The Fortune (released in theaters on May 20, 1975) breezes onto the screen as a darkly humorous, stylish 1920s-set slapstick comedy that pits two bumbling scoundrels against a wealthy heiress in a frantic bid for greed. Directed by legendary filmmaker Mike Nichols, the narrative unfolds during the Roaring Twenties and follows charming hustler Nicky Wilson (Warren Beatty) and his dim-witted friend Oscar Sullivan (Jack Nicholson).
Nicky is eager to marry Fredrika Quintet (Stockard Channing), a naive sanitary napkin empire heiress whose massive inheritance promises instant wealth.
However, because Nicky is already married and legally unable to cross state lines with Fredrika without violating the Mann Act, he devises a convoluted scheme: he convinces the timid, newly released ex-con Oscar to marry Fredrika in name only, allowing all three of them to elope to Los Angeles.
Once settled in a quirky bungalow court run by an observant chief detective (Richard B. Shull), romantic friction and financial frustration boil over.
When Fredrika’s wealthy family threatens to cut off her fortune unless she donates it to charity, Nicky and Oscar realize they must act fast to secure her money.
The desperate duo form a sinister pact to murder Fredrika and inherit her wealth legally through Oscar’s marriage.
What follows is a series of disastrously botched murder attempts, involving poisonous snakes, drownings, and drunken mishaps that constantly backfire on the incompetent conspirators.
As Fredrika remains completely oblivious to their lethal intentions, the two men unravel under panic, turning their deadly scheme into an absurd, frantic battle against their own utter incompetence.
Kathryn Grody, Scatman Crothers, Dub Taylor, and Christopher Guest round out the cast.
Jack Nicholson, Stockard Channing and Warren Beatty in The Fortune (Photo/Columbia Pictures)
Legacy of The Fortune
The Fortune‘s legacy endures as a fascinating, highly stylized cult gem of 1970s New Hollywood cinema, celebrated for uniting legendary leads Nicholson and Beatty under the meticulous direction of Nichols.
The picture served as a major breakout vehicle for Channing, whose effervescent, Golden Globe-nominated performance showcased her brilliant comic timing alongside two of cinema’s biggest stars.
Featuring sharp production design, vintage period aesthetics, and a script penned by Carole Eastman, the feature stands apart as a unique homage to classic 1930s screwball farces.
The Fortune is remembered as an entertaining, underappreciated time capsule of star-powered Hollywood satire.
