The Fortune (1975)

Starring: Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Stockard Channing, and Florence Stanley, with small roles from Scatman Crothers and Christopher Guest
Grade: C+

If you’ve seen The Fortune, I’m sure you would have no reservations in saying that the comedy can be explained simply by one exchange.

Cop: “Who’s that?”

Oscar: *confused look on his face* “The victim!”

Summary

“During the 1920s in the United States the law known as the Mann Act was much feared. It prohibited transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes. Because of the Mann Act, a man who wanted to run off with a woman and was unwilling – or unable – to marry her, would sometimes go to unusual lengths.”

In 1920s, Nicky Wilson (Beatty) picks up the wealthy Fredrika Quintessa Bigard (Channing) and she’s all over him, especially once he hands her a flask. Next, Nicky picks up his best friend Oscar Sullivan (Nicholson) and he awkwardly sits next to them. They drive straight to the Justice of the Peace’s place, and Oscar gets married to her. However, as soon as he puts a ring on her, she kisses Nicky. They all share a drink with the Justice of the Peace and his wife, and Fredrika passes out.

Nicky and Oscar drag the passed out Fredrika through the train station on a platform with wheels containing their luggage, as Oscar talks about how excited he is to be married to a millionairess, though Nicky says he’s not. Nicky gets annoyed with Oscar and explains that had he been able to get his divorce, Oscar wouldn’t be married to anyone. In fact, he’d be in jail, with Nicky calling him a “cheap crook”. On the train, Oscar asks if she has any money of her own, but Nicky says it’s all with her father. He insists this is purely love between him and her. Though Nicky gives credit to Oscar for saving him from the Mann Act, Nicky is saving Oscar from the gallows. Adding on, Nicky threatens to point out the embezzlement of $1,500 by their ex-bank teller (meaning Oscar) that he covered for when they get to Chicago. Finally, Oscar relents and stops asking him questions. Now, it’s off to California.

The next day during the train ride, Oscar is in one of the train cars having breakfast and Nicky brings Fredrika over to him. She’s still very hungover and has to be reminded of who Oscar is and how he’s her new husband. They get acquainted and she tells Oscar her full name, which he did not know. She says calling her “Freddie” is totally cool though. Later, Nicky pulls Oscar from his card game to talk to him in private. He wants everything going smoothly and doesn’t want Oscar bringing attention to their situation since they’re playing brothers and Oscar is the one who is married. He just wants Oscar to keep a low-profile, but he’s annoyed with the idea. Right after, they sit down in one of the cars, and Oscar is bored out of his mind. Nicky tells him that the percentage of convictions for the Mann Act, rounding it off, is more than murders, robbery, and rape. He blames the people who have been caught on “a simple lack of foresight”. He laughs to himself about the law talking about “transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes”, as he considers it to be bullshit. After a discussion about women’s periods, we cut to the three about to board an airplane. Right before this, Freddie gets a phone call from her father, and he basically disowns her for her actions. As she sobs, the two try to console her. To her, the good thing is that though she lost a man, she has now gained two with them. All three board the plane. Nicky doesn’t trust it, but Oscar enjoys himself and is very comfortable. When the flight is only five minutes from Los Angeles, Oscar uses the bathroom and climbs outside onto the wing of the plane to mess around. Freddie screams, but Nicky tells her to ignore him. Once they land, Nicky flips out on him because he could have died and could have led to even more attention to Nicky, Freddie, and implications regarding the Mann Act. Privately, Oscar tells Nicky he did it because he’s been treated like a “5th wheel” throughout this process and he doesn’t want to put up with it anymore.

