Rating: NR
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 03/06/2001
SubTitles: French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: 5.1/1
Run Time: 126 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: MGM
The British title of
Billy Wilder's classic comedy was
Meet Whiplash Willie -- for, despite
Jack Lemmon's star billing, the movie's driving force is Oscar-winning
Walter Matthau as gloriously underhanded lawyer "Whiplash" Willie Gingrich. CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is injured when he is accidentally bulldozed by football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (
Ron Rich) during a Cleveland Browns game. Willie, Harry's brother-in-law, foresees an insurance-settlement bonanza, and he convinces Harry to pretend to be incapacitated by the accident. To insure his client's cooperation, Willie arranges for Harry's covetous ex-wife Sandy (
Judi West) to feign a rekindling of their romance. Harry's conscience is plagued by the solicitous behavior of Boom Boom, who is so devastated at causing Harry's injury that he insists on waiting on the "cripple" hand and foot. Meanwhile, dishevelled private eye Purkey (
Cliff Osmond) keeps Harry under constant surveillance, hoping to catch him moving around so the insurance company can avoid shelling out a fortune. Wilder and usual co-writer
I.A.L. Diamond were at their most jaundiced and cynical here, even if, after a sardonic semiclimax, the last ten minutes succumb to the sentimentality that often marred Wilder's later movies.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Average Review:
Number of reviews: 2
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A reviewer
from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
A Pre-Odd Couple Comedy Caper.
Billy Wilder's comedy caper marks the first pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Matthau gives an Oscar-winning performance as a shyster lawyer trying to build a phony lawsuit against the Cleveland Browns football team on an insurance claim for his brother-in-law (Lemmon), who was supposedly injured while broadcasting the game. Also starring Ron Rich, Cliff Osmond, Judi West, Noam Pitlik, Lurene Tuttle, Marge Redmond, and Les Tremayne. This was the first ten Lemmon/Matthau movies.
A reviewer
from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Pre-Odd Couple Picture.
Billy Wilder's dark comedy caper marks the first pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Matthau gives an Oscar-winning performance as a shyster lawyer trying to conjure up a phony lawsuit for compensation for his brother-in-law (Lemmon), who was knocked out during a football game. Also starring Ron Rich, Cliff Osmond, Judi West, Noam Pitlik, Lurene Tuttle, Marge Redmond, and Les Tremayne. This was the first of ten Lemmon/Matthau movie collaborations.
;)
