The Fortune (1975)

OK. We have Jack Nicholson. We have Warren Beatty. We have Mike Nichols. We have an idea for a slapstick comedy set in early Hollywood with terrific costumes and olde-timey-cars. So what do we do ?We make a total MESS of the whole thing. We have the characters run around like a chicken with their heads cut off (I forgot to mention that we have a little yellow chick that grows into a tiny white hen to indicate the passage of time) (argh) They all run around yelling at each other and swearing practically non-stop. Watching this film on network television was close to watching a silent movie .. come to think of it, that mighty have been better. As for being in Hollywood ... they ignored that fact totally ! Why ?Outstanding performance was by a young Stockard Channing. She outshone two experienced actors despite what she was made to say and do. She at least seemed more real and not just "gimme my paycheck and let me go home. I seem to be watching a bunch of duds. Hope my luck improves. Need to re-watch some I know are good, I guess.

I rank this as my alternative list of favorite 1970s movies. On this list are ten films that didn't get the critical reaction nor the box office they deserve but IMHO were alongside the true greats ofthe 70s such as The Godfather 1 and 2, Shampoo,Nashville, Taxi Driver, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, The Exorcist and One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest-all blockbusters and among my favorite of the decade. My second tier list of 70s best include Smile, Citizens Band, The Day of the Locust, Law and Disorder, Our Time, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Heartbreak Kid, Swept Away... And this hilarious farce, The Fortune. These were films that were only blips on the radar upon release but for various reasons strike me as great . The Fortune came out in a year where 30s nostalgia was in vogue. Perhaps because of the megaton bomb that was At Long Last Love (which nearly made my list) earlier in the year and the stillborn release of The Wild Party(vastly undetated) , The Fortune didn't stand a chance despite the amazing star power of Warren Beatty and Jack Nichdon. I absolutely love this movie! Warren Beatty has never been sexier or looser on screen in perhaps his best performance and the manic side of Jack Nicholson was embryoed here and would be his signature style throughout the 70s with One Flew and especially Going South. It's a magnificent performance but the real revelation us the astounding Stockard Channing. Why did this lady not become the equivalent of a 40s star? She is gorgeous here and madcap , she's a more beautiful Kate Hepburn. At least the golden globes recognized her but the Oscars should have that year as well. She could have easily taken the Best Supporting Actrss slot occupied by the abysmally untalented Sylvia Miles (how did this hag get 2 Oscat nominations for only 20 minutes of screen time for 2 movies?). The Fortune deserved to make a fortune but flopped. Definitely track this down-it deserves a Renaissance of quirky 70s comedies that also include Smile (Barbara Feldon was a revelation in that) and Hearts of the West(Sylvia Miles has garnered two Oscar ns and the luminous Blythe Danner- None? Where is the justice?).ZThe Fortune demands to be seen.

I'm not too big on comedies, but this one was recommended, so I watched it when it was run on network TV years ago.....One of the funniest movies I've ever seen in my life. It's incredible to me that it is so underrated..... Not even a mention at any of the lifetime achievement awards for either Beatty or Nicholson. I hate to oversell a movie because it creates expectations that are almost impossible to live up to, so let me just say , "This is a 'good' comedy ". :-)I just became aware that my comment is not yet ready for submission because it does not contain the minimum 10 lines of text , so let me amend my earlier statement....." This is a very very good comedy ".......This is my first comment submission to this forum.....I was heartened to find others who recognized the gem this movie is and I just wanted to add my voice to the positive comments above......But, believing that less is sometimes more , I wanted to encourage others to seek out this movie , without "overselling ". i hope I have done my job :-).

A box office failure upon release, it just seems impossible to believe this genuinely hilarious film did not hit with audiences then and now is not the iconic cast and title it deserves to be. Columbia must have been aghast when it didn't set the box office on fire especially given what major stars Nicholson and Beatty were in '75. It is hard to find this film and if you have the time and luck to find a copy, try and also get THE FRONT and THE CHEAP DETECTIVE two other Columbia films around the same time that were reasonable successes and deserve to be major titles in anyone's home library.In Australia each of these films + HIGH ANXIETY suffered from the intro of colour TV and the cinemas all took a nosedive for 4 years 74-78. Very few films in thie period were big hits and cinemas closed in dozens. Pity as so many great films were made then and this comedy genuinely is one.