Nicky apologizes and offers to do better. Sometime after, the three go to the new house Nicky purchased. It’s not great, but it’s the best he can do until they get new jobs. Oscar does seem to be disappointed with it but changes his tune once Freddie talks about how much she loves it. Using fake names, Nicky introduces them to the landlady Mrs. Gould (Stanley) and says he is the responsible party for the house. Gould gives him the basic rules of the place. There are “no cats, dogs, children, picture people, drinking, noisy gatherings or raucous behavior of any kind”. Through a montage, we see Nicky selling cars, Freddie figuring out how to cook, and Oscar trying to tan. One morning, Nicky asks if Oscar has any job prospects but he’s still looking, though it doesn’t look like he’s trying too hard. Nicky is bothered because he’s carrying most of the load. He’s still working on his divorce with Beatrice, so it may take another couple of months. He wonders if Oscar is going to force him to foot all the bills, but Oscar is sure he’s not going back to his old life. Even so, he yells at Nick for not leaving him any money for carfare or lunch when he goes to work. Following this, Freddie greets Oscar from her bed, so he walks into her room with his coffee. As they have basic conversation, she shows him the stretches she does every morning in her night gown, and he can’t help but stare at her. Next, she brings up how Nicky is buying her a victrola and a typewriter. She longs for a dog though, so Oscar asks when her birthday is, implying he may buy her one. However, she plans on going to Europe with Nicky during that timeframe. This isn’t necessarily confirmed though. The first order of business is to get Nicky’s divorce cleared. Later that day, Oscar buys a pet chick for her, and she loves it. Of course, Nicky can’t stand it.

Frustrated by the “little Bolshevik” in Oscar for using money he doesn’t have to buy the chick, Nicky says Oscar better get himself a job this week or that’s it. Sometime after, the three are driving together and Nicky calls out Oscar for growing out his mustache because he sees it as Oscar trying to copy him. This devolves into a huge argument. Since Freddie is unable to break it up by singing, she gets out of the car and threatens to call her father. Eventually, they calm things down and put Oscar in the back of the car. Following this, Oscar brings home bird food for the chick to give to Freddie. Freddie happily accepts, as she’s caught wearing Nicky’s clothes and dancing with the chick for some reason. For the record, it’s not nearly as weird in-context. Anyway, Oscar changes the subject by asking her to sit on his lap. She’s not interested and doesn’t want anything funny happening between them, but he assures her he won’t do anything she won’t want. He makes him promise to keep his hands to himself, and he agrees. So, she sits on his lap, and it turns into making out pretty quickly. Eventually though, she regrets it and throws Oscar off of her because she refuses to be unfaithful to Nicky. She runs to her bedroom, but Oscar follows her and closes the door, arguing that if anything, he’s the one who is being cheated on because he’s technically married to her. Slowly, they start kissing again and it turns into them having sex. Outside, Mrs. Gould is watering the plants and sees them from the window. As this happens, Nicky comes home for lunch. As soon as he enters, Oscar jumps out of the window and Gould greets him, as they both know what happened. Immediately upon getting into the house, Nicky has sex with Freddie. Mrs. Gould hears this too and is starting to heat up herself. Things stop once Nicky finds Oscar’s cigarettes in their bed. He knows what happened.

Oscar comes back and starts making himself some food, and a pissed off Nicky meets him in the kitchen and accuses Oscar of forcing himself onto Freddie. When Oscar argues that she was trying to entice him, Freddie interrupts to call him a liar and downplays everything that happened. However, Oscar is cool with admitting what happened. She gets mad at them for paying more attention to each other rather than her. Then, she hits Oscar for snitching. As Gould listens from the window, Nicky demands Oscar get a divorce from Freddie, but he refuses on account of a dentist getting two years on the Mann Act and implies he may snitch on Nicky if he’s thrown out on the street. The argument gets heated once they talk about how much money is involved with Freddie. Once Nicky argues that she isn’t getting anything from her father, Oscar brings up how she’s going to get a lot on her birthday from her mother, who owns the Quintessa pad company. Oscar knows they lied to him about her being an heiress, and they can’t get rid of him because he’s owed “community property” if she divorces him. Since he consummated the whole marriage, there are no loopholes they can screw him on. Freddie is there the whole time, and only now, she is starting to think that the only thing they care about is money. Though it’s true, both men try to convince her otherwise. She doesn’t think Nicky loves her. When Nicky tries to calm her down, Oscar agrees with her, so Nicky jumps on the table and onto him. The table breaks, and all three of them hit the ground. As they wrestle on the ground, Freddie yells and throws stuff at them. They only stop when she says she’s going to give all her money to charity. Nicky tries to insist he’s innocent in all of this, but she’s having none of it. Oscar doesn’t help matters much by talking bad to her about Nicky again.

