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.
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.