A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury.A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury.A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 5 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaProduction 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 wore a heavy black coat to conceal the weight loss.
- GoofsDuring the football game in which Harry is injured, the Browns are playing the Minnesota Vikings. On Boom-Boom's punt return, however, the opponents are the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Crazy creditsThe end credits conclude with a thank you message to the players and management of the Cleveland Browns, and the National Football League for their cooperation.
- Alternate versionsThe 1997 VHS release showed black and white versions of the 1994 United Artists variant and MGM logo at the start and end of the movie respectively.
- SoundtracksYou'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Sung by Judi West
Also strains played throughout the movie
Featured review
" When they build a better mouse trap, .. . . . the Mice get smarter "
In the course of Hollywood legends, there emerges a great chemistry when certain scripts, actors, and directors are combined to make a movie. In this immortal Black and White film, we have such a combination. Herein we have, the late, great Jack Lemmon playing Harry Hinkle, a standard cameraman working with a TV crew covering a Cleveland Browns football game. As the game proceeds, a celebrity running-back Luther " Boom Boom " Jackson (Ron Rich) accidentally runs off the field and directly into the filming cameraman, knocking him out cold. Fortunately for Hinkle, his wily Brother-in-law, William Gingrich, attorney-at-law, (Walter Matthau) leaps into his life and proposes an insurance lawsuit which, if Hinkle goes along with, will net them $1.000.000. Hinkle explains to 'Whiplash Willy,' there is nothing wrong with him and will not participate in the scheme. The plan is doomed, until Gingrich uses a trump card, Hinkles' ex-wife Sandy, (Judi West) whom Harry believes still loves him. The plan is flawless despite the fact, the Insurance company hires the Purkey (Cliff Osmond) Dectective Agency to spy on him 24 hours a day. While Gingrich is busy with the Insurance lawyers and Hinkle is attempting to win his wife back, by pretending to be an invalid, no one notices Luthor Jackson is miserable, drinking and becoming despondent. The movie is wonderful as Lemmon and Matthau are a superb team under the direction of their favorite director Billy Wilder. This is a great movie and certain to become a Classic. ****
- thinker1691
- Mar 24, 2009
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Der Glückspilz
- Filming locations
- Cleveland, Ohio, USA(Roswell Hotel-opp. Hinkle's apt East 20th St between Euclid and Chester Avenues, now a part of the Cleveland State University campus.)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $3,705,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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