That night, Freddie locks herself in her bedroom, and Nicky and Oscar wait outside and try to apologize. They insist there won’t be any problems between them from now on. Unfortunately, she doesn’t respond to either of them. Outside, they realize they are in a bit of a situation, as it looks like she’s going to give all the money away. They wonder what to do next. Oscar half-heartedly suggests killing himself, but Nicky thinks he’s reading between the lines and thinks Oscar is suggesting he kill Freddie. Oscar explains he meant himself, so Nicky passes it off as an accident. There is a pause between them, and Oscar does agree that “accidents do happen where no one’s to blame”. Speaking hypothetically of course, Nicky notes that nothing “accidental” could happen until after Freddie’s birthday. After her birthday, the husband would legally be entitled to the money. Once again speaking hypothetically, Oscar tells him he’d go halves with Nicky if anything were to happen to her. They decide to sleep on it, though it shouldn’t surprise you that they do decide to go through with killing Freddie to get the money. Nevertheless, it will be a long and arduous process, one they are just as unprepared for and unlucky as you would expect.

My Thoughts:

Mike Nichols’s The Fortune is a real throwback of a movie that not a lot of people were expecting, especially during this timeframe in the 70s. The story and style of the screenplay is a type of black comedy you don’t see anymore, which is The Fortune‘s biggest attribute. It’s a homage to the wacky premises rarely seen past the 1950s, a period comedy representing a bygone era of film. It’s akin to those old farces about outrageous criminal acts, unknowing women thrown in the midst of it all, and inept people attempting devious acts for potential riches. To make it all happen, heavy hitting megastars in Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty are cast as cohorts in a sort of vaudeville-like team and it’s enough to want to see this story unfold, albeit to middling results. Despite the period setting and the general style of the movie being pinned down very well, the overall product considering the talent involved is still somewhat of a disappointment. Obviously, we can’t assume every movie is going to be a classic when Nicholson, Beatty, or Nichols (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, etc.) is involved, but I was expecting something much better.

It doesn’t have to be a classic, but I was expecting it to be a forgotten gem at the very least. It gets close to this moniker but just misses its mark. Even so, I have no doubt it has a fanbase because of the stuff it does well.

Though it’s not one of the best movies of the year, The Fortune still has a lot of attractive elements. Regardless of the star power, the coolest part of the movie is the story. Now, I’m not saying we don’t see black comedies anymore but like I said previously, this specific type of black comedy is a rarity. If you look into crime in the 1920s and 30s, the lengths people went to make money by any means is certifiably insane, yet it’s a period in time glossed over by many. Some of these “regular” occurrences of murder and kidnapping were seen depicted in a lot of movies, two-reel silent comedies, and/or comic shorts. Basically, these darker premises were commonplace in cinemas across the country as it happened a lot in real-life. Seriously, do some research and read the plots of some of those films from that era in Hollywood. You’ll be shocked. On paper, two con men transporting a millionairess across state lines and potentially killing her for her fortune is a dark premise, but it’s a regular starting place for a vaudeville team or a comedy from the era in which The Fortune is representing. The heart of the idea can be seen in the entire second half of the film, as the two bumbling criminals are seen with consistent coincidental bad luck when trying to go through with their plan or other moments like Beatty in brown face acting like an Arab man and Nicholson acting as his translator, while donning a wig, to buy a poisonous snake they can use to start off the chain of events (and the bad omen of the caged bird killing the snake forcing them to pivot to a new plan). Sure, you can get mad at this in hindsight, but a moment like this is 100% something that would happen in a comedy from the time period they are emulating, so it does work.

