked lawyer brother-in-law Willie Gingrich (Matthau). The lengths Gingrich goes to for all that ill-gotten settlement money are gut-busting, even though you know you shouldn’t be laughing! Matthau won an Oscar for his supporting role as the shady, ambulance-chasing Willie.