A suburban man is told by his doctor and best friend that he has a terminal illness. At his wife's insistence, he goes on a spending spree, racking up insurmountable debts. After the damage ... Read allA suburban man is told by his doctor and best friend that he has a terminal illness. At his wife's insistence, he goes on a spending spree, racking up insurmountable debts. After the damage is done, he learns that he's not dying after all.A suburban man is told by his doctor and best friend that he has a terminal illness. At his wife's insistence, he goes on a spending spree, racking up insurmountable debts. After the damage is done, he learns that he's not dying after all.
- Member - Board of Inquiry
- (uncredited)
- Burial Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Burial Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Nurse
- (uncredited)
- Burial Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Chief of Police
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Ingersolls, who live in Southern California, are seen drinking Coors beer. At this point in time, 1969, Coors was not a national product and was found mostly in the Western United States, as well as parts of the South and Midwest, all west of the Mississippi. Due to it being unpasteurized, it wasn't allowed to be sold in most of the Eastern and Southeastern States, and wasn't sold east of the Mississippi at all until 1981, and not nationally until 1986. This is the premise of the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit (1977).
- GoofsDuring the deep sea fishing scenes the footage is always of a large blue marlin being caught, but the fish Peter's crew finally hauls on board is a small, gray sailfish.
- Quotes
Scott Carter: There's only one decent thing left for you to do: turn yourself in.
Peter Ingersoll: Decent thing? That's insane!
Scott Carter: I'll be behind you all the way.
Peter Ingersoll: Oh, sure you will. A mile behind me.
- ConnectionsFeatured in I Walk the Line (1970)
- SoundtracksWilliam Tell Overture
(uncredited)
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
[Played immediately after Mrs. Hardtack leaves the Ingersoll house the first time]
And then the patient is asked what happened. We don't see precisely what happened to him until much later, but I will say the procedure is related to fishing, hence the film's title.
In flashbacks, the story is told. Peter Ingersoll is an insurance agent who joins an emotionless, dedicated group marching into work as if part of a military unit at precisely 9 AM. He has a "Leave It to Beaver" family living in a "Leave It to Beaver" house. Well, not exactly. His kids treat him like a moron. Certainly not the impression one had of Ward.
Peter does some work around the house and gets into the usual Jerry Lewis type messes--a rodent in the garden, a stopped up sink (this gag is really funny). One gets the impression, though, that he's not really happy. For example, though this film has a G rating, we do get to see that Peter and Nancy have some ... trouble in the bedroom. Unlike Ward and June, we can imagine where this couple's kids came from.
Peter's good friend Scott is also his doctor. Scott tells Peter he has some sort of incurable condition that will give him only months to live (though there are no obvious symptoms). Peter decides to enjoy what life he has left. And being an insurance man, he has a great policy that will leave his wife secure after he dies. So Peter decides to run up $150,000 in debt on a lavish round-the-world fishing vacation, figuring the creditors will not go after a grieving widow.
There is a problem, though, which gives the film most of its comedy potential. I shouldn't give that away.
Anyone looking for the zany Jerry Lewis style might be disappointed. The two gags early in the movie, and a limbo dance in the Caribbean, are about all the examples of the classic Lewis style until the movie's second half. Lewis does get to display more of his trademark behavior pretending to be Fred Dobbs in Europe. Still, this is an entertaining and funny movie.
Peter Lawford is very good. The other leading actors do a good job, and there are some really silly scenes in Europe.
The film got a G rating, though it should be mentioned a couple is apparently naked in a hotel, with the appropriate parts covered. But this could mean anything--right? Something similar happens with Peter and his wife. And of course there is slapstick violence. But nothing really makes this film out of bounds for most kids.
I had a good time.
- vchimpanzee
- Feb 23, 2011
- Permalink
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,236,060
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1