Considering the love movie stars like Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty have for old Hollywood, as it probably inspired them to get into the business, they were great choices to lead the film and bring this world back to the screen. The two legendary actors played well off each other and seeing the two interact onscreen in such a comical manner was enjoyable. Plus, Nicholson’s general demeanor and the way he talks fits the deviousness of the story, and Beatty matches it with his motivation to carry out the plan in the first place and his mustache that screams “old-timey villain”. Beatty’s Nicky was a good main character to lead the story as the more level-headed one of the two, and it allowed for Nicholson’s Oscar to be a bit wilder and more unpredictable. It was a good balance because Beatty’s Nicky is almost trying to avoid the territory the movie is creeping towards (“It’s just not in me”), but Nicholson’s Oscar is encouraging it (“One of the first principles of applying mindism is to never let negative feelings block the path to your goal”, and the goal being killing Freddie), only for the two to react in the complete opposite of ways once the cops get involved in the third act. We think we know Oscar, but Nicholson’s performance noticeably changes as the story progresses, and he becomes harder to categorize, but this seems to be by design as someone like him who is so willing to commit these crimes has to have a screw loose and should be harder to figure out. At first, he seems to be the lovable idiot of the two of them like any vaudeville twosome, and it’s all but confirmed when he tells Nicky how he feels left out from their three-person friendship/marriage scheme. Being upset about this is ridiculous considering it was already agreed upon and understood, so you think that’s where they’re going with Oscar. He’s painted as the somewhat stupid and annoying one early on, as evidenced by how excited he is on the plane and loudly talking when no one else is, or when he actually climbs onto the wing of the plane as it flies.

However, it’s more of a lack of self-awareness, as Oscar just doesn’t see why he’s pissing off Nicky at every turn. This is why he looks like more of a sidekick early on rather than a one-two punch. It’s something they play with before the plan of killing her goes into effect, especially when you get funny moments like Nicky thoroughly apologizing through Freddie’s closed door after the kitchen scene and Oscar adding, “Tell her me too!”. Nevertheless, Oscar is a much more developed character than that. Once they settle in California, Oscar’s manchild personality becomes grounded and turns into something more realistic, as he turns into a lazy freeloader. Additionally, it fits Nicholson’s real-life persona of lounging around and going after women. He’s at his funniest when he’s leeching off Nicky during this timeframe as he stays at home and attempts to put the moves on Freddie. Watching him tan outside, talk about how he’s looking for a job while he’s walking around the house with his coffee and robe, is effortlessly Nicholson. Later in the kitchen scene, Nicky tries to back him into a corner after Oscar admits to having sex with Freddie, but Oscar’s cunning and criminal mind is showcased after he reveals he has them by the balls because he consummated the marriage, entitled him to the fortune of the Quintessa pad company which Freddie is an heiress of, if they divorce. He connected the dots himself and knows they lied to him about the money she will inherit and came up with his own little plant to cement his place in their future. On top of that, he threatens to snitch on Nicky on account of the Mann Act. Though Oscar plays goofball, he shows them his cards in the heated and hilariously contentious debate, and it changes the direction of the movie.

As a matter of fact, the kitchen scene is the peak of the film, which is a good and bad thing. It’s a phenomenally put together scene, but the movie never reaches this level of hilarity or interest before or after it. The acting between three masters of their craft, the actors’ understanding of their characters, the blocking of the scene and its direction, and the intensity surrounding the comical dialogue is at a fever pitch in this sequence where the three principal characters argue, scrap, and almost destroy the house. It’s a hilarious turning point of the film that changes the dynamics of the story, with Oscar revealing he’s much smarter than what he leads on to be, Nicky being at a crossroads where he’s on the verge of kicking Oscar out of the plan and almost screws it up entirely, and Freddie (after having sex with both of them) is starting to realize they only want her money. Though she didn’t cement her status as a star until years later because of the failure of this movie, anyone who saw this movie could see the exponential talent that Stockard Channing possessed just in this scene, going toe-to-toe with Nicholson and Beatty and matching the energy of the moment at its peak. If anything rose her stock as a capable actress, The Fortune was it, even if it didn’t make a lot of money. I can’t commend everyone enough for this scene alone. If you were to use these same performers, director, and stretch out this scene long enough, it could have easily been a one-act play and may have been just as entertaining, with each person taking turns coming in and out of the room spouting quotable and biting dialogue that aligns exactly with who the characters are, telling its own story with just their relationship in this household.

