The Fortune

1975 "Sexier than the Marx Brothers, handsomer than Laurel and Hardy but not as smart as The 3 Stooges"
5.6| 1h28m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 20 May 1975 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Two bumbling hustlers in the 1920s attempt to gain the fortune of an heiress. Nothing will stop them, not even murder.

Genre

Comedy, Crime, Romance

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The Fortune (1975) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Mike Nichols

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

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The Fortune Audience Reviews

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.
Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
johnrichkus A flat-out perfect classic farce. It's a blend of sophisticated and low comedy, delicious, masterful comedy acting by actors at the top of their form. The classic dialogue walks the fine line between silliness and believability extremely well. Photography, production design, costumes and score are all top-flight. The actors have a field day with these larger-than-life but universal characters – they are expert farceurs. Beatty channels Barrymore and gives one of his best performances and he is VERY handsome! Nicholson is equally good in a rare truly comic role, and Channing is just fantastic - she easily earns her top billing (in her first starring role!), as is Florence Stanley as a latter-day Thelma Ritter.It's like a soufflé - delicious but nearly impossible to pull off. Mike Nichols is a genius comedy director (he's not bad with drama either!). This film is incredibly well paced, setting the right tone and balance throughout - it reminds me of Hawks' His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby. It has the same twisted logic and just laugh-out-loud humor. It's just really, really funny. It has a terrific screenplay by Carole Eastman, who also wrote Five Easy Pieces (talk about extremes). If 30s films could have been this sexually frank you could imagine Cagney or Tracy in the Beatty role, Cary Grant as Nicholson and Jean Arthur or Irene Dunne as Channing doing this kind of material.I was shocked to read so many strongly negative reactions to this film here on IMDb, but I didn't get this film on my first go-round either. I think it's never found an audience because it's sophisticated and a bit obtuse; also, standards have fallen so low that many people can only accept comedies they've experienced before and feel safe with.I'm looking forward to many re-viewings and sharing it with friends.
Tom McNulty This is a hilarious and underrated movie because the humor is often so low-key and understated. The three principals - Beatty, Nicholson and Channing - carry off their characters beautifully. I've always thought that the 1970s didn't produce a lot of very good comedies or movies of any genre for that matter, but this is one that should make the top-100 list for that decade. It takes place in 1920s L.A. and Nicholson and Beatty - who were top box-office draws at the time - play bumbling would-be con men trying to marry into the money of the bubble-brained heiress played by Channing. They slip up at virtually every turn, whether they're trying to woo her or, finally, murder her (at which point it turns into a black comedy, but you can't take their attempts seriously at all). It's not what you'd call a mainstream movie for sure despite the brand-name case, but if you can find it I'd recommend renting or downloading this flick and enjoying some good laughs.
MARIO GAUCI BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), produced by and co-starring Warren Beatty, made not only gangsterism fashionable on the screen once again but, during the 1970s, all sorts of films were set in that golden era between the two World Wars; many even centered around Hollywood, such as THE WILD PARTY (1974), THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (1975) and THE LAST TYCOON (1976).This Jazz Age (1920s) farce unites Beatty with the actor who emerged as perhaps the decade’s top star, Jack Nicholson; the two became good friends – Nicholson appeared as famed playwright Eugene O’Neill in Beatty’s pet project REDS (1981) and personally presented the latter with the Honorary Oscar he was awarded in 1999. Despite its dynamite star combo, name director (following his Oscar win for the groundbreaking THE GRADUATE [1967], Nichols made the ‘classic’ war satire CATCH-22 [1970] and, also with Nicholson, the controversial CARNAL KNOWLEDGE [1971]) and slapstick aspects of the admittedly slight plot, the film was a box-office failure which perhaps explains its rarity over the years – in fact, when a friend of mine informed me that he had just acquired this, it came as a surprise to me because I wasn’t even aware that the film had been given a DVD release (albeit an R2 exclusive). Undaunted, however, Beatty would make a similar farce – ISHTAR (1987) – with another tremendous partner i.e. Dustin Hoffman…but that one was an even more notorious bomb (even if I liked it quite a bit myself when I watched the film not too long ago).There’s no denying that THE FORTUNE is a disappointment considering the talents involved: the comedy is uneven and rather heavy-handed – though, in retrospect, all three leads (the third being put-upon heroine Stockard Channing in her first big role) deliver charming performances. Married Beatty is about to be divorced from his wife (who never appears); in the meantime, he has fallen for wealthy Channing and would like to elope with her – however, the so-called “Mann Act” decrees that an unwedded woman can’t cross the state line in a man’s company…so Beatty decides to have her marry his best pal, loony Nicholson, for appearances’ sake! Soon, however, the latter – feeling neglected – demands to exercise his rights as a husband, which doesn’t sit well with either of his companions; still, while Beatty’s away earning a living in California, Nicholson seduces Channing and is almost caught in the act when the former returns home unexpectedly – needless to say, the bed-hopping/partner-swapping antics drive their landlady off the wall! Eventually, the trio have a full-blown row, and the men opt to stick together and decide it would be better to bump off the girl – since Nicholson would then become sole heir to her fortune. The crime, however, doesn’t go as planned; Channing is rescued and, on going back, they all decide to make another go at it! The best gags involve: Nicholson’s clowning outside the plane; the snake the men purchase (from BONNIE AND CLYDE’s Dub Taylor) to bite Channing getting killed by the girl’s pet chicken (a gift of theirs) and later fed to them by her!; the traffic jam Beatty and Nicholson cause on a bridge on their way to dispose of Channing in a chest; their attempt to retrieve the latter when it’s carried away by the tide; and Nicholson’s rushed confession to the Police when these turn up at the house asking about a bus in their possession.
Psalm 52 Recently saw this gem and really found it a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half. Ms. Channing is fresh and funny as the off-kilter socialite mixed up with Beatty and Nicholson who make a charming team. The hi-jinks that ensue between these three characters as they try to outwit and outlast each other makes for good comedy. One of my favorite scenes is Jack seducing Ms. Channing then sneaking out the small bedroom window while Warren walks in through the front door. Jack is also subdued in his performance, although the scene on the wing of the plane suggests otherwise. Another funny sight is Ms. Channing almost making a clean get-a-way from the two guys, except for her ill-fated decision to go back to get her chicken. Great direction by Mr. Nichols. Should be watched with "The Day of The Locust" which captures the feel of the same era, although that film is a dark drama.

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