Nonetheless, I will state again that the movie never reaches the height of this scene before or after. In their defense, it’s still decently entertaining once they decide to find a way to kill Freddie but get thwarted at every turn, but it just doesn’t reach the level we are wanting it to get to. Plus, the story takes way too long to take shape to finally get to what we came to see. The first half of the movie drags. It’s not until the excellently directed dance sequence at Freddie’s birthday party at the nightclub where the movie starts to figure itself out. Some of it is amusing, and there are a lot of creative ways screenwriter Carole Eastman finds to stop the two characters from succeeding like when the two dump the passed-out Freddie in the bird bath face first, but they accidentally lock the door to the house and have to break in through their own window to get back in. The wide shot of this was very funny, as it’s very reminiscent to one of those old-timey farces and screwball comedies. The same could be said of their frenzied minds overthinking the situation like when Oscar wants a ride to the hotel that he’s supposed to hide at, but Nicky tells him to walk and not be seen. However, Oscar has no idea where to go because he doesn’t know the street and flips out about his suitcase being at the hotel when Nicky suggests he go somewhere else. This heightened panic is palpable, especially when Nicky decides right after that the suicide note doesn’t sound good and has Oscar burn it while attempting to retype it on the spot, as the viewer sees a frantic Oscar in the background holding a fireball momentarily. This is the type of frenetic energy the second half of the movie is asking for, but the rest of the events that unfold just aren’t as madcap as it could be, though the traffic scene when they try to dump the crate off the bridge was really funny. What’s more relatable than a seemingly empty road suddenly having traffic in both directions as soon as you’re on it?

Also, the tipping point being how bad of a cook Freddie is, coupled with her wanting to give her money to charity, is quite the humorous inspiration for the characters.

The continued botching of their plans and Nicky trying to figure out their next plan of action in the heat of the moment while Oscar wants to skip town is an exciting development and very well acted by both men, especially Beatty. I loved it when he starts drinking and immediately decides to pivot back to the beach to look for the crate after initially suggesting they go to the house and say they saw the suicide note and decided to contact the police themselves to act in shock in the morning. The feelings of despair and anxiety when the two see the empty crate and go back home to freak out and attempt yet another backup plan is a great scene, setting up a polarizing ending that I’m still not entirely sold on. Part of it isn’t believable and is somewhat frustrating like Freddie’s actions and response to everything (how would she not think they weren’t involved in her waking up in a crate, how would she fall in love so quickly and back afterwards, etc.), as well as Oscar switching to being cool and confident in his giving up to the police (a funny series of scenes no doubt), but another part of me realizes that this series of events leading to the conclusion is typical of a farce in and of itself. So, though it’s not as satisfying or logical, it’s absolutely by design and actually works within the genre when you fully analyze it. Sure, it borders on the inexplicable, but it is quite like the movies they are paying homage to, is it not? Because of this, I’m torn, and I imagine the same thing happened with the audiences who came to see the movie, as they probably had a similar reaction which led to the box office results it had. Without a doubt, it’s an accurate representation of this type of story/movie, but word of mouth from those that don’t care about such a thing aren’t going to give it a pass.

The concluding shot to the chaotic final sequence was also a cool one, as it was a real feather in the cap to all the madness of the preceding half hour.

Though it’s pacing in the first half is lethargic and it doesn’t really get going until much later in the story, The Fortune is a fun callback to type of black comedy we don’t see much of anymore. It’s not as complete as you’d like it to be considering the talent, and it doesn’t fully capitalize on the humor. Nonetheless, it’s very well acted and still has a lot of amusing moments and entertainment value within the context of the story, as the movie finds itself halfway through the runtime. Above all else, the ineptitude of the main characters once the crime is attempted still makes the movie a memorable endeavor from a comedic, screenwriting, and acting point of view. It may not be the best work of everyone involved, but it was a very solid try that has its flashes.

Fun Fact: Director Mike Nichols originally wanted Bette Midler to play the role of Freddie, but he got offended when she asked him what films he’s done previously during a